Élisabeth Feodorovna
1864-1918 19th century Feast day: July 18
Prayer that forgives: to descend toward the poor and to bless even in the night.
Who was Élisabeth Feodorovna?
A German princess who became a grand duchess of Russia, she lost her husband to an assassin and, days later, went to forgive his killer in his cell. She sold her possessions, founded a convent devoted to the care of Moscow's poor, and was finally cast alive down a mine shaft by the revolutionaries.
In their own words
I am leaving a brilliant world where I held a brilliant position; but together with you I am descending into a greater world, the world of the poor and the suffering.
Lord, forgive them, for they know not what they do.