Your Faith Journey with EWTN
As we deepen our relationship with the Eternal Word, Jesus Christ, we grow in grace and are transformed by His love and mercy.
July 18, 1880 – November 9, 1906
Patron Saint of sick people, illnesses, and people whose parents have died
St. Elizabeth of the Trinity’s spirituality was centered on the mystery of God dwelling within the soul. She often spoke of finding a “present paradise” by living fully aware of God’s presence in daily life. In her words: “It seems to me that I have found my heaven on earth, since heaven is God, and God is in my soul.”
Born in 1880 at a military camp in France, Elizabeth Catez showed a great reverence for God, spending time in prayer and reflection. She was a lively child, sometimes stubborn or prone to fits of anger. St. Elizabeth loved music. She was a gifted pianist and sang in the church choir. Her time was also spent visiting the sick and teaching catechism to the children.
When St. Elizabeth’s father died, her family moved to Dijon, near a Carmelite monastery. The sanctity of the nuns there inspired her, and from an early age she expressed her desire to be a nun. Her mother resisted her vocation for many years, thinking that as a prize-winning pianist with a lively personality, Elizabeth could have a good marriage. As she matured, she cultivated a profound understanding of and devotion to the Blessed Trinity.
At the age of 17, she visited the convent, where she learned about the death of St. Therese of Lisieux from a letter the Mother Superior shared with her. The letter contained writings from St. Therese that would later be part of her autobiography, The Story of a Soul. This greatly inspired St. Elizabeth toward Carmelite spirituality. She entered the convent at age 21.
Within the cloister, she embraced the Carmelite call, writing: “Here there is no longer anything but God. He is All; He suffices.” Her zeal for divine union permeated her letters and reflections.
Two years after taking vows, St. Elizabeth began having symptoms that were later diagnosed as Addison’s disease. Even as the disease caused great pain and weakness in her final years, she was patient and joyful in her suffering, declaring, “I am going to Light, to Love, to Life!”. She died at age 26 on November 9, 1906.
Elizabeth left behind letters, poems, and spiritual writings that continue to inspire. She emphasized silence, recollection, and living in loving communion with the Trinity, which earned her the title “Elizabeth of the Trinity.”
Canonized in 2016 by Pope Francis, she is remembered as a guide for those seeking interior peace and intimacy with God.
Like other cloistered nuns, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity lived within the monastery walls and had limited contact with the outside world. This allowed her time and silence to commune with God. Yet she wrote that every soul could have a “cloistered heart,” not by isolation, but by an interior life focused on the indwelling of the Holy Trinity within the soul. She referred to this interior life of profound prayer and self-abandonment to the Trinity as a “cloistered heart,” where profound stillness and peace allow God to establish His dwelling within, regardless of one’s exterior circumstances.
When she was 12, St. Elizabeth won first place for sight-reading and transposition and an honorable mention for piano at the Conservatory of Dijon in 1892. The Conservatory also recognized her with a certificate for her musical skills. During the late 1800s in France, musical talent was viewed as a desirable attribute for young women. A woman’s skill in music was valued because it made her more desirable as a bride and enhanced her family’s social standing. But St. Elizabeth chose instead to enter the Carmel monastery and devote her life to God.
Although her life was short, Elizabeth wrote prayers, poems, and letters. One of her most famous prayers is “O My God, Trinity Whom I Adore,” a meditation on dwelling in God’s presence with love and silence.
This eBook combines stunning photography from EWTN’s Vatican Bureau along with Bible passages and saints’ quotes that will calm your heart, give you hope, and remind you that God is with us always. Simply fill out the form below and we will send this to you!
As we deepen our relationship with the Eternal Word, Jesus Christ, we grow in grace and are transformed by His love and mercy.
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