Grand Duchess Elizabeth - the New Martyr

Sister of the last Tsarina of Russia, and married to Grand Duke Serge, the uncle of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia.  Grand Duke Serge was assassinated in 1905 in Moscow by a terrorist bomb and St. Elizabeth first made a deep impression on the Russian people when she went out into the snow and brought in parts of his mangled body back into their palace.

After his death, St. Elizabeth founded a convent dedicated to the sisters of Martha and Mary in 1910.  That convent grew to house the noblewomen of Russia - seeking to devote their lives unto God.  Through Elizabeth, these women sought to help homeless women and children and poor single young women.  She also founded a hospital that helped wounded soldiers, a hospice and a dental clinic.  The sisters also raised and educated orphans brought in dying off the street.

Elizabeth’s ministry was similar in focus to that of Mother Theresa of Calcutta - caring for all of the unwanted souls of the peasant class.  It was said by visitors that she worked her nuns very hard. 

On July 18, 1918, St. Elizabeth, St. Barbara and five other Romanov family members were thrown down a mine shaft.  Their executioners hoped the group would die in the fall - however, when they heard prayerful voices coming from the mine shaft - they threw in a live hand grenade.  Even after the explosion, the martyrs continued to sing “God Save your People.”  A second grenade did not stop the singing, so the torturers filled the mine shaft with brush and set it on fire, which finally suffocated the prisoners.  Her convent rule continues to this day in parts of Russia and Asia.