St Elizabeth was the mother of St John the Baptist, the wife of St Zechariah, and the cousin of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She conceived St John the Baptist miraculously in her old age.
Read the full St Elizabeth novena on the novena page. You can also learn more about novenas here.
What Is St Elizabeth the Patron Saint Of?
The Gospel of St Luke tells us that Elizabeth, a daughter of the line of Aaron, wife of Zechariah, was righteous before God but could not conceive a child.
Zechariah, when praying in the Temple during his regular time of service, was told by St Gabriel the Archangel that his wife, Elizabeth, would bear a son.
St Zechariah doubted St Gabriel’s words, because he and St Elizabeth were already elderly.
Because of his disbelief, Zechariah was struck mute until John the Baptist’s birth.
Nonetheless, Elizabeth and Zechariash conceived a child.
The Annunciation also occurred during this time, and Our Lady then visited Elizabeth (the Visitation), and St John the Baptist leapt in his mother’s womb upon their meeting.
Tradition holds that St John the Baptist was sanctified at that moment while still in St Elizabeth’s womb.
The Bible does not mention more about St Elizabeth, but we can have confidence that she remained a holy woman throughout her life, along with her husband St Zechariah.
St Elizabeth is the patron saint of pregnant women and women hoping to conceive a baby.
I found this lovely novena prayer on this faithful woman’s site: https://rosesrejoicealways.wordpress.com/2018/06/23/novena-to-st-elizabeth/
She in turn had found the two prayers on a prayer card and in the Lives of the Saints.