Servant of God Princess Élisabeth of France

Élisabeth of France (Élisabeth Philippine Marie Hélène; 3 May 1764 – 10 May 1794), also known as Madame Élisabeth, was a French princess. She was the youngest child of Louis, Dauphin of France, and Duchess Maria Josepha of Saxony, and she was a sister of King Louis XVI. Élisabeth's father, the Dauphin, was the son and heir of King Louis XV and his popular wife, Queen Marie Leszczyńska. Élisabeth remained beside her brother and his family during the French Revolution, and she was executed during the Reign of Terror at the Place de la Révolution. The cause for her beatification and canonization has been introduced by the Catholic Church, and she has been declared a Servant of God by Pope Pius XII. Élisabeth Philippe Marie Hélène was born on 3 May 1764 in the Palace of Versailles. She was the youngest child of Louis, Dauphin of France, and Marie-Josèphe of Saxony. Her paternal grandparents were King Louis XV and Queen Marie Leszczyńska. As the daughter of the Dauphin, she was a fille de France. At the sudden death of her father in 1765, Élisabeth's oldest surviving brother, Louis-Auguste (later to be Louis XVI) became the new Dauphin (the heir apparent to the French throne). Their mother Marie Josèphe died in March 1767 from tuberculosis. This left Élisabeth an orphan at just two years old, along with her older siblings: Louis-Auguste, Louis Stanislas, Count of Provence, Charles Philippe, Count of Artois, and Marie Clotilde of France. Élisabeth and her elder sister, Clotilde of France, were raised by Madame de Marsan, Governess to the Children of France. The sisters were considered very dissimilar in personality. While Èlisabeth was described as "proud, inflexible, and passionate", Clotilde was in contrast estimated to be "endowed with the most happy disposition, which only needed guiding and developing".