St. Elizabeth of Portugal

## Life Elizabeth was born in 1271 in Zaragoza, Aragon, the daughter of King Pedro III of Aragon and great-niece of St. Elizabeth of Hungary. Named after her saintly relative, she showed remarkable piety from childhood, fasting, attending daily Mass, and performing works of penance. At twelve years of age, she married King Denis of Portugal. Despite her husband's infidelities, Elizabeth remained devoted to both her marriage and her faith. She became known as 'the Peacemaker' for her remarkable ability to reconcile feuding parties, including mediating between her husband and their son Afonso, and later between Afonso (now king) and the King of Castile. Elizabeth devoted herself to works of charity, founding hospitals, convents, and charitable institutions throughout Portugal. The most famous story associated with her is the Miracle of Roses: when her husband caught her carrying bread to the poor (which he had forbidden), she opened her cloak to reveal roses instead of bread. After King Denis's death in 1325, Elizabeth joined the Third Order of St. Francis and retired to the Monastery of Santa Clara in Coimbra, which she had founded. She continued her charitable works until her death on July 4, 1336, when she succumbed to fever after traveling to mediate peace between her son and the King of Castile. ## Veneration Miracles were reported soon after her death. Elizabeth was canonized in 1626 by Pope Urban VIII. Her incorrupt body rests in a silver and crystal reliquary above the main altar of the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Nova in Coimbra, where pilgrims can view it through small portholes. Her original Gothic tomb, carved by Master Pêro in 1330, is preserved in the lower choir and depicts her as a Franciscan tertiary with pilgrim's staff, testifying to her pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. The Holy Queen Feasts (*Festas da Rainha Santa*) take place in Coimbra every even-numbered year in July, featuring grand processions through the city streets. **Feast Day:** July 4 **Patronage:** Charities, bakers, beggars, brides, death of children, homeless, hospitals, Sisters of Mercy, widows, Coimbra