Deepertruth: Saint Elizabeth of Portugal

Saint Elizabeth of Portugal 7/4/2023  

Pope Urban VIII canonized her in 1625 and choose the date of her death, July 4, as her feast day.

She was known for taking food and clothing to the poor, carrying the sick on her back, and selling her grand royal gowns to further assist the poor of her husband's kingdom.

Elizabeth had been unjustly accused of siding with her son against her own crown, she rode onto the battlefield between them, and was able to reconcile Father and Son, and prevent bloodshed. This led to her patronage as a peacemaker, and as one to invoke in time of war and conflict.

Isabella of Portugal has a feast day of July 4th. She is the patron saint of brides, peace, queens, falsely accused people and victims of adultery.

But Saint Elizabeth (Isabel) of Portugal, a Queen, devoted herself to peace at every turn, and between members of her own royal family, who did indeed fit the medieval stereotype we imagine. As such she became the patron saint of family rifts. In her case, 'rifts' meant kingdoms at war.

She established orphanages and provided shelter for the homeless. She also founded a convent in Coimbra. There are many versions of the story of Queen Isabel's miracle of turning bread into roses, but they are all fundamentally the same. She is said to have been forbidden by her unfaithful husband to give to the poor.

Elizabeth is usually depicted in royal garb with a dove or an olive branch. At her birth in 1271, her father Pedro III, future king of Aragon, was reconciled with his father James, the reigning monarch. This proved to be a portent of things to come. Under the healthful influences surrounding her early years, she quickly learned self-discipline and acquired a taste for spirituality.