Saint Elizabeth Portugal
Saint Isabel of Portugal, by Jose Gil Castro, in the Colonial Museum of St. Francis (1820)
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Born in Aragon, Spain in 1271, Saint Elizabeth is the daughter of King Peter III of that kingdom and granddaughter of King James the Conqueror, great-granddaughter of Emperor Frederick II of Germany. They named her Elizabeth in honor of her great-aunt, Saint Elizabeth of Hungary.
Her training was formidable and from a very young age she had remarkable piety. They taught her that, to be truly good, she must combine the mortification of her tastes and whims with her prayer. Since I was little, I knew the phrase: "The greater freedom of spirit you will have, the less desire you have for useless or harmful things." He strived to organize his life in the love of God and neighbor, disciplining his habits of life. I didn't eat anything between meals.
She was married when she was 12 years old to King Dionysus of Portugal. This was the great cross of Saint Elizabeth since he was a man of poor morals, being violent and unfaithful. But she knew how to endure this test heroically. He pray and did sacrifices for him. What always he treated with kindness. He had two children: Alfonso, future king of Portugal and Constancia, future queen of Castile. Saint Elizabeth even raised her husband's natural children with other women.
The king, for his part, admired her and allowed her to a certain extent her life as an authentic Christian. She got up very early and read 6 psalms, attended Holy Mass and dedicated herself to managing the work of the palace. In her free time she met with other ladies to make clothes for the poor. Afternoons were devoted to visiting sick and elderly.
He built shelters, a hospital for the poor, a free school, a home for women repenting of their bad lives, and a hospice for abandoned children. He also built convents and other works for the good of the people. She lent her beautiful dresses and even a crown for the weddings of poor young people.
Saint Elizabeth frequently distributed Coins from the Royal Treasury to the poor so that they could buy their daily bread. On one occasion, King Dionysus, suspicious of her actions, began to spy on her. When the Queen began to distribute coins among the poor, the king observed it and, enraged, went to complain to her. But the Lord intervened, so when the king ordered him to show him what he was giving to the poor, the gold coins turned into roses.
Peacemaker
Isabel's son, Alfonso, had a violent character like his father. He was filled with anger at the preference his father showed for his natural children. On two occasions he promoted civil war against his father. Elizabeth did everything possible for reconciliation. On one occasion she went on a pilgrimage to Santarém, the place of the Eucharistic Miracle, and dressed as a penitent, she implored the Lord for peace.
She even appeared on the battlefield and, when the armies of her husband and her son prepared for war, the queen would kneel between them and, on her knees before her husband and son, ask them to be reconciled.
Some of her letters are preserved, which reflect the evangelical caliber and audacity of our saint.
To her husband: "Like an angry wolf whose little son is going to be killed, I will fight to not let the king's weapons be launched against our own son. But at the same time I will have the king's weapons destroyed first." my son's armies, before they shoot at his father's followers."
To his son: "By Holy Virgin Mary, I ask you to make peace with your father. Look at the warriors burning houses, destroying crops and destroying everything. Not with weapons, son, not with weapons, we will fix the problems, but dialogue, obtaining arbitrations to settle conflicts. I will make the king's troops move away and the son's claims will be attended to, but please remember that you have very serious duties with your father as a son, and as a son with the king.
She achieved peace on more than one occasion and her husband died repentant, undoubtedly due to the prayers of his holy wife.
Enters the convent of the Poor Clares after being widowed
Because of the great love that Saint Elizabeth had for the Eucharist, she dedicated herself to studying the lives of the saints most notable for their love of the Eucharist, especially Saint Clare. After becoming a widow, Saint Elizabeth stripped herself of all her wealth. He undertook a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, where he gave the crown to the Archbishop to receive the habit of the Poor Clares as a tertiary. The Archbishop was so moved by this act of the saint that he gave her his silent pastoral care to help her on her return to Portugal.
She lived her last years in the convent, dedicated to Eucharistic adoration.
When war broke out between her son and her son-in-law, the king of Castile, Saint Isabel, despite her old age, undertook a very long journey along very dangerous roads and achieved peace. However the trip cost him his life. Feeling death approaching, she asked to be taken to the Poor Clares convent that she herself had founded. There he died invoking the Blessed Virgin on July 4, 1336.
God blessed his tomb with miracles. His body can be venerated in the Poor Clares convent in Coimbra. She was canonized in 1625. Saint Elizabeth is the patron saint of territories at war, Saint Elizabeth of Portugal, pray for peace in our countries.
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