St. Elizabeth (Isabel) of Portugal was born in 1271 into the
House of Aragon. She was named after her great-aunt, St. Elizabeth of Hungary. At
a young age she showed religious fervor, saying the Daily Office, attending
daily Mass, and fasting.
In 1288, she married King Denis of Portugal. Denis was a
good ruler but not a particularly pious man. A page started a rumor about
another page and the queen. When the king heard the rumor, he was enraged. He
ordered a lime-burner to throw the first page he saw into the furnace then sent
the page who the rumor was about. The page, being devout, stopped for daily
Mass. But Mass had already started so he stayed at the church for the second Mass.
Meanwhile, the king sent the page who had started the rumor to go check with
the lime-burner that the job had been completed. As he was the first page the
lime-burner saw, the lime-burner threw the lying page into the furnace. The
king released the other page’s piety had saved him and that rumor was a lie. He
publicly apologized to Elizabeth and became a more devout man.
Elizabeth was well-known for her strong piety, her kindness
to the poor, and as a peacekeeper between family members and nations. She even served as an intermediary between Denis and their son Alfonso during a civil
war during 1322-1324. Legend says that at one point, she rode a mule and positioned
herself between opposing armies in order to prevent the combat.
After Denis’ death in 1325, she moved to a convent of the
Poor Clares and became a tertiary Franciscan.
She died in 1336. Her feast day is July 4, although in the
United States it is transferred to July 5 because of the national holiday.
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