Elizabeth of Portugal                                 wikipedia. commons

By Larry Peterson

Elizabeth was born in 1271 into the royal house of Aragon. St. Elizabeth of Hungary was her great-aunt, and baby Elizabeth was named after her. Her father was King Pedro III of Aragon, and his wife’s name was Constantia.

From a very early age, Elizabeth displayed a pronounced devotion to God. Her fasting, regular prayer, and a sense of strong will and determination were evident to all who knew her. At a young age, she was saying the complete Divine Office daily, fasted frequently, did varied types of penance, and attended Mass twice a day.

When Elizabeth was twelve years old, her parents betrothed her to King Denis of Portugal. The actual wedding did not take place until King Denis was twenty-six years old, and Elizabeth was seventeen. The union would put her faith, tolerance, and humility to the test. She became quickly aware of his infidelity, which was so rampant that it became scandalous in the kingdom. Denis and Elizabeth had two children together but, so reckless was his immorality, that he also fathered seven illegitimate children.

Elizabeth kept leaning on her faith by attending daily Mass, assisting the poor, the sick, strangers, and simply helping all those who came her way. Her husband demanded that she stop feeding the poor because he felt embarrassed by it. He once caught her carrying bread in her large apron and demanded she show him what was in it. When she opened the apron, dozens of red roses fell to the ground. To this day, Elizabeth of Portugal is still known as “Elizabeth of the miraculous roses.”

Elizabeth persevered and remained devoted to her philandering husband. She never lost faith and continued praying for his salvation. Her prayers and sacrifice were rewarded when, at last, King Denis gave up his life of sin. Denis also proved to be an actual conservationist for his time. He became known as the Farmer King because he planted a vast pine forest near the city of Leiria to prevent the relentless soil erosion that threatened the entire region.

Elizabeth’s commitment to the Gospel was always visible. Not only was she was devoted to the poor and sick, she insisted that the ladies who served her at court care for them as well. The queen was so committed that her bishop testified that Elizabeth had a personal ministry of secretly inviting lepers into her quarter. Once inside, she would bathe them and give them fresh clothing—even though the law of the land barred lepers from coming anywhere near the castle.

Elizabeth also took an active part in the politics of the day. In 1297, she became the peacemaker between her husband, King Denis, and Fernando IV of Castile. Her skills at negotiations helped secure the Treaty of Alcatrices, which established fixed borders between the two countries.

She found herself becoming the intermediary between her husband and her son, Alfonso. Prince Alfonso was one of their two children and had become jealous of the way his father was favoring his illegitimate children over him. The Prince gathered an army and was going to go to war against his father. As the two armies gathered together on the field of battle, Elizabeth suddenly came riding onto the battlefield, sitting on the back of a donkey. She placed herself between her husband and her son and calmly and logically had them mend their differences. The illegitimate son was sent into exile, and the Prince renewed his loyalty to his father, the King. Through the efforts of Elizabeth, peace returned to the land.

When King Denis died in 1325, Elizabeth returned to the monastery she had founded in 1314.. Inhabited by the Poor Clare Nuns, she joined the Third Order of St. Francis vowing to devote the rest of her life to the poor and sick. From that point on, that is precisely what she did.

In  1336, Elizabeth traveled a great distance to negotiate a peace between Alonso IV and King Alfonso of Castile. She was successful in her mission but the journey and efforts she made had taken their toll. She made it back home but immediately became bedridden. She died on July 4, 1336.

Elizabeth of Portugal earned the title of Peacemaker. Many testified to miracles accomplished through her intercession. She was canonized a saint on May 25, 1625 by Pope Urban VIII. Her feast day is July 4.

Ironically, King Denis, after repenting of his past sins, wrote this poem for his wife: It was the ultimate tribute he could give.

God made you without peer
In goodness of heart and speech
As your equal does not exist,
My love, my lady, I thus sing:
Had God so wished,
You’d made a great king.

Copyright© Larry Peterson2020