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Also known as
The Peacemaker; Isabel of Portugal; Isabella of Portugal
Memorial
4 July; formerly 8 July
Profile
Princess. Daughter of King Pedro III of Aragon and Constantia;
great-granddaughter of Emperor Frederick II. Great-niece of Saint
Elizabeth of Hungary, for whom she was named. Pious upbringing with daily
liturgy and praying of the hours, regular religious instruction and
education. Married at age twelve to King Diniz of Portugal, and thus Queen
of Portugal before she was a teenager.
The king was known for his hard work, his poetic nature, and his lack of
morals. Elizabeth suffered through years of abuse and adultery, praying
all the while for his conversion, and working with the poor and sick.
Mother of two, Princess Constantia and Prince Affonso. She sometimes
convinced the ladies of the court to work with her, but most of the time
she just incurred their jealousy and ill will. The king appears to have
reformed late in life, though whether from Elizabeth's faith or his
imminent death is unknown.
The Prince Affonso rebelled against the favors Diniz bestowed on his
illegitimate sons, and in 1323 forces of the king and prince clashed in
open civil war. Though she had been unjustly accused of siding with her
son against the crown, Elizabeth 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 invoked in time of war and
conflict.
Widowed in 1325. After the king's death, she distributed her property to
the poor, became a Franciscan tertiary, and retired to a monastery of Poor
Clares she had founded at Coimbra.
In 1336 her son, now King Affonso IV, marched against his son-in-law, the
King of Castile to punish him for being a negligent and abusive husband.
Despite her age and ill health, Elizabeth hurried to the battlefield at
Estremoz, and again managed to make peace in her family, and thus maintain
peace in her land.
Born
1271 at Aragon, Spain
Died
4 July 1336 at Estremoz of fever; buried at Coimbra; miracles reported at
her tomb
Canonized
1625 by Pope Urban VIII
Patronage
against jealousy, brides, charitable societies, charitable workers,
charities, difficult marriages, falsely accused people, invoked in time of
war, peace, queens, tertiaries, victims of adultery, victims of jealousy,
victims of unfaithfulness, widows
Representation
Franciscan nun rose in her hand; Franciscan nun with a beggar nearby;
Franciscan nun with a jug in her hand; Franciscan tertiary nun; woman
carrying roses in her lap in winter; woman crowned with roses
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