(C.D. Stampley Enterprises, Charlotte, NC 2001). Used with permission.

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For healing family rifts

St. Elizabeth of Portugal (1271-1336)

Feast day: July 4

Squabbling families pray to St. Elizabeth of Portugal who tried to reconcile her husband and her son, and restore peace when other members of her family waged war on one another.

Many parents name their child after a favorite saint or a beloved relative. Elizabeth of Portugal was named for both. When King Pedro III of Aragon and Queen Constanza brought their infant daughter to the baptismal font, they gave her the name of her great-aunt, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, who had been canonized 36 years earlier.

Elizabeth grew up in her family's palace in Saragossa where she received the type of education that was completely conventional for the time. She was taught to read and write and embroider; she learned some Latin, as well as music and poetry. Someone, perhaps one of her servants, showed Elizabeth the rudiments of the healing arts. And of course, she was also encouraged to be pious. All of this was intended merely as a veneer, a social polish necessary for any princess who hoped to marry a king.

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Elizabeth's wedding day came in 1283, when she was only twelve years old. Her groom was Dinis, the twenty-year-old king of Portugal. Today such a match is shocking, but child brides were commonplace in the Middle Ages. Among royal families every marriage was a political alliance, and the sooner the alliance was sealed at the altar, the better.

Seven years passed before Elizabeth gave birth to her first child, Constanza. The following year, 1291, she and Dinis had a son whom they named Alfonso.

We should not be surprised that it took Elizabeth and Dinis so long to start a family. A twenty-year-old man is not likely to show much interest in a twelve-year-old girl. Besides, Dinis was far from lonely. He had a string of mistresses. By the time he died, Dinis had fathered seven (some sources say nine) illegitimate children, all of whom he acknowledged. In fact, he brought them to the palace and commanded Elizabeth to bring them up.

Yet Dinis was not an ogre. He tried to be a good king: he improved the code of law in Portugal, founded the country's first university at Coimbra, and collaborated with his wife in building churches and religious houses. Some historians have looked on Dinis' reign as a golden age for medieval Portugal.

Whatever historians may think of Dinis, his family had a different view, born out of his callous disregard for their feelings. Surrounded by his father's royal bastards, Prince Alfonso grew up angry and resentful. When Dinis showed too much attention to one of his illegitimate sons, Alfonso Sanchez, Prince Alfonso lost control. Fearing that he would lose his right to the throne, the prince plotted to murder his half-brother, depose his father, and seize the throne. The plot failed, and it took all of Elizabeth's persuasive powers to keep Dinis from punishing the prince.

By interceding for Alfonso, however, Elizabeth aroused Dinis' suspicion and paranoia. He became convinced that Elizabeth was in league with the prince to do away with him. Dinis sent his wife away from the court and kept her under house arrest in a distant castle in Alenquer. Several nobles were so outraged by Elizabeth's unjust exile they went Alenquer and offered to raise an army to free her. Elizabeth declined the nobles' offer, and delivered a mild rebuke at the same time, "My primary obligation," she said, "and the obligation of all vassals, is to obey the commands of the king, our lord."

Elizabeth never did manage to dispel the animosity between Dinis and Alfonso. Four times she intervened to reconcile her embittered son with his callous father. On two other occasions she stepped in to stop wars raging between other members of her family.

Elizabeth nursed the king in his final illness, never losing the heroic patience that was the dominant feature of her character. When Dinis knew he was dying, he asked to see his illegitimate children. Elizabeth herself brought them to the king. After he said good-bye to the children he probably loved best, he summoned his heir, Alfonso, to his bedside and charged him, "Look after your mother and my lady, the queen, for she remains alone. Stand by her, as is your duty.... Think that having given you life, and for the many tears you have cost her, she is twice your mother."

Dinis I died in 1325 at the age of 63. We do not know if he ever begged Elizabeth's forgiveness for all the pain he had caused her. We do know that when Dinis' will was read, it was found that he had made Elizabeth his executor. If he could not show his trust and esteem for Elizabeth in life, at least Dinis displayed it after death.

Following Dinis' funeral, Elizabeth took off her finery and put on the rough habit of a Franciscan sister. She moved into a small house beside the convent of the Poor Clares at Coimbra where she built a hospital dedicated to her aunt, St. Elizabeth of Hungary. The widowed queen worked in the wards everyday, often caring for the most repulsive cases herself.

Queen Elizabeth died on July 4, 1336. Her last words were a prayer to the Blessed Virgin: "From the foe shield us; in the hour of death take us."

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Prayer to the saints is a powerful thing.

Now, with Saints for Every Occasion, readers can quickly find help for any challenge they face – no matter how large or small. Author Thomas J. Craughwell profiles 101 patron saints from various continents, cultures and times – from saints who were contemporaries of Christ, to modern patrons like Padre Pio and Faustina Kowalska. Each saint lived heroically in difficult times and circumstances, providing powerful examples of how to turn almost any obstacle into a source of grace. Along with old favorites such as St. Anthony and St. Jude, Craughwell offers patrons for specifically modern concerns, including, for example, saints to watch over astronauts, internet users and environmental activists. Beautifully illustrated and entertainingly told, Saints for Every Occasion features 101 patron saints readers will seek out time and again.

“An excellent resource for home and classroom use.” – Publisher’s Weekly {/tabs}