Elizabeth, Queen of Portugal, Saint

ELISABETTA, queen of PORTUGAL, saint. - Daughter of Pietro III of Aragon and of Costanza, granddaughter of Emperor Federico II, and related to St. Elisabetta of Hungary, she was born in 1271 and died at Estremoz on 4 July 1336. At scarcely twelve years of age she was sought in marriage by the heirs apparent of England and Naples, but King Dionisio of Portugal was preferred. She distinguished herself by great charity toward the poor and the sick, sometimes rewarded by God with extraordinary prodigies. When King Dionisio died in 1325, she withdrew into private life, wearing the habit of the Franciscan Third Order. She died after a long and arduous journey to Estremoz, undertaken to reconcile her son Alfonso IV with her grandson Alfonso XI of Castile. Canonized by Urbano VIII in 1625, her feast is celebrated on 8 July.