«OPUS DECUSQUE REGIUM RELIQUERAS». – Hymn of Lauds in the Office of s. Elisabetta regina del Portogallo (8 July), written by Urban VIII, who had canonized her in 1625.
The hymn is entirely a prayer to the Saint who, scorning riches and honors, devoted herself to the service of God and, not enticed by the greatnesses of earth, enjoys in heaven the well-deserved reward. May she also obtain for us unity and charity in our works, as the miracle of the roses suggests.
BIBL.: G. G. Belli, Gli inni del breviario tradotti, Rome 1857, p. 278; C. Albin, La poésie du bréviaire romain, Lyons n.d., p. 94; A. Mirra, Gli inni del breviario romano, Naples 1947, pp. 225–26. Silverio Mattei