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Birth:          4 Jan 1271 Zaragoza, Spain
Death:          4 Jul 1336 Estremoz, Pevora, Portugal
Burial:         Convento de Santa Clara, Coimbra, Portugal

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_of_Aragon
Elizabeth of Aragon, also known as Elizabeth of Portugal,[2] T.O.S.F. (1271 – 4 July 
1336; Elisabet in Catalan, Isabel in Aragonese, Portuguese and Spanish), was queen 
consort of Portugal, a tertiary of the Franciscan Order and is venerated as a saint of 
the Roman Catholic Church.
Family and early life[edit]

Born in 1271 into the royal house of Aragon,[3] Elizabeth was the daughter of Infante 
Peter (later King King Peter III) and his wife Constance of Sicily and the sister of three 
kings: Alfonso II and James II of Aragon and Frederick III of Sicily.

Elizabeth showed an early enthusiasm for her faith. She said the full Divine Office 
daily, fasted and did other penance, as well as attended twice-daily choral Masses. 
Religious fervor was common in her family, as she could count several members of her 
family who were already venerated as saints. The most notable example is her great-
aunt, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, after whom she was named.

Marriage[edit]
Her marriage to King Denis of Portugal was arranged in 1281 when she was 10 years 
old, receiving the towns of Óbidos, Abrantes and Porto de Mós as part of her dowry.
[4] It was only in 1288 that the wedding was celebrated, when Denis was 26 years 
old, while Elizabeth was 17.[4] Denis, a poet and statesman, was known as the Rei 
Lavrador (English: Farmer King), because he planted a large pine forest near Leiria to 
prevent the soil degradation that threatened the region.

Elizabeth quietly pursued the regular religious practices of her youth and was devoted 
to the poor and sick. Naturally, such a life was a reproach to many around her and 
caused ill will in some quarters. Eventually, her prayer and patience succeeded in 
converting her husband, who had been leading a sinful life.[5]

Elizabeth took an active interest in Portuguese politics and was a decisive conciliator 
during the negotiations concerning the Treaty of Alcańices, signed by Denis and 
Sancho IV of Castile in 1297 (which fixed the borders between the two countries). In 
1304, the Queen and Denis returned to Spain to arbitrate between Fernando IV of 
Castile and James II of Aragon, brother of Elizabeth.[4]

She had two children:
a daughter named Constance, who married King Ferdinand IV of Castile;
a son Afonso (who later became King Afonso IV of Portugal).
Elizabeth would serve as intermediary between her husband and Afonso, during the 
Civil War between 1322 and 1324. The Infante greatly resented the king, whom he 
accused of favoring the king's illegitimate son, Afonso Sanches. Repulsed to 
Alenquer, which supported the Infante, Denis was prevented from killing his son 
through the intervention of the Queen. As legend holds, in 1323, Elizabeth, mounted 
on a mule, positioned herself between both opposing armies on the field of Alvalade in 
order to prevent the combat. Peace returned in 1324, once the illegitimate son was 
sent into exile, and the Infante swore loyalty to the king.[4]
Dowager Queen[edit]
 
After Denis' death in 1325, Elizabeth retired to the monastery of the Poor Clare nuns, 
now known as the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha (which she had founded in 1314) 
in Coimbra. She joined the Third Order of St. Francis, devoting the rest of her life to 
the poor and sick in obscurity.[5] During the great famine in 1293, she donated flour 
from her cellars to the starving in Coimbra, but was also known for modest in her 
dress, humble in conversation, habit to provide lodging for pilgrims, distributing small 
gifts, paying the dowries of poor girls, educating the children of poor nobles, and was 
a benefactor of various hospitals (Coimbra, Santarém and Leiria) and of religious 
projects (such as the Trinity Convent in Lisbon, chapels in Leiria and Óbidos, and the 
cloister in Alcobaça.[6]

She was called to act once more as a peacemaker in 1336, when Afonso IV marched 
his troops against King Alfonso XI of Castile, to whom he had married his daughter 
Maria, and who had neglected and ill-treated her. In spite of age and weakness, the 
Queen-dowager insisted on hurrying to Estremoz, where the two kings' armies were 
drawn up. She again stopped the fighting and caused terms of peace to be arranged. 
But the exertion brought on her final illness. As soon as her mission was completed, 
she took to her bed with a fever from which she died on 4 July, in the castle of 
Estremoz. She earned the title of Peacemaker on account of her efficacy in solving 
disputes.[5]

Although Denis' tomb was located in Odivelas, Elizabeth was buried in the Convent of 
Santa Clara in Coimbra,[3] in a magnificent Gothic sarcophagus. After frequent 
flooding by the Mondego River in the 17th century, the Poor Clares moved her mortal 
remains to the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Nova (also in Coimbra). Her body was 
transferred to the main chapel, where it was buried in a sarcophagus of silver and 
crystal.

Sainthood[edit]

She was beatified in 1526 and canonized by Pope Urban VIII on 25 May 1625.[7] Her 
feast was inserted in the General Roman Calendar for celebration on 4 July. In the 
year 1694 Pope Innocent XII moved her feast to 8 July, so it would not conflict with 
the celebration of the Octave of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles.[8] In 1955, Pope 
Pius XII abolished this octave.[9] The 1962 Roman Missal changed the rank of the 
feast from "Double" to "Third-Class Feast".[10] The 1969 revision of the Calendar 
classified the celebration as an optional memorial and restored it to 4 July. Her feast is 
also kept on the Franciscan Calendar of Saints. Since the establishment in 1819 of 
the Diocese of San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Saint Elizabeth is the co-patron of the 
diocese and of its Cathedral pursuant to the papal bull issued by Pope Pius VII.[11]

Iconography[edit]

St. Elizabeth is usually depicted in royal garb with a dove or an olive branch.[3]

Popular culture[edit]

She was the subject of a 1947 Portuguese-Spanish film The Holy Queen in which she 
was played by Maruchi Fresno.

Parents
OF ARAGON Pedro III "the Great" (1239 - 2 Nov 1285)
OF SICILY Constance (Costanza) (1249 - 1302)

Siblings
____ Elizabeth (Isabel) (4 Jan 1271 - 4 Jul 1336)

Marriage To ____ Diniz (Denis) "the Just" (9 Oct 1261 - 7 Jan 1325)
    m. 1282 

Notes

Parents
____ Alfonso III "the Restorer" (5 May 1210 - 16 Feb 1279)
____ Beatrix (1242 - 27 Oct 1303)

Children by ____ Diniz (Denis) "the Just" 9 Oct 1261 - 7 Jan 1325
DINISEZ Constanca (3 Jan 1290 - 18 Nov 1313)
DINISEZ Affonso IV "the Brave" (8 Feb 1291 - 28 May 1357)

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