Feast day: July 4
Saint Elizabeth, born in 1271, was the daughter of the king of Aragon in Spain. As a young person, she learned self-discipline and acquired a taste for spirituality. At the age of just 12, she was married to Denis, the king of Portugal. She was a devoted wife, attended daily Mass, and looked for any and every opportunity to serve and help strangers, immigrants, the poor, and the sick.
Her virtue served her well during her adult years, when she became a peacemaker in her family and among the royal leaders of her day. She brought about peace between her son and her husband; between the king and his cousin who claimed the crown; and between her son, when he became the king of Portugal, and his son-in-law, the king of Castile.
She was canonized in 1625.
(Image in public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)