SAINT ISABELLE OF FRANCE

Feast Day - February 26

Lived(1224 -1270)

Patron Saint of the Sick

Isabelle was the sister of King Saint Louis IX of France. Her mother, the saintly Queen Blanche of Castile, bore this child special affection because, after the death of her husband, King Louis VIII, Isabella was the only daughter still living. Her cousin was King Saint Fernando III of Castile and Leon. Isabella was endowed with remarkable gifts, and special attention was paid to educate her in the requirements of her high position. She knew Latin perfectly and could read the writings of the Fathers of the Church in that language. She was, however, no less capable in accomplishments that are peculiarly feminine. With consummate artistry she embroidered vestments for divine services, and took great pleasure in working for the poor and the sick.

The princess loved and honoured her brother Saint Louis, who was her senior by ten years and had then been king for many a year. But her love for God was still greater. One day she was knitting a new-fashioned nightcap. The king asked her to give it to him when finished.

“No,” she said, “this is the first of its kind and I must make it for my Saviour Jesus Christ.”

Accordingly, she gave it to a poor sick person, and then made another for the king.

Her life in the royal palace was as retired as that of a nun in her convent. Hardly ever did she speak at mealtime. The choicest food she sent to the sick, and she ate so little even of the ordinary food that it was remarkable how she could live. Saint Isabella of France fasted three days every week. All the court considered the princess a saint. One of the court ladies, who wrote her life, says,

“We beheld in her a mirror of innocence, and at the same time an admirable model of penance, a lily of purity, a fragrant rose of patience and self-renunciation, and endless fountain of goodness and mercy.”

She was beatified by Pope Leo X in 1521 and canonized by Pope Innocent XII in 1696.