Daily Martyrology for July 4

In 1336, St. Elizabeth of Portugal. The daughter of King Pedro II of Aragon, she was married to King Diniz of Portugal. He was an able ruler, but fathered a number of children out of wedlock. Elizabeth saw to their upbringing. She tried to mediate between her husband, their son Alfonso, and King Ferdinand IV of Aragon. She was very active on behalf of the poor, and when her husband died she went to live with the Poor Clares at Coïmbra.

In 740, St. Andrew of Crete. He was born in Damascus and became a monk of Saint Sabas. Around 700 he was appointed archbishop of Crete. He is renowned for his sermons and hymns.

In 973, St. Ulrich of Augsburg, bishop. He was educated at Saint Gall, where he knew St. Wiborada. He became a priest and in 923, bishop of Augsburg. After the Magyars invaded in 926, murdering St. Wiborada and plundering Augsburg, Ulrich set about rebuilding the city. He founded the monastery of St. Stephen in 968 and restored the monastery of Saint Afra. Each day he visited the hospital in Augsburg to wash the feet of twelve poor people and distribute alms. He resigned his see in 972 to become a monk, and died the next year. He was the first person to be formally canonized by a pope.

In 1836, at Mauriac, in France, Blessed Catherine Jarrige. She was a lacemaker, who begged funds from the rich and gave them to the poor. During the French Revolution she helped many priests escape the guillotine.

In 1925, Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. The son of a prominent political figure, he studied engineering in Turin and became active in Catholic Action and in anti-Fascist movements. He contracted polio and died in 1925.

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Our daily martyrology was written by Fr. Hugh Feiss, OSB. Copyright © 2008 by the Monastery of the Ascension, Jerome, ID 83338.