St. Elizabeth of Portugal Church, Sacramento, CA

Address: 1817 12th Street, Sacramento, California 95811

Website: https://www.stelizabethsac.org/

Overview
The historic church of Saint Elizabeth of Portugal is located approximately one-half mile south of the California State Capitol in Sacramento; and was placed on the State Point of Historic Interest list in 1983 as the oldest Portuguese National Church west of New England. The lovely church with the twin-spired façade sits diagonally on the corner of 12th and S streets. Inside one will find beautiful statues and stained-glass windows in the restored church – particularly images special to the Portuguese people including Our Lady of Fatima and Saint Elizabeth (Isabel) of Portugal. The church building is generally locked at times other than when Masses are held. Weekday Masses are scheduled at 7 a.m. each day; and weekend Masses are held on Saturday evening and twice on Sunday including a service in Portuguese.

Special things to see in the Church
> The unusual diagonal placement of the cross-gabled, twin-spired structure on the corner
> Statues and stained-glass scenes of Saints and the Blessed Mother related to Portugal, including 2 images of Our Lady of Fatima who appeared in Portugal; and the parish patroness, Saint Elizabeth (Isabel) of Portugal
> Statue of Our Lady of Aparecida who is the patroness of Brazil – a former Portuguese colony
> Historic marble back altar, the altar table and side altars with beautiful Roman columns and decorative edging
> Glowing stained glass window designs by a maker who worked in the New York studios of Louis C. Tiffany

Interesting Fact About the Church
St. Elizabeth’s is now the oldest Portuguese National Church west of New England and the only one north of San Jose. A National Church is sometimes designated by the Catholic Church for an area with a large ethnic population. Most churches have parishes defined by geographical boundaries and the faithful of that region attend that church for all activities including baptisms, weddings, funerals, etc. However, with an ethnic National Church, people from that ethnic group, no matter in which “geographic parish” that they live, can belong to the National Church. Services at St. Elizabeth’s are conducted in the language of the ethnic group (Portuguese) and the church is staffed by members of the ethnic group (current chaplain is Rev. Eduino T. Silveira)