St. Isabel of Portugal

Also known in English as St. Elizabeth of Portugal.

A Strange Coincidence

A friend of mine chose St. Isabel as her patron saint for the year.

She couldn't find any books about St. Isabel. I found one through Canisius' Interlibrary Loan. It arrived just in time for the Friday "Calling All Catholics" show on 27 January.

I scanned the book before leaving campus. I found this Interlibrary loan request from August 2, 1989, tucked into the pages of the book.

I was teaching at LeMoyne College that year. When I found the request to borrow the book on behalf of Aristedes Mendez, I wondered whether that was the last time anyone read the book. I also made a mental note of the customer's name, thinking that I might bump into him some day.

When I came home from the radio show, I looked at our Facebook page, as usual, to round out the afternoon by thanking people for participating in the show. I was very surprised to see an Aristedes Mendes among those who liked today's show.

I've sent a message to our Facebook Aristedes to see if he is the one who requested the book in 1989.

I have no interpretation of this coincidence. Right now, it's just one of those small-world stories.