Saint Who?
Saints Who Had Family Challenges
Saint Ferdinand III of Castile and León
Married layman († 1252) Feast: May 30
In the early 8th century, Muslims conquered the Iberian peninsula and established their own government. It took seven centuries for the Catholics of Spain to retake their land, and King Ferdinand III was an important leader during that long battle.
Ferdinand’s parents, Alfonso IX, King of León, and Berengaria, Princess of Castile, married to unite the Catholics who were living under Muslim rule. However, the pope later annulled their marriage because they were too closely related. Berengaria and her children were forced to separate from their father. Ferdinand later became king of Castile and had to face his own father in battle, but Ferdinand won. As king of León and Castile and with his astute, devout mother as an advisor, Ferdinand united the two kingdoms and proved his abilities as a military leader, attacking and laying siege to many cities until he had reconquered almost one-third of modern Spain.
Ferdinand’s messy family situation did not stop him from being happily married to Beatrice of Swabia and fathering their seven sons and three daughters. After Beatrice’s death, he remarried and had two more sons and another daughter. He was greatly lamented when he died, and he was buried, not in the robes of a king, but in the habit of a Franciscan tertiary.
Loving Father, help us fight for peace
and justice in our homes.
