Subj : June 5th - Bl. Ferdinand of Portugal To : All From : rich Date : Tue Jun 04 2019 08:53:39 From: rich June 5th - Bl. Ferdinand of Portugal (Also known as Bl. Ferdinand the Constant.) d 1443) IT is as the hero of one of the finest plays of the great Spanish dramatist Calderon that Prince Ferdinand the Constant is best known to the world to-day. He was born at Santarem on September 29, 1402. His father was King John I of Portugal, and his mother was Philippa, daughter of John of Gaunt; he was therefore a great-grandson of King Edward III of England. Even as a child he was devout, and although he was delicate and often prostrated by illness, he always led an austere disciplined life. From the age of 14, he regularly recited the canonical hours, according to the Use of Sarum--a practice he must have learnt from his English mother--and he was untouched by the temptations and dissipations of court life. The death of his father left him so ill-provided that his eldest brother Edward (Duarte) conferred on him the grand-mastership of the Knights of Aviz, an order which had originally been formed under the name of the New Militia to fight the Moors. The pope had granted a dispensation to the Portuguese princes allowing them, though laymen, to occupy the post, but the office was primarily an ecclesiastical one, and Ferdinand only accepted it with reluctance. At one time he wanted to settle in England where he was assured of a welcome from his Lancastrian cousins; King Edward, however, refused to allow his brother to leave Portugal. Soon afterwards Pope Eugenius IV sent a legate to offer the prince the cardinal's hat, but again Ferdinand's scruples stood in the way, and he declined the honour, on the plea that he could not take that burden upon his conscience. It was perhaps largely at Ferdinand's persuasion and in opposition to the advice both of their brother, Dom Pedro, and of Pope Eugenius, that King Edward determined to send an expedition against the Moors in Africa under the leadership of his two brothers, Henry the Navigator and Ferdinand. Although the latter was ill when they embarked, he made light of it for fear of delay. They arrived at Ceuta with less than half the forces the king had ordered, but they would not wait for reinforcements. Their object was to take Tangier, and they attacked with reckless courage. The result was disastrous. The Portuguese could only save themselves by accepting humiliating terms, leaving Ferdinand as a hostage in the hands of the enemy with 12 others, one of whom was his secretary and future biographer Alvarez, he was conveyed to Arzilla where he was laid low by illness for 7 months. At first he does not appear to have been very badly treated. When, however, it became known that the Portuguese would not ratify the treaty which required the surrender of Ceuta, the Moors vented their indignation upon their hostage. In May, 1438, he was removed from Arzilla and taken to Fez, where his lot became a pitiable one. Loaded with chains and constantly threatened with death, he spent his days doing heavy menial work in stables and gardens, and his nights in a verminous prison. Yet he never complained, nor did he ever speak a harsh word against the Moors. He was far more concerned for his followers than for himself, and refused to attempt escape because it would mean leaving them and rendering them liable to worse treatment. Great efforts were made by his brothers to ransom him, but the Moors refused to release him except in exchange for Ceuta. During the last 15 months of his life he had still harder trials to face. He was separated from his attendants and thrown into a bare and airless dungeon. Towards the sixth year of his captivity, it became evident that he had not long to live. He was still kept in prison, but a doctor, a priest, and a few other Christians were allowed, one at a time, to visit him. Shortly before his death he was strengthened by a vision of our Lady, the Archangel Michael and St John the Evangelist. He passed from prison darkness to everlasting light on June 5, 1443. After his death his body was exposed head downwards on the city wall. When Alvarez, in 1451, regained his freedom, he carried his master's heart back to Portugal, and in 1463 the prince's bones were also brought to his native land, where they were deposited in the church of our Lady at Batalha, in the diocese of Leira. Bl. Ferdinand's cultus was allowed by the Holy See in 1470. There is a Portuguese life by his devoted follower, John Alvarez: Chronica dos feitos, vida e morte do Iffante D. Fernando (Lisboa, 1577): a Latin translation is printed in the Acta Sanctorum, June, vol. i.... Saint Quote: Let us trust in him who has placed this burden upon us. What we ourselves cannot bear let us bear with the help of Christ. For he is all-powerful, and he tells us: "My yoke is easy, and my burden light." -- Saint Boniface Bible Quote: "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."=C2 [1 Corinthians 15:58] <><><><> Visit, We Beg You, O Lord (Visita, Quaesumus, Domine) Visit, we beg you, O Lord, this dwelling, and drive from it all snares of the enemy: let your Holy Angels dwell herein, to keep us in peace; and let your blessing be always upon us. Through Christ our Lord.=C2 Amen. -- Roman Breviary --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4) .