May 30 Saint Ferdinand/San Fernando Rey -CA Mission

 Saint Ferdinand III, King of Castile and Galicia-Leon (Spain)

An outline of his life and accomplishments:

1199 Born at the monastery of Valparaíso near Salamanca

Parents: King Alfonso IX of Leon and Berengaria, daughter of King Alfonso III of Castile/granddaughter of Henry II of England/sister of Blanche the mother of Louis:

St. Louis, King of France, was his first cousin

1217 Became King of Castile at age eighteen

1219 Married Elisabeth of Hohenstaufen, known as Beatrice, daughter of King Philip of Swabia, Germany; Had eight children: seven princes and one princess. (Two additional girls died in infancy.)

1221 Began construction of the Cathedral of Burgos.

1225 For twenty-seven years he crusaded against the Saracen Moors in Spain. He refused to burden his people with an exorbitant war tax, saying: “God will not fail me, and I fear more the curse of one poor old woman than the whole army of the Moors.”  His sword was named Lobera

1230 Became King of Galicia-Leon, upon the death of his father

1233 Captured the town of Ubeda.

1236 Took back Cordoba from the Moors

1237 Married Joan of Ponthieu after the death of Beatrice. Became Count of Aumale and later, Count of Ponthieu.

Daughter Eleanor married King Edward I of England

1243 Founded the University of Salamanca

1249 Drove the Moors from Seville

Re-conquered all of Andalusia, except for Granada.

Austere in his piety, he was devoted to penance and religious exercises (like wearing a hairshirt) and joined the Third Order Franciscans.

1252 Died on May 30^th, at age fifty-three and was buried in the Seville cathedral in the habit of a friar minor (OFM).

His eldest son Alfonso X succeeded him on the throne.

1671 Canonized a saint

 A man of great faith and devotion, especially to Our Lady, Ferdinand founded and funded hospitals, bishoprics, monasteries, and churches. He reformed Spanish law and compiled it into a form used for centuries after. An excellent administrator and just ruler, often pardoning those who worked against the crown. Strove always to use his power to better his people and his nation.

St. Joan of Arc was also Third Order Franciscan!