Nuno Álvares Pereira
Nuno Álvares Pereira | |
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Constable of Portugal | |
Count of Barcelos, Ourém, and Arraiolos | |
In office 6 April 1385 – 1 November 1431 | |
Monarch | John I of Portugal |
Preceded by | Álvaro Pires de Castro |
Succeeded by | John of Portugal |
Lord High Steward | |
In office 6 April 1385 – 1 November 1431 | |
Monarch | John I of Portugal |
Preceded by | Garcia Rodrigues de Taborda |
Succeeded by | Diogo Lopes de Sousa |
Personal details | |
Born | 24 June 1360 Convent of the Carmelites, Lisbon , Portugal |
OCarm | |
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Venerated in | Catholic Church |
Beatified | 23 January 1918, Vatican City by Pope Benedict XV |
Canonized | 26 April 2009, Vatican City by Pope Benedict XVI |
Major shrine | Church of Santa Engrácia |
Feast | 6 November |
Attributes | Knight, sword, fleur-de-lis, Carmelite habit |
Nuno Álvares Pereira is often referred to as the Saint Constable (Portuguese: Santo Condestável) or as Saint Nuno of Saint Mary (Portuguese: São Nuno de Santa Maria), his religious name.[2] He was count of Barcelos, Ourém and Arraiolos.
Family
Nuno Álvares Pereira was born on 24 June 1360 in
About a year after his birth, the child was legitimised by royal decree[4] and so he was able to receive a knightly education typical of the offspring of the noble families of the time.
At 13 years of age he became page to Queen
Military life
Álvares Pereira began military service in 1373, when he was only 13, and helped stop an invasion from Castile. However, according to his own words, his first military campaigns were no more than skirmishes on the borders of Portugal. He was an impetuous and brave young man who soon showed himself to be an excellent leader.
When King Ferdinand I of Portugal died in 1383, his only heir was Beatrice, married to King John I of Castile. In order to preserve Portuguese independence, the nobles supported the claim of King Ferdinand's half-brother John, Master of Aviz to the throne. After his first victory over the Castilians, in the Battle of Atoleiros (April 1384), John of Aviz named Nuno Álvares Pereira protector and constable of Portugal, in practice supreme commander of Portugal's armies, and count of Ourém.[5] He was only 24 years old.
Álvares Pereira used guerrilla tactics trying to dislodge the Castilian army besieging Lisbon in 1384 but plague finally drove them away.[6]
In April 1385, John of Aviz was recognized as king by the Cortes. This triggered an invasion of the country by King John I of Castile in support of his wife's rights to the throne. Nuno Álvares Pereira was engaged against the northern cities loyal to the Castilians. During this time of war, he fed the hungry populations of his Castilian opposition at his own expense.[5]
On 14 August 1385, at
After the
Not wanting to give the enemy room to manoeuvre, the king of Portugal and his supreme general took the offensive and raided several Castilian towns, defeating once again a much larger Castilian army at the Battle of Valverde.[4] He continued to watch out for the king of Castile until his death in 1390. When hostilities ended, he gave the bulk of his wealth to the veterans.[2]
Religious life
After the death of his wife, he became a
During the last year of his life, King John I went to visit and embrace him for the last time. He wept for he considered Nuno Álvares Pereira his closest friend, the man who had put him on the throne and saved his country's independence.
Nuno Álvares Pereira's tomb was lost in the famous 1755 Lisbon earthquake. His epitaph read:
"Here lies that famous Nuno, the Constable, founder of the House of Bragança, excellent general, blessed monk, who during his life on earth so ardently desired the Kingdom of Heaven that after his death, he merited the eternal company of the Saints. His worldly honors were countless, but he turned his back on them. He was a great Prince, but he made himself a humble monk. He founded, built and endowed this church in which his body rests."
Legacy
Álvares Pereira was
Álvares Pereira had been on the point of being canonised by decree in 1940 by Pope
On 3 July 2008
The Blessed Nuno Society is a mission society and prayer apostolate officially recognized by the Catholic Church as a diocesan Private Association of the Christian Faithful and affiliated with, the Catholic Diocese of Duluth, Minnesota.[5]
See also
- Saint Nuno Álvares Pereira, patron saint archive
References
- ^ "26 April 2009: Holy Mass for the Canonization of Arcangelo Tadini, Bernardo Tolomei, Nuno de Santa Maria Alvares Pereira, Gertrude Comensoli and Caterina Volpicelli | BENEDICT XVI". www.vatican.va.
- ^ a b c d "Nuno De Santa Maria Álvares Pereira (1360-1431) - Biography". vatican.va.
- ^ a b c "St. Nuno Alvares Pereira, Religious (M)". THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE CARMELITE ORDER. Archived from the original on 2018-01-01. Retrieved 2013-03-27.
- ^ a b c d "Cronologia da vida de Santo Condestável" (in Portuguese). Secretariado Nacional da Pastoral da Cultura.
- ^ a b c d "Biography of Blessed Nuno of St. Mary". blessednuno.org. Archived from the original on 2013-08-15. Retrieved 2013-03-27.
- ^ "Insight Scoop - The Ignatius Press Blog". typepad.com.
- ^ "The Canonization of Dom Nuno de Santa Maria Alvares Pereira". carmelitereview.org.
- ^ Index ac status causarum beatificationis servorum dei et canonizationis beatorum (in Latin). Typis polyglottis vaticanis. January 1953. p. 179.
- ^ Comments by the Postulator General Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine Centrum Informationalis Totius Ordinis Carmelitorum (CITOC), No. 3 – May–June 2000 (English edition)]
External links
- Biography at Vatican News Service
- Rutler, Fr. George, "Saint Nuno of Saint Mary (archived 13 July 2013)