Benedict XVI has recognized fewer saints than his predecessor, and so the canonization of Friar Nuno this Sunday 26 April, third Sunday of Easter provides a more rare opportunity for us to reflect on the nature of our Christian vocation by considering the lives of others and the paths they took in life.

Not unlike our old friend St. Ignatius, Nuno Álvares Pereira was a chivalrous youth and the emblematic events of his life provide us an entrée into the enduring power of loyalty, honor and courage – and the mysterious transition that some people experience that takes them from a very worldly life into a new life in the spirit.

The year is 1384 and the place is late medieval Portugal.  King Ferdinand has died and the only heir to the throne is his 12 year old daughter Beatriz, who has been married off to King Juan I of Castile.  In the name of his child bride, Juan of Castile claims the throne of Portugal and in defensive retaliation the council in Coimbra meets to consider recognizing Ferdinand’s illegitimate half-brother João as king of their still independent nation.

Nuno Álvares Pereira is an early supporter of this move to secure Portugal’s continued independence.  Although he is only 23 years old, Nuno has already been in military service for ten years and he is known and respected as a professional soldier and a man of honor.  The new merchant class in Lisbon, intent on maintaining its Portuguese identity, vocally confirms Nuno as commander of Portugal armies and navies. In the meantime, João is accused of murdering his father’s chancellor and in the chaos the regent widow Leonor Teles flees to Castile, where she joins her daughter Beatriz and King Juan.  Although there is some division of loyalties, the nobility in Porto, Coimbra, and Évora share in the common people’s desire for a secure Portugal.  War is imminent.

The Castilians move a large army across the frontier but our hero, the future Friar Nuno, meets and engages the invading force.  Although he is greatly outnumbered, General Nuno overwhelmingly defeats the invading Castilians at the Battle of Atoleiros.

But King Juan refuses to surrender his claim to the throne and again in 1385 he moves an army into Portugal.  Once again he is checked by Nuno and their forces engage in the great Battle of Aljubarrota. Legend has it that on his way to the battlefield, Nuno stops to pray on the plains of Fatima and as he prays his horse kneels down as if to join him in his petitions. (Many centuries later this would be the very same land where the Blessed Virgin Mary appears to three shepherd children.) Greatly outnumbered once again, Nuno defeats the invading armies.   As a result of his military success, João is crowned King of Portugal and the House of Aviz is founded.  It will rule the Portuguese as they move into their great era of exploration.

Like King Ferdinand of Portugal, Nuno has but a single daughter and she marries the son of King João.  Beatriz Pereira de Alvim would become the unlikely great-grandmother and ancestor of some of Europe’s most memorable monarchs from Isabella of Castile to Philip II of Spain and Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire to Catherine of Aragon – and even Mary, Queen of Scots.

After the death of his wife Leonor de Alvim, Nuno gives away all his possessions and titles and enters religious life as a Carmelite, taking the name Friar Nuno de Santa Maria. As a brother he teaches many people about the Blessed Virgin Mary and becomes even more famous as a religious then he had been as a soldier and defender of Portugal.

St. Nuno de Santa Maria’s new feast day is November 6th.