Ferdinand III the Saint

[CyrilSebastian]

               Ferdinand III (1199 or 1201-1252) was King of Castile from 1217 to 1252.     
               He had the Cathedral of Burgos erected.   
               He was a patron of the mendicant orders. Mendicant orders are religious orders   
               which depend directly on charity for their livelihood.     
               Ferdinand III's feast day is May 30.

[CyrilSebastian]

              Ferdinand III founded the University of Salamanca. He founded hospitals and monasteries.     
              Sometimes he pardoned former offenders to his throne.

[Shin]

A King and a Saint of the Reconquista!

[CyrilSebastian]

                In 1236 King Ferdinand III arrived with a royal army to take the Medina, the religious and administrative center of Cordoba.   
                   Ferdinand set up a council of partidores to divide the conquests.

[CyrilSebastian]

                    Ferdinand III's maternal grandmother, Princess Eleanor of England was a daughter   
                           of King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine.

[CyrilSebastian]

When Ferdinand's uncle Henry I died in 1217, his mother became the heiress to the throne of Castile.     
She resigned her rights in favor of Ferdinand. She served as Regent for a time.

[Shin]

St. Ferdinand III, pray for us!

[CyrilSebastian]

Through his second marriage Ferdinand III was also Count of Aumale. His second wife was Joan, Countess of Ponthieu.

[CyrilSebastian]

Ferdinand III followed his mother Berengaria's advice in the choice of a wife, Elisabeth of Swabia. Elisabeth was the daughter of Philip of Swabia, King of Germany.

[CyrilSebastian]

By his will King Alfonso IX of Leon tried to disinherit his son Ferdinand.   
However, the will was set aside. Castile and Leon were permanently united in 1230.