Post #5963

SAINT FERDINAND, KING AND CONFESSOR Ferdinand III, born in Zamora on the 5th of August 1201, was king of Castile and Leon from 1217 to his death. He was a zealous propagator of the Faith, patron of the arts and sciences and valiant fighter for the Kingdom of Christ against the Moors who then occupied various regions of Spain. Among the high enterprises, worthy of memory is the liberation of Seville (December 22, 1248) which paved the way for the complete redemption of Andalusia, with the exception of the Sultanate of Granada. He died in Seville on May 30, 1252, after having received the extreme Sacraments most devotedly on his knees. His body was interred in the cathedral of Santa Maria della Sede where it is still preserved and venerated today. Glorious by miracles, Alexander VII enrolled him among the Blessed on May 31, 1655 and Clement X among the Saints on February 4, 1671.