Beatrice of Silva (

Campo Maior, Portugal Campo Maior () is a municipality in the Portalegre District, Alentejo Region, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 8,456, in an area of . It is bordered by Spain on the North and East, by Elvas Municipality on the Southeast, and by Arronches Muni ...

ca. 1424 – Toledo, Castile, 16 August 1492), born Beatriz de Menezes da Silva, was a

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

noblewoman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

who became the foundress of the

monastic Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religion, religious way of life in which one renounces world (theology), worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic ...

Order of the Immaculate Conception , image = OrdoIC.jpg , size = 150px , abbreviation = OIC , nickname = Conceptionists , motto = , formation = , founder = Saint Beatrice of Silva) , founding_location ...

Amadeus of Portugal Amadeus of Portugal, O.F.M. (Campo Maior, Portugal ca. 1420 – Milan, Duchy of Milan, 10 August 1482), born João de Menezes da Silva, was a Portuguese nobleman who became first a Hieronymite monk, then left that life to become a friar of the Fr ...

's younger sister, she is honored as a

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

by the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Life

Beatrice was one of the eleven children of

Rui Gomes da Silva Rui or RUI may refer to: Names * Rui (surname) (芮), a Chinese surname * Rui (given name), a given name Places * Rui (state) (芮), a Chinese state during the Zhou Dynasty * Rui (village), a census town in Kolhapur district, Maharashtra, ...

, the governor of

, and of Isabel de Menezes, an illegitimate daughter of

Dom Dom or DOM may refer to: People and fictional characters * Dom (given name), including fictional characters * Dom (surname) * Dom La Nena (born 1989), stage name of Brazilian-born cellist, singer and songwriter Dominique Pinto * Dom people, an et ...

Pedro de Menezes, 1st Count of Vila Real Pedro de Menezes Portocarrero, (1370 – Ceuta, September 22, 1437) was a 15th-century Portuguese nobleman and military figure. Pedro de Menezes (sometimes modernized as 'de Meneses') was the 2nd Count of Viana do Alentejo, 1st. Count of Vila ...

and 2nd

Count of Viana do Alentejo {{about, , the Counts of Viana (modern), Count of Viana, the Counts of Viana (da Foz do Lima), Count of Viana (da Foz do Lima) Count of Viana (do Alentejo) was a Portuguese title of nobility granted to D. João Afonso Telo, 4th Count of Barce ...

, in whose army her father was serving at the time of her birth. One of her brothers was

, a noted reformer of the

Order of Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor (also called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the teachi ...

. She was long thought to have been born in the Portuguese enclave of

Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ar, سَبْتَة, Sabtah) is a Spanish autonomous city on the north coast of Africa. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of several Spanish territorie ...

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

, where her father was serving as a military commander at that time. Modern research has determined that she was, in fact, born in the family home at Campo Maior. Santa Beatriz da Silva e a Imaculada Conceição

Santa Beatriz da Silva e a Imaculada Conceição

Beatrice was raised in the castle of

Infante ''Infante'' (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as Infant or translated as Prince, is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to t ...

John, Lord of Reguengos de Monsaraz Infante John, Constable of Portugal ( pt, João, ; 13 January 1400 – 18 October 1442) was a Portuguese ''infante'' (prince) of the House of Aviz, Constable of Portugal and master of the Portuguese Order of St. James (Santiago). In Portugal, ...

. In 1447 Beatrice accompanied his daughter, Princess

Isabel of Portugal Isabella of Portugal (24 October 1503 – 1 May 1539) was the empress consort and queen consort of her cousin Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Spain, Archduke of Austria, and Duke of Burgundy. She was Queen of Spain and Germany, and L ...

, to Castile as her

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

when Isabel left to marry King

John II of Castile John II of Castile ( es, link=no, Juan; 6 March 1405 – 20 July 1454) was King of Castile and León from 1406 to 1454. He succeeded his older sister, Maria of Castile, Queen of Aragon, as Prince of Asturias in 1405. Regency John was the ...

and became Queen of Castile and León."St. Beatrice of Silva", Franciscan Media
/ref> Beatrice was her good and close friend, (and later was to receive her support when she founded the

Conceptionists , image = OrdoIC.jpg , size = 150px , abbreviation = OIC , nickname = Conceptionists , motto = , formation = , founder = Saint Beatrice of Silva) , founding_locatio ...

). Soon, however, her great beauty began to arouse the irrational jealousy of the Queen, who had her imprisoned in a tiny cell. During this incarceration, Beatrice experienced an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in which she was instructed to found a new

religious order A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practi ...

in Marys's honor. Santa Beatriz da Silva e as Veneráveis Concepcionistas

Beatrice finally escaped her imprisonment with difficulty and took refuge in the Dominican Second Order monastery of

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

s in Toledo. Here she led a life of holiness for thirty-seven years, without becoming a member of that order. In 1484 Beatrice, with some companions, took possession of a palace in Toledo set apart for them by Queen

Isabella I of Castile Isabella I ( es, Isabel I; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''la Católica''), was Queen of Castile from 1474 until her death in 1504, as well as List of Aragonese royal consorts, Queen consort ...

for the new community under the name Monastery of the Holy Faith, which was to be dedicated to honoring the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...

of Mary. In 1489, by permission of

Pope Innocent VIII Pope Innocent VIII ( la, Innocentius VIII; it, Innocenzo VIII; 1432 – 25 July 1492), born Giovanni Battista Cybo (or Cibo), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 August 1484 to his death in July 1492. Son of th ...

, the nuns adopted the

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

Rule Rule or ruling may refer to: Education * Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE), a university in Cambodia Human activity * The exercise of political or personal control by someone with authority or power * Business rule, a rule perta ...

, bound themselves to the daily recitation of the

office An office is a space where an Organization, organization's employees perform Business administration, administrative Work (human activity), work in order to support and realize objects and Goals, plans, action theory, goals of the organizati ...

of the

, and were placed under obedience to the ordinary of the

archdiocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

. The foundress determined on the

religious habit A religious habit is a distinctive set of religious clothing worn by members of a religious order. Traditionally some plain garb recognizable as a religious habit has also been worn by those leading the religious eremitic and anchoritic life, ...

, which is white, with a white

scapular The scapular (from Latin ''wikt:scapula#Latin, scapulae'', "shoulders") is a Western Christianity, Western Christian garment suspended from the shoulders. There are two types of scapulars, the Monasticism, monastic and Catholic devotions, devot ...

and blue mantle, with a medallion of Mary under her title of the

. Beatrice died in the monastery she had founded on 16 August 1492. Her remains are still venerated in the chapel of that monastery. Beatrice da Silva is the patron saint of prisoners.

Legacy

In 1501

Pope Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI ( it, Alessandro VI, va, Alexandre VI, es, Alejandro VI; born Rodrigo de Borja; ca-valencia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja ; es, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja, lang ; 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Churc ...

united the nuns of the Monastery of the Holy Faith, which Beatrice had founded, with the neighboring

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

Monastery of San Pedro de las Duenas, and put them all under the Rule of St. Clare. Through this, the order became connected with the

Franciscans , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

Pope Julius II Pope Julius II ( la, Iulius II; it, Giulio II; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope or th ...

gave the new order a rule of life of its own in 1511, and in 1516 special

constitutions A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princip ...

were drawn up for the new order by the Franciscan Cardinal

Francisco de Quiñones Francisco de Quiñones, O.F.M., (Latin: Franciscus Cardinal Quignonius) (also Francisco de los Ángeles) (ca. 1482 in Kingdom of León – November 5, 1540 in Veroli, Papal States) was a Spanish Franciscan friar and later cardinal who was re ...

, who resolved some ongoing tensions between the nuns of Santa Fe and the former Benedictine nuns who had been fused into the order, establishing the community as the Monastery of the Immaculate Conception. A second monastery was founded in 1507 at Torrigo, from which, in turn, were established seven others. The order soon spread through

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, and their colonies in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

—as early as 1540, as well as in Italy, and France. At its height, there were some 200 monasteries of the order throughout the world.

Veneration

Beatrice de Menezes da Silva was

beatified Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

in 1926 by

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...

and later

canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christianity, Christian communion declaring a person worthy of Cult (religious practice), public veneration and enterin ...

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

in 1976. Her

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

is celebrated by both by the Conceptionist nuns and the

Franciscan Order , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

and in Spain on 1 September, but in 2012 was transferred to 17 August for Portugal.

Notes

References

External links