Theresa of Portugal; 1176 – 18 June 1250) was Queen of Léon as the first wife of her first cousin King

Alfonso IX of León Alfonso IX (15 August 117123 or 24 September 1230) was King of León and Galicia from the death of his father Ferdinand II in 1188 until his own death. He took steps towards modernizing and democratizing his dominion and founded the Universit ...

. She was born the oldest daughter of

Sancho I of Portugal Sancho I of Portugal (), nicknamed "the Populator" ( pt, "o Povoador"), King of Portugal (Coimbra, 11 November 115426 March 1211) was the second but only surviving legitimate son and fifth child of Afonso I of Portugal by his wife, Maud of Savoy. ...

and Dulce of Aragon. When her marriage was annulled because of

consanguinity Consanguinity ("blood relation", from Latin '' consanguinitas'') is the characteristic of having a kinship with another person (being descended from a common ancestor). Many jurisdictions have laws prohibiting people who are related by blood fr ...

, she retired to a convent. She was beatified in 1705. Theresa was the mother to three of Alfonso's children—two daughters, Sancha and Dulce, and a son,

Ferdinand Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...

, who was the heir of the kingdom until his death in 1214—but when her marriage to Alfonso was declared invalid because they were first cousins, she returned to the Kingdom of Portugal and lived in the Monastery of Lorvão, formerly under the

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 ...

rule, which she converted into a Cistercian convent, with over 300 nuns. In 1230, Alfonso died after having several children with a second wife, Queen

Berengaria of Castile Berengaria ( Castilian: ''Berenguela''; nicknamed the Great (Castilian: la Grande); 1179 or 1180 – 8 November 1246) was reigning Queen of CastileThe full title was ''Regina Castelle et Toleti'' (Queen of Castille and Toledo). for a brief tim ...

. This second marriage was also annulled because Berengaria was Alfonso's first cousin once removed. With two invalidated marriages, there was dispute among the children as to who would inherit the throne. Theresa negotiated the Treaty of Benavente by which Sancha and Dulce stepped aside and allowed

Ferdinand III of Castile Ferdinand III ( es, Fernando, link=no; 1199/120130 May 1252), called the Saint (''el Santo''), was King of Castile from 1217 and King of León from 1230 as well as King of Galicia from 1231. He was the son of Alfonso IX of León and Berenguel ...

, Berengaria's eldest son, to take the throne of León. After the succession dispute, Theresa returned to Lorvão and finally took her convent vows after years of living as a nun. She died in the convent on 18 June 1250, of natural causes. On 13 December 1705 Theresa was beatified by Pope Clement XI's papal bull ''Sollicitudo Pastoralis Offici'', along with her sister Sancha. Her feast day was originally 17 June but since 1962 has been observed concurrent with that of her two sisters Sancha and

Mafalda ''Mafalda'' () is an Argentine comic strip written and drawn by cartoonist Quino. The strip features a six-year-old girl named Mafalda, who reflects the Argentinian middle class and progressive youth, is concerned about humanity and world pea ...

on 20 June.

References

{{authority control 1176 births 1250 deaths Theresa French beatified people Benedictine nuns Leonese queen consorts Galician queens consort 13th-century Portuguese nuns Portuguese infantas Roman Catholic royal saints 13th-century venerated Christians People from Coimbra 12th-century Portuguese women 12th-century nobility from León and Castile 13th-century people from the Kingdom of León Beatifications by Pope Clement XI Daughters of kings