Saint Senhorinha of Basto, also Senorina ( pt, Santa Senhorinha de Basto; 942 – 982) 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 ...

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 ...

abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic ...

in what is today northern

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 ...

. She is 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 ...

in 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 ...

and

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

, and was related to

Saint Rudesind Saint Rudesind ( gl, San Rosendo, Rudesindo; pt, São Rosendo lat, Rudesindus) (November 26, 907 – March 1, 977) was a Galician bishop and abbot. He was also a regional administrator and military leader under his kinsmen, the Kings of León. ...

Mondoñedo Mondoñedo () is a small town and municipality in the Galician province of Lugo, Spain. , the town has a population of 4,508. Mondoñedo occupies a sheltered valley among the northern outliers of the Cantabrian Mountains. Despite being the core ...

Life

Senhorinha of

Basto Jef Martens (), better known by his stage name Basto (stylized as Basto!), is a Belgian record producer, musician and DJ. He primarily produces electro house music, and he is signed to the ARS label. He has produced using various aliases such a ...

is thought to have been born into the noble Sousa family as either Domitilla or Genoveva. After being raised by her aunt,

Blessed Blessed may refer to: * The state of having received a blessing * Blessed, a title assigned by the Roman Catholic Church to someone who has been beatified Film and television * ''Blessed'' (2004 film), a 2004 motion picture about a supernatural ...

Godinha, abbess of 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 ...

convent of St. John of

Vieira Vieira is a Portuguese and Galician term which in Portuguese and Galician stands for the Great Pilgrim Mussel from the scallop family (Pectinidae). The term derives its use as a place and family name. History The use of the term can be traced, ...

, Senhorinha also joined the Benedictines and succeeded her aunt as abbess at Vieira. Later, she moved the convent of Vieira to

near

Braga Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (in ...

, Portugal.

Legacy

Senhorinha of Basto was canonized by

Paio Mendes Paio Mendes ( la, Pelagius, es, Pelayo; died 1137) was the Archbishop of Braga from 1118 until his death. He was an adherent of the cause of Afonso Henriques, Count of Portugal. In 1136 Paio attended the council of Burgos presided over by the ...

Archbishop of Braga The Archdiocese of Braga ( la, Archidioecesis Bracarensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Portugal. It is known for its use of the Rite of Braga, a use of the liturgy distinct from the Roman R ...

, in 1130, at a time when bishops had the authority to canonize faithful people in their dioceses. 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 April 22, which is recorded in Portuguese liturgical calendars beginning in the 13th century. Her shrine in

was a popular pilgrimage destination in the region in the 12th and 13th centuries. King Sancho I of Portugal was one famous devotee who made the pilgrimage to cure his son and heir,

Afonso II Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...

, who was healed and succeeded Sancho I as king of Portugal. The church in

has been named in her honor since at least 1220, and water from a nearby fountain named after her is believed to have healing properties. Her tomb is housed in the church. In art, she is typically depicted with a water jug or vessel at her side and sometimes a frog, in reference to one of the miracles she is said to have performed during her life.

Life

Legacy

References

See also