Theresa of Portugal (1176 – 18 June 1250) was Queen of Léon as the first wife of her first cousin King
Alfonso IX of León. When her marriage was annulled because of
consanguinity, she retired to a convent. She was
beatified in 1705.
She was born the oldest daughter of
Sancho I of Portugal and
Dulce of Aragon.
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 "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "courage" or "ready, prepared" related to Old High German "to risk, ventu ...
, who was the heir of the kingdom until his death in 1214.
However, 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
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
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 language, Castilian: ''Berenguela''), nicknamed the Great (Castilian: la Grande) (1179 or 1180 – 8 November 1246), was Queen of CastileThe full title was ''Regina Castelle et Toleti'' (Queen of Castile and Toledo). for ...
. 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, 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
A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it.
History
Papal ...
''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 on 20 June.
References
{{authority control
1176 births
1250 deaths
Theresa
French beatified people
Benedictine nuns
Queens consort of Leon
Galician queens consort
13th-century Portuguese nuns
Portuguese infantas
Spanish royal saints
Portuguese royal saints
13th-century venerated Christians
People from Coimbra
12th-century Portuguese women
12th-century Portuguese people
12th-century nobility from León and Castile
13th-century people from the Kingdom of León
Beatifications by Pope Clement XI
Daughters of kings
Mothers of Leonese monarchs