The glorification of Blessed Fernando
Description:
After the death of his father-king, Fernando received a modest inheritance, and Duarte’s brother took the throne. In order to be able to help the poor and unhappy more, he accepted the position of Grand Master of the Order of Avis. And then he rejected the cardinal rank proposed by Pope Eugene IV, citing his unwillingness to “burden conscience.”
From what has been said, it is very easy to conclude that Fernando led a reclusive, monastic life. Meanwhile, he was not a hermit and dreamed of heroic actions for the glory of the Fatherland.
In 1437, as part of an expedition against the Moors, he went to Africa. On the eve of the dispatch, Don Fernando became ill, but concealed it, and the disease flared up on the way, and the amendment was so slow that it did not allow him to participate in the first battle. The Portuguese soldiers were less than half the number prescribed by the royal decree, and they failed in battles with superior enemy forces.
As a result of the negotiations, a decision was reached to return the expedition to their ships in exchange for the return of the Ceuta Moors, but a hostage was required for this. Prince Fernando offered his candidacy and remained in captivity with a small group of his followers.
He was not destined to return to his homeland, and the rest of his life the highborn prisoner spent in hardship, suffering, humiliation and disease. When news came from Portugal of Cortes’ refusal to recognize Ceuta’s return to the Moors, his situation became disastrous. Following this, unsuccessful attempts were made to save Don Fernando, as a result of which he suffered greatly: he was sent to Fesh and handed over to the cruel Vizier Lazurak. He spent several months in a dungeon with a cold stone floor and a wooden curtain instead of a pillow, and then was sent to slave labor in the royal gardens and stables.
To the credit of the Steady Prince, he never lost his spirit. He rejected proposals to escape in order to prevent new sufferings of the remaining comrades. Decently and respectfully treating the persecutors, he never descended to that prayer for ease of his fate.
Don Fernando died on June 5, 1443, after his confession. His tormentor Lazurak ordered to open the body of the prince and remove all internal organs from it, then hang it upside down on the wall of Fesh for four days. Four of Fernando’s soldiers followed him to his grave, one joined the ranks of the Moors, and the others were released after the death of Lazurac, including the faithful secretary of the Persistent Prince, João Alvarez, who brought his heart to Portugal in 1451, the relics later acquired were transferred to the royal tomb in Batalha with all due honors.
Ceuta has always been a Christian city, first Portuguese and then Spanish.
Prince Fernando has always been revered by the Portuguese as a saint. Many miracles were accomplished by his intercession, and in 1470 he was beatified by Pope Paul II. Pedro Calderon dedicated to him one of his best tragedies “The Persistent Prince” (translated into Russian by K. Balmont, B. Pasternak).