St Nuno was only canonised in 2009 - a relatively recent saint. We have several members of our congregation who are from Portugal - where St Nuno hails from, so today let us remember them. Like us, they have families of all ages, unlike most parishioners many of their families are to far away to visit when they are ill, for weddings, for funerals.
Initially married, and a soldier, he became a Carmelite friar upon becoming a widower.
Nuno Álvares Pereira's tomb was lost in the famous 1755 Lisbon earthquake. His epitaph read:
"Here lies that famous Nuno, the Constable, founder of the House of Bragança, excellent general, blessed monk, who during his life on earth so ardently desired the Kingdom of Heaven that after his death, he merited the eternal company of the Saints. His worldly honors were countless, but he turned his back on them. He was a great Prince, but he made himself a humble monk. He founded, built and endowed this church in which his body rests."