I missed this date last week with so many feasts and events, but today I want to highlight St. Nuno Avarez Pereria, who was a soldier, a husband, a monk, and a saint. For a complete biography, look at this site here. This battle gave the Portuguese independence and paved the way for a renewal of Catholicism.
In the Whitefriars Street Church in Dublin, there is a stunning window of this saint. I like this man, as he seems to be a true Renaissance Man, a little before the time. He exhibited an intense prayer life, as well as giving to the poor, being a humble lay brother, and paying for many churches and monasteries with his own money, including Lisbon's Carmelite Church and Our Lady of Victories at Batalha. I would like to visit these someday very much.
Let us pray to this saint for strong leadership among the laity, as well as more vocations to Carmel.