Joana, Princess of Portugal

:"For the Portuguese infanta, daughter of Edward of Portugal, see: Joan of Portugal".

Infanta Joana of Portugal was the second child of Afonso, but after the early death of her older brother John she was – regardless of being female – declared heiress to the throne and given the title of Princess of Portugal (such title was reserved to the heir apparent; the other children of the king were styled "Infante" or "Infanta"). Even though she lost it after the birth of her younger brother, the future John II of Portugal, among the people she continued to be known as Princess Joan.

From a young age, Joan expressed a desire to become a nun; however, as she was second-in-line to the throne, her father did not allow it. During his military expedition to Tangier in 1471, Joan served as Regent of the Portuguese Kingdom. After vehemently refusing several proposals of marriage, Joan joined the Dominican Convent of Jesus in Aveiro in 1475. Her brother had, by then, been given an heir, so the family line was no longer in danger. Still, she was compelled several times to leave the convent and return to the court, before she was finally professed as a nun. She continued to be a great supporter of her brother, John II of Portugal, throughout his reign and her life.

Joan died on May 12, 1490 in Aveiro and was buried in the Convent of Jesus in Aveiro. She was beatified in 1693 by Pope Innocent XII. Until now she hasn't been canonized, but she's known in Portugal as the Princess Saint Joan.

Ancestors

External links

* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08409a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: Blessed Joanna of Portugal]
* [http://www.op.org/domcentral/life/martyr05.htm#0512 Dominican Martyrology: May 12]