Alfonso IX, King of León

ALFONSO IX, king of LEÓN. – Son of Ferdinando II, b. in 1171, d. in 1230. Through marriages, he sought union with other kingdoms of the peninsula. He first married the holy princess Teresa of Portugal, but when Pope Celestine III denied him the dispensation from consanguinity, he had to separate from her under penalty of excommunication and interdict, despite the children born of the union, among them the ven. Sancia Alfonsa. He then sought union with another cousin, Berenguela of Castile, by whom he had several children, including s. Ferdinando; but Pope Innocent III remained inflexible and pronounced ecclesiastical censures for the separation of the spouses. Nevertheless, the legitimization of s. Ferdinando brought about the perpetual union of León and Castile.