History:    In the 13th and 14th centuries the people of Portugal had suffered several natural disasters.  This had left many of them hungry and without food.  The farmlands were ravaged and they knew that many would not survive this famine that was upon them.  They gathered together to pray to the Divine Holy Spirit for help.

Queen Isabel began to take food from the palace and meet hungry people in the courtyard.  On one of these occasions she was carrying bread for the people in her apron.  The King caught her on her way to the courtyard and stopped her.  He asked her what she was carrying wrapped up in her apron.  She told the King that they were roses from the garden.  Now the King knew that in the middle of winter the rose garden could not be flowering.  The King, certain he had caught her, pulled open the apron and a bundle of roses fell to the ground.  She now knew that the Holy Spirit was guiding and protecting her.

Queen Isabel began to sell all her jewelry and sent for ships to bring food and necessities.  After the ships had arrived the people held a mass in her honor.  During this mass a dove flew in and landed on the altar, a sign that the Holy Spirit was present.  This mass was held every year as thanksgiving for her unselfish gifts of food to the poor.

Once a year until her death she would select a poor girl and boy from the village and dress them in clean white clothes.  The kids would parade through the village carrying Queen Isabel's crown to the mass.  The Priest would ceremoniously crown the girl and give her and the people a special blessing.  The village would then celebrate with a festa of singing and dancing.  They would invite the public for a free meal of "Carne and Sopas".

When Queen Isabel's husband (King Dinis) died, she entered the third order of Saint Francis.  She was laid to rest in 1336.  In 1612 her body was exhumed and it was found to be incorrupt.  She was then placed in a shrine in Portugal were she remains today.  Thousands of people  pilgrimage to the town of Coimbra, Portugal to view her consecrated body in a silver and crystal casket.  In 1625, nearly three centuries after her death, Pope Urban VIII canonized her a Saint.
 

I.D.E.S. of St. John Inc. was established in 1909 and became a non-profit corporation in 1978.   We continue to keep the traditions alive by celebrating a Holy Ghost festival every year.  Membership is open to anyone 18 years of age or older.  Membership dues are $10 per person, per year.
 
 
 

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