Catherine of Braganza - Catholicism

Catholicism

Though known to keep her faith a private matter, her religion and proximity to the king made her the target of anti-Catholic sentiment. Catherine occupied herself with her faith. Her piety was widely known and was a characteristic in his wife that the King greatly admired; in his letters to his sister Catherine's devoutness is described almost with awe. Her household contained between four and six priests and in 1665 Catherine decided to build a religious house east of St James's to be occupied by thirteen Portuguese Franciscans of the order of St Peter of Alcantara. It was completed by 1667 and would become known as The Friary.

In 1675 the stress of a possible revival of the divorce project indirectly led to another illness, which Catherine's physicians claimed and her husband cannot fail to have noted, was 'due as much to mental as physical causes'. In the same year all Irish and English Catholic priests were ordered to leave the country, which left Catherine dependent upon foreign priests. As increasingly harsher measures were put in place against Catholics, Catherine appointed her close friend and adviser, the devoutly Catholic Francisco de Mello, former Portuguese Ambassador to England, as her Lord Chamberlain. It was an unusual and controversial move but 'wishing to please Catherine and perhaps demonstrate the futility of moves for divorce' the King granted his permission. De Mello was dismissed the following year for ordering the printing of a Catholic book, leaving the beleaguered Catherine even more isolated at court. One consolation was that Louise de Kéroualle, who replaced Barbara as reigning mistress, always treated the Queen with proper deference; the Queen in return used her own influence to protect Louise during the Popish Plot.