Born Fernando Martins de Bulhões into a noble family in Lisbon, he first entered the Augustinian canons before joining the Franciscan order in 1220, inspired by the martyrdom of Franciscan missionaries in Morocco. Renowned across Italy and France for his eloquent preaching and deep knowledge of Scripture, he was named a Doctor of the Church centuries later for his theological insight. He died at just 35 and was canonized less than a year afterward — one of the fastest canonizations in Church history. Devotion to him spread throughout the Catholic world, and he remains one of the most widely invoked saints, known above all as the patron of lost things.