Saint of the Day - St. Louis of France (August 25th)
Channel: House of Prayers for Everyone (HOPE)
Date: 24/08/2023

St. Louis IX was born to King Louis VIII and Blanche of Castile, at Poissy on April 25th, 1215, and was baptized in La Collégiale Notre-Dame church. He was taught Latin, public speaking, writing, military arts, and government.

Unfortunately, he was only nine years old when his grandfather Philip II died, and only 12 after the sudden death of his father. His mother ruled the kingdom as regent until he came of age and continued to serve as his trusted adviser until her death. 

It is said that Louis's mother instilled in him her devout Christianity. Blanche was recorded to have said:

"I love you, my dear son, as much as a mother can love her child; but I would rather see you dead at my feet than that you should ever commit a mortal sin."

Rise to the Throne

On May 27, 1234, Louis married Margaret of Provence and they had 11 children. Historians believe that King Louis IX began ruling personally in 1234, with his mother assuming a more advisory role.

The prestige and respect for King Louis IX were due more to the appeal of his personality than to military domination. For his contemporaries, he was the quintessential example of the Christian prince and embodied the whole of Christendom in his person. 

His reputation for fairness and even saintliness was already well established while he was alive, and on many occasions, he was chosen as an arbiter in quarrels among the rulers of Europe. Thus, most of 13th-century Christian Europe looked upon him as an "international judge".

The perception of Louis IX by his contemporaries as the exemplary Christian prince was reinforced by his religious zeal. Louis was an extremely devout Catholic, and he built the Sainte-Chapelle ("Holy Chapel") located within the royal palace complex (now the Paris Hall of Justice), on the Île de la Cité in the center of Paris. 
 
He was also renowned for his charity. "The peace and blessings of the realm come to us through the poor," he would say. Beggars were fed from his table; he ate their leavings, washed their feet, ministered to the wants of the lepers, and daily fed over one hundred poor. 

He founded many hospitals and houses: the House of the Felles-Dieu for reformed prostitutes, the Quinze-Vingt for 300 blind men, and hospitals at Pontoise, Vernon, and Compiégne. He also built a house of the Trinitarian Order at Fontainebleau.

Louis wrote the Enseignements, or teachings, and sent this to his son, Philip III. The letter outlined how Philip should follow the example of Jesus Christ in order to be a moral leader.

Seventh Crusade

Louis IX led his army to Egypt in June of 1249 to capture the port of Damietta. However, the march from Damietta toward Cairo went slowly. On February 8, 1250, Louis IX lost his army at the Battle of Fariskur and was captured by the Egyptians.

Upon his liberation, Louis IX devoted four years to fortifying the Kingdom of Jerusalem. In the spring of 1254, Louis and his remaining forces made their return to France.

Eighth Crusade and Death

Louis IX led the Eighth Crusade and landed at Carthage, the capital city of ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia, on July 17, 1270. Unfortunately, disease immediately broke out in their camp.

Louis died at Tunis on 25 August 1270, in an epidemic of dysentery that swept most of his army. According to European custom, his body was subjected to the process known as "mos Teutonicus" prior to his remains being returned to France. Louis' younger brother, Charles I of Naples, preserved his heart and intestines and conveyed them for burial in the cathedral of Monreale near Palermo.

Veneration

Pope Boniface VIII proclaimed the canonization of Louis IX in 1297 making him the only French king to be declared a Saint. Louis IX is often considered the model of the ideal Christian monarch. 

The Sisters of Charity of St. Louis is a Roman Catholic religious order founded in Vannes, France, in 1803 and was named in his honor. A similar order, the Sisters of St Louis, was founded in Juilly in 1842.

St. Louis IX of France is honored as co-patron of the Third Order of St. Francis, for his acts of charity coupled with his devout religious practices. This account gave rise to the legend that he joined the Third Order of St. Francis, though it is unlikely that he ever actually joined the order.

The Catholic Church and Episcopal Church honor him with a feast day on August 25th, giving him the title of the Patron of masons and builders.

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Images attributed to the following:
- By Anonymous - www.themorgan.org/collections/collections.asp?id=81, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons
- By Francisco Pacheco - [2], Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons
- By Gustave Doré - pages.usherbrooke.ca/croisades/big_images/_images.htm, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons
- By Jean Fouquet - expositions.bnf.fr/fouquet/grand/f029.htm, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons