ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN AUGUST
Saints celebrated on the 25th of August
SAINT LOUIS IX, KING OF FRANCE
St Louis was king of France, son of Louis VIII and Blanche of Castile, born at Poissy, April 25, 1215; he died near Tunis, August 25, 1270.
He was eleven years of age when the death of Louis VIII made him king.
HIS MOTHER ACTED AS REGENT
While he was still a minor, Blanche of Castile acted as regent. St Louis married Marguerite of Provence at the age of nineteen, by whom he had eleven children.
In the first years of the king’s personal government, the Crown had to combat a rebellion. St Louis’s victory in 1242 was followed by the Peace of Bordeaux.
Taking advantage of the respite which the Peace of Bordeaux afforded, he turned his thoughts towards a crusade.
HE RESOLVED TO TAKE THE CROSS
Stricken down with a fierce malady in 1244, he resolved to take the cross when news came that Turcomans had defeated the Christians and the Moslems and invaded Jerusalem. (On the two crusades of Saint Louis [1248-1249 and 1270]).
Treaties and arbitrations prove St Louis to have been above all a lover of peace, a king who desired not only to put an end to conflicts, but also to remove the causes for fresh wars, and this spirit of peace rested upon the Christian conception.
A LOVER OF PEACE
St Louis and the successive popes united to protect the clergy of France from the encroachments of the barons and royal officers.
St Louis led an exemplary life, bearing constantly in mind his mother’s words: "I would rather see you dead at my feet than guilty of a mortal sin." His biographers have told us of the long hours he spent in prayer, fasting, and penance, without the knowledge of his subjects.
HE LED AN EXEMPLARY LIFE
St Louis was a patron of architecture. The Sainte Chappelle, an architectural gem, was constructed in his reign, and it was under his patronage that Robert of Sorbonne founded the "Collège de la Sorbonne," which became the seat of the theological faculty of Paris.
RENOWNED FOR HIS CHARITY
St Louis was renowned for his charity. 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 also founded many hospitals.
St Louis’s canonisation was proclaimed at Orvieto in 1297, by Boniface VIII.
From Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913
PRAYER:
Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that the venerable feast of Saint Louis may increase our devotion and promote our salvation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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