Saint Louis IX of France

Life story

Louis was born in 1214 at Poissy, near Paris. He became king in 1226 at the age of twelve, and in the early years his mother, Blanche of Castile, acted as regent. In 1234 he married Margaret of Provence and they had many children.

Once he ruled in his own right, Louis gave priority to justice: he sent inspectors to examine local administration, restricted private feuds and often heard legal cases himself. In 1259 he signed the Treaty of Paris with King Henry III of England to end territorial disputes. In the 1240s he also had the Sainte-Chapelle built in Paris to house the relics of the Passion that he had acquired.

Louis led the Seventh Crusade from 1248. He took Damietta in Egypt but was captured after the battle of Mansurah in 1250 and had to be ransomed. He stayed in the Holy Land until 1254 to strengthen the Christian fortifications. In 1270 he set out again on the Eighth Crusade, landing at Tunis.

There disease spread through the army, and Louis died on 25 August 1270, at about fifty-six. Pope Boniface VIII canonised him in 1297. He is the only king of France canonised by the Church. His reign left France with a stronger royal justice and a lasting architectural monument, and contemporary writers such as his companion Joinville described him as a king who listened to ordinary petitioners under an oak at Vincennes.

Works and witness

• Became king in 1226 and ruled in person from about 1234
• Reformed justice and inspected local officials
• Built the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris in the 1240s
• Led the Seventh Crusade from 1248
• Died at Tunis in 1270, canonised in 1297

Patron of

Secular Franciscan Order

Saints from the same country

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Saint Joan of Arc, Saint Francis de Sales, Saint Vincent de Paul

References

• Martyrologium Romanum
• Jean de Joinville, Life of Saint Louis
• Dicastery for the Causes of Saints – biographical profile

Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.