Thursday, August 24, 2006

St. Louis IX, King of France


Nowadays, it’s hard to imagine a politician staying out of jail, let alone being a saint. During the middle ages, it may actually have been harder for a man in government to keep his nose clean, what with the corruption that was going on all over Europe, even in the Church.

But our patron Saint was no ordinary politician. He was a devout Catholic and ruled France as a good Catholic should. Louis was raised by his mother, Blanche, which was unusual for royal children in those days. Usually the queen would ship the kids off to a nurse so they could spend the day being queen instead of being a mom. But Blanch would have none of that. She hand picked Louis’ tutors and took him to church every day.

Louis VIII died when Nine was only twelve. Like most royal courts, there were vultures waiting to take over, but Blanche was ready for them. She had young Nine crowned king at the earliest possible date, with Blanche acting in his place until he reached the age of nineteen. The barons still tried to take over, but the new king had the support of the people which was something he never forgot.

At the age of twenty, Louis married Margaret. Even though Margaret was Blanche’s choice for Louis, her jealousy got the best of her and she never did like the girl. But, Louis and Margaret actually loved each other and Blanche couldn’t keep them apart. It must have worked out, they had six daughters and five sons.

Louis had great compassion for the poor. On ordinary days more than a hundred poor people ate at the palace and many more on holidays. The king often served the guests himself. He founded hospitals and gave money to the poor. He was especially generous to religious orders. He literally helped build the Abbey at Royaumont and spent hours there with the monks after it was finished.

Louis defeated King Henry III of England in a battle at Tailebourg. He treated Henry so fairly that years later, when Henry had a dispute with his barons, both sides agreed that Louis was the fairest man in all of Europe. They would let him mediate the dispute and both sides agreed to abide by his decision, which they did.

Louis’ compassion for the poor led him to get involved in the Crusades. In 1267 he announced that he was going to make a second trip to the middle east. He got as far as Spain, where he and his son John caught dysentery and died. He was only 56.

On the day Louis died, he opened his eyes and repeated the words of the Psalm, “Lord, I will enter into Thine house: I will adore in Thy holy temple, and will give glory to Thy name.” Three hours later he spoke again, “Into Thy hands I commend my soul.” He closed his eyes again and was gone.

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