Saint Louis IX

King of France
(1214–1270)

Saint Louis IX was born on April 25, 1214, at Poissy in France, the son of King Louis VIII and the incomparable Blanche of Castile, who superintended his education with both rigour and tenderness. He became King of France at the age of twelve on his father's death and reigned under his mother's regency until 1234. He then took the reins of government himself and ruled for nearly forty years as one of the greatest monarchs in French history.

As a ruler he was celebrated for the justice of his administration. He sat in person under the oak tree at Vincennes to hear the complaints of any of his subjects who wished to approach him directly, regardless of rank. He reformed the judiciary, prohibited trials by ordeal and private wars between nobles, established the right of appeal to the royal courts, and reformed the coinage. Under his rule France enjoyed a period of peace and prosperity rare in medieval Europe.

His personal life was as remarkable as his public administration. He rose each night to pray the Divine Office, fasted rigorously, wore a hair shirt, and served the poor and sick with his own hands in the hospitals of Paris, washing the feet of lepers and beggars. He built the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, one of the glories of Gothic architecture, to house the Crown of Thorns he had purchased from the Emperor of Constantinople.

He led two Crusades. The first, the Seventh Crusade, ended in his capture in Egypt and his ransom. The second, the Eighth Crusade, was directed against Tunis, where he died of dysentery on August 25, 1270, with the words Jerusalem on his lips. He was canonised by Boniface VIII in 1297. He is the patron of France, of the Secular Franciscan Order, and of all those who work for justice. His feast is celebrated on August 25th.