On another occasion, he said: "The poor must gain heaven by their patience, the rich, by giving alms." He built many asylums and other houses for the maintenance of the poor, and erected a still larger number of churches and convents for the honor of God and the salvation of souls. But as St. Louis thus proved himself a pious king, so also he showed himself a worthy ruler, by being indefatigable where the welfare of his people, or where justice and the protection of the church were concerned. He made laws and ordinances commanding all officials of the State to deal justice without any delay and to take all possible care of his subjects. Those who disobeyed these laws were severely punished. He appointed two days in the week on which everybody, even the lowest and poorest had free admittance to him and could bring him his complaints. He labored especially to uproot those vices which prevent the blessing of God, and call down the Divine wrath upon a land. Hence he ordained by law that blasphemers should be branded by the public executioner, and when, one day, his pardon was asked for a nobleman who had been guilty of this crime, the holy king refused it, saying: "I would let my own lips be pierced with a red hot iron, if, by this means, I could prevent all blasphemy in my domains."

His valor in war was as great as his zeal for justice and his endeavors to destroy all vice. The whole world had, in this pious and heroic king, a proof that piety and valor can well be united in the human heart. Over the Albigenses, the most bitter enemies of the State and Church, he gained a decisive victory, completely vanquishing them. Some rebellious subjects, who had made war against him when he first ascended the throne, and who were aided by a foreign power, were conquered and brought again under his sceptre. These and many other victories made him greatly esteemed and respected by all foreign monarchs.

But nothing more effectually proves the great zeal of this holy king for the true church, than the crusades which he undertook to recover the Holy Land and to assist the oppressed Christians who lived in it. His first expedition, at the outset, promised great success, but in the course of time, by the inscrutable decrees of Providence, the greater part of his army fell victims to disease, and the holy king himself was taken prisoner. In this misfortune, his patience was so great and heroic, that even his enemies admired it. He submitted, without any complaint, to the Divine will, and continued his prayers, fasts and pious exercises, as if he were in his palace at Paris. He was at length released on payment of a ransom of 800,000 ducats, and the surrender of the cities he had taken. He thus concluded a truce of ten years with the Saracens. Having, under these conditions obtained his liberty, he remained some time longer in the Holy Land, visited with great devotion, the places made sacred by the presence of our Saviour, ransomed many prisoners, gave abundant alms, and fortified the few cities that remained in the hands of the Christians. Meanwhile the holy queen, Blanche, his mother, died at Paris, and when the news reached the Saint, he returned at once to France.

Some years later, when it was reported that the Christians in the East were more oppressed than ever by the infidels, he resolved to undertake a second crusade to assist them. At first, success followed the king's army, but the great heat of the climate, the want of wholesome water and provisions, infected the whole army with an epidemic, so that a large number died, among whom was a son of the king. At last, St. Louis himself was seized with the disease, and without being disturbed by it, he prepared himself for his last hour by prayer and by devoutly receiving the holy Sacraments. After this he gave to the Crown Prince, who was with him, instructions, partly verbal, partly in writing, which were dictated by Christian and royal wisdom, and which will be given below. After this he desired to dispense with all worldly affairs, and to occupy himself only with God, to whose holy will he had entirely submitted.

When his last hour had come, he desired to be robed in a penitential garment, and to be laid on a bed strewn with ashes. When this had been done, he took the Crucifix, kissed it most devoutly, and continued in prayer and acts of devotion, until he calmly expired, in the year of our Lord 1270, in the fifty-sixth year of his age. His last words were those of the Psalmist: "Lord, I will enter into Thy house: I will adore Thee in Thy holy temple, and will give glory to Thy name." Thus did St. Louis pass from a temporal into an eternal kingdom. Truly, he had been a great and holy king; great, on account of his valor in war; still greater, for his Christian magnanimity in adversity, but greatest, for the many exalted virtues by which he shone before the whole world from his childhood to the last hour of his life, and which prevented him from ever committing a mortal sin.

The instructions which he gave to the heir of his crown, and which he had constantly observed himself, testify his great holiness. They are as follows:



 1. Love God, the Almighty, above everything.
 2. Flee sin more quickly than you would a serpent.
 3. Become not fainthearted in adversity.
 4. Become not elevated in the days of prosperity.
 5. Show the wounds of your soul frequently to your spiritual physician, and refuse no remedies, however bitter, to heal them.
 6. Pray diligently.
 7. Be compassionate and generous to the poor.
 8. If your mind is harassed with doubt, consult a devout man.
 9. Keep faithful and pious counsellors around you, and dismiss those who are wicked.
 10. All that is good hold fast: all that is bad discard.
 11. Lend a willing ear to those who speak of God.
 12. Listen not to calumniators and slanderers.
 13. So long as you reign, leave not unpunished those who blaspheme God and the Saints.
 14. First be grateful to God, then to men.
 15. Love and protect justice, and neither neglect nor despise the complaints of the needy.
 16. In your own affairs, when they are not perfectly clear, speak and act against yourself.
 17. Refund immediately the possessions of others.
 18. Protect the clergy.
 19. Love and honor your parents.
 20. If you are obliged to war against Christians, spare the churches and the convents.
 21. Endeavor to terminate all contentions with kindness.
 22. Guard all your officials with a watchful eye.
 23. Ever show due reverence to the Pope.
 24. Overstep not the bounds of moderation in your expenses.
 25. When I have departed, let prayers and Masses be said for the repose of my soul.



These were the last admonitions of the holy king.

SAINT LOUIS IX, CRUSADER KING! ORA PRO NOBIS!

Short Prayer: Almighty, ever-living God, Thou took Saint Louis from his cares as a ruler in this world, and brought him to the glory of heaven. Help us to live according to his life example, seeking Thy eternal kingdom through the tasks we perform on earth. We pray this in the most precious name of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour. Amen.