The Saint Louis Cathedral
| The Early Years: Louis and his mother, Queen Blanche |
| The future King Louis IX was born in 1214, at Poissy, a quiet little town on the Seine a few miles west of Paris, France. His birthday was the feast of St. Mark and a Rogation day, the time when crosses veiled in black were carried in procession through the fields. Louis already had an older brother, Philip; but the second son was welcomed as insuring the line of succession. |
| When Louis was only four his elder brother Philip died
and so he stepped into the direct line of succession. When Philip Augustus, Louis's
grandfather died in 1223 he left his son Louis VIII a great kingdom. The strongest and pervasive influence in the life of the young Louis was that of his mother, Blanche of Castille. Blanche was a stern Christian although the most famous of all her remarks: "Dearest son, I would rather you incur temporal death than by any mortal sin you should offend your creator" has been made more in compromising than was actually intended. Nevertheless Blanche's training of the future king was rigorous and demanding; even when he was a child she insisted that he must hear all the hours of the office - the daily prayer said by the monks at different times of day - and to listen to sermons on feast days. It was his mother, Blanche, who taught Louis to believe in God and to love Him, and to gather around him good religious people. |
