King of France, son of Louis VIII and Blanche of Castile, born at Poissy on April 25, 1215. He was eleven years old when his father, Louis VIII, died. Queen Blanche was declared regent for her eleven year old son. On the Second Sunday of Advent, Louis IX became King. At age 20, St. Louis married Margaret, daughter of the Count of Provence, Raymond Beranger. They had eleven children, five sons and six daughters. St. Louis purchased the Crown of Thorns and other holy relics from the Eastern Emperor of Constantinople. The relics were placed in the shine of Sainte-Chapelle, but they were stolen during the French Revolution.
After recovering from a fever, in 1244, St. Louis announced his intention of undertaking a crusade to the East. The crusade began in 1248. The first object was Egpyt. During the crusade, the French Army was weakend by disase and was routed. St. Louis was taken prisnor. While a prisoner, St. Louis recited the Divine Office every day. St. Louis and what was left of his army was released after the death of the Sultan of Egypt. They went to the Syrian coast was still in Christain control. St. Louis returned to France after hearing the death of his mother.
St. Louis was a patrof architecture. Under his patronage taht Robert of Sorbonne founded the College de la Sorbone, which became the seat of the theological faculty of Paris. He was renowned for his charity. Beggars were fed from this table, he ate their leavings, washed their feet, ministered to the want of the lepers, and daily feed over one thousand poor. He founded many hospitals and houses: the House of the Fellas-Dieu for reformed prostitutes; the Quinze-Vingt for 300 bline men, and hospitals at Pontoise, Vernon, and Compiegne.
In 1267, St. Louis announced his decision to go on another Crusade. In 1270, St. Louis sailed from Aigues-Mortes to Tunis with his three eldest sons. He landed at Carthage and waited for reinforcements. St. Louis and two of his sons were sicked by dysentery and St. Louis and his middle son died. St. Louis' bones and heart were returned to France and was enshirned in the abbey-church of St. Denis, until they were scattered by the Revolution.
St. Louis was canonized in 1297 and his feast day is August 25.