Abbreviation | Order of the Visitation (V.H.M.) |
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Motto | Vive Jésus |
Formation | 1610 |
Founder | Saint Francis de Sales and Saint Jane Frances de Chantal |
Type | Roman Catholic religious order |
Website | [link removed by eBay] |
The Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary (Latin : Ordo Visitationis Beatissimae Mariae Virginis , V.H.M.) or the Visitation Order is an enclosed Roman Catholic religious order for women . Members of the order are also known as the Salesian Sisters (not to be confused with the Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco ) or, more commonly, as the Visitandines or Visitation Sisters .[1]
The Order of the Visitation was founded in 1610 by Saint Francis de Sales and Saint Jane Frances de Chantal in Annecy , Haute-Savoie , France . At first the founder had not a religious order in mind; he wished to form a congregation without external vows, where the cloister should be observed only during the year of novitiate, after which the sisters should be free to go out by turns to visit the sick and poor. The order was given the name of The Visitation of Holy Mary with the intention that the Sisters would follow the example of Virgin Mary and her joyful visit to her kinswoman Elizabeth, (known as "The Visitation" in the Roman Catholic Church).
He invited Jane de Chantal to join him in establishing a new type of religious life, one open to older women and those of delicate constitution, that would stress the hidden, inner virtues of humility, obedience, poverty, even-tempered charity, and patience, and founded on the example of Mary in her journey of mercy to her cousin Elizabeth.[2] The order was established to welcome those not able to practice austerities required in other orders.[3] Instead of chanting the canonical office in the middle of the night the sisters recited the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin at half-past eight in the evening. There was no perpetual abstinence nor prolonged fast. The Order of the Visitation of Mary was canonically erected in 1618 by Paul V who granted it all the privileges enjoyed by the other orders. A Bull of Urban VIII solemnly approved it in 1626.[1]
The special charism of the Visitation Order is an interior discipline expressed primarily through the practice of two virtues: humility and gentleness.[4] The motto of the order is "Live Jesus".[3]
A foundation was established in Lyons in 1615 followed by Moulines (1616), Grenoble (1618), Bourges (1618), and Paris (1619). When Saint Francis de Sales died (1622) there were 13 convents established; at the death of Saint Jane Frances de Chantal in 1641 there were 86.[1] The Order spread from France throughout Europe and to North America.
Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, V.H.M. | |
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Margaretha Maria Alacoque, Merazhofen Pfarrkirche Chorgestühl | |
Disciple of the Sacred Heart | |
Born | 22 July 1647 L'Hautecour , Duchy of Burgundy , Kingdom of France |
Died | 17 October 1690 (aged 43) Paray-le-Monial , Duchy of Burgundy, Kingdom of France |
Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
Beatified | 18 September 1864, Rome , Papal States , by Pope Pius IX |
Canonized | 13 May 1920, Vatican City , by Pope Benedict XV |
Major shrine | Monastery of the Visitation, Paray-le-Monial, Saône-et-Loire , France |
Feast | October 16 (October 17 by the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary and universally prior to 1969; transferred to Oct 20 in Canada) |
Patronage | those suffering with polio , devotees of the Sacred Heart , loss of parents |
St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, V.H.M. (French : Marguerite-Marie Alacoque ) (1647–1690), was a French Roman Catholic nun and mystic , who promoted devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in its modern form.[1]
She worked to prove the genuineness of her vocation and her visions of Jesus and Mary relating to the Sacred Heart . She was initially rebuffed by her mother superior and was unable to convince theologians of the validity of her visions. A noted exception was Saint Claude de la Colombière , who supported her. The devotion to the Sacred Heart was officially recognized 75 years after Alacoque's death.[2] In his encyclical Miserentissimus Redemptor , Pope Pius XI stated that Jesus Christ had "manifested Himself" to Saint Margaret and referred to the conversation between Jesus and Saint Margaret several times.[3]
Alacoque was born in 1647 in L'Hautecour, now part of the commune of Verosvres , then in the Duchy of Burgundy , the only daughter of Claude and Philiberte Lamyn Alacoque, who had also several sons.[4] From early childhood, Margaret was described as showing intense love for the Blessed Sacrament, and as preferring silence and prayer to childhood play.
After her First Communion at the age of nine, she practised in secret severe corporal mortification , until rheumatic fever confined her to bed for four years. At the end of this period, having made a vow to the Blessed Virgin to consecrate herself to religious life, she was instantly restored to perfect health.[4] In recognition of this favor, she added the name Mary to her baptismal name of Margaret. According to her later account of her life, she had visions of Jesus Christ , which she thought were a normal part of human experience and continued to practice austerity.
Alacoque lost her father at a young age, and the family's assets were held by a relative who refused to hand them over, plunging her family into poverty. During this time, her only consolation were frequent visits to pray before the Blessed Sacrament in the local church. When she was 17, however, the family regained their fortune and her mother encouraged her to go in society, in the hopes of her finding a suitable husband. Out of obedience, and believing that her childhood vow was no longer binding, she began to accompany her brothers in the social events of her society, attending dances and balls.[4]
One night, after returning home from a ball for Carnival dressed in her finery, she experienced a vision of Christ, scourged and bloody. He reproached her for her forgetfulness of him; yet he also reassured her by demonstrating that his Heart was filled with love for her, because of the childhood promise she had made to his Blessed Mother. As a result, she determined to fulfill her vow and entered, when almost 24 years of age, the Visitation Convent at Paray-le-Monial on 25 May 1671, intending to become a nun.[4]
Alacoque was subjected to many trials to prove the genuineness of her vocation. She was admitted to wearing the religious habit on 25 August 1671, but was not allowed to make her religious profession on the same date of the following year, which would have been normal.[5] A fellow novice described Margaret Mary as humble, simple and frank, but above all kind and patient.[6] Finally, she was admitted to profession on 6 November 1672. It is said that she was assigned to the infirmary and was not very skillful at her tasks.[7]
In this monastery Alacoque received several private revelations of the Sacred Heart, the first on 27 December 1673, and the final one 18 months later. The visions revealed to her the form of the devotion, the chief features being reception of Holy Communion on the first Friday of each month, Eucharistic adoration during a "Holy hour " on Thursdays, and the celebration of the Feast of the Sacred Heart .[8] She stated that in her vision she was instructed to spend an hour every Thursday night to meditate on Jesus' Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane . The Holy Hour practice later became widespread among Catholics.[9] [10]
On 27 December 1673, the feast of St. John, Margaret Mary reported that Jesus permitted her to rest her head upon his heart, and then disclosed to her the wonders of his love, telling her that he desired to make them known to all mankind and to diffuse the treasures of his goodness, and that he had chosen her for this work.
Initially discouraged in her efforts to follow the instruction she had received in her visions, Alacoque was eventually able to convince her superior, Mother de Saumaise, of the authenticity of her visions. She was unable, however, to convince a group of theologians of the validity of her apparitions, nor was she any more successful with many of the members of her own community, and suffered greatly at their hands. She eventually received the support of St. Claude de la Colombière , S.J. , the community's confessor for a time, who declared that the visions were genuine. In 1683, opposition in the community ended when Mother Melin was elected Superior and named Margaret Mary her assistant. She later became Novice Mistress ,[7] and saw the monastery observe the Feast of the Sacred Heart privately, beginning in 1686. Two years later, a chapel was built at the Paray-le-Monial to honor the Sacred Heart.
Alacoque died on 17 October 1690.
After Alacoque the devotion to the Sacred Heart was fostered by the Jesuits and the subject of controversies within the Church. The practice was not officially recognized until 75 years later.[8]
The discussion of Alacoque's own mission and qualities continued for years. All her actions, her revelations , her spiritual maxims , her teachings regarding the devotion to the Sacred Heart, of which she was the chief exponent as well as the apostle , were subjected to the most severe and minute examination, and finally the Sacred Congregation of Rites passed a favourable vote on the heroic virtues of this "servant of God". In March 1824, Pope Leo XII pronounced her Venerable and on 18 September 1864 Pope Pius IX declared her Blessed .[11] When her tomb was canonically opened in July 1830, two instantaneous cures were recorded to have taken place. Her incorrupt body rests above the side altar in the Chapel of the Apparitions, located at the Visitation Monastery in Paray-le-Monial , and many striking blessings have been claimed by pilgrims attracted there from all parts of the world.[4]
Alacoque was canonized by Pope Benedict XV in 1920, and in 1929 her liturgical commemoration was included in the General Roman calendar for celebration on 17 October, the day of her death. In the reforms of 1969, the feast day was moved to the prior day, 16 October.
In his 1928 encyclical Miserentissimus Redemptor , Pope Pius XI affirmed the Church's position regarding the credibility of her visions of Jesus Christ by speaking of Jesus as having "manifested Himself" to Saint Margaret Mary and having "promised her that all those who rendered this honour to His Heart would be endowed with an abundance of heavenly graces".[12]
Alacoque's short devotional writing, La Devotion au Sacré-Coeur de Jesus (Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus), was published posthumously by J. Croiset in 1698, and has been popular among Catholics .[13]
Mariologists refer to Saint Marguerite Marie Alacoque as "living proof how Marian devotion is linked to 'Christology'" and the adoration of Jesus Christ.[14]
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"And He [Christ] showed me that it was His great desire of being loved by men and of withdrawing them from the path of ruin that made Him the design of manifesting His Heart to men, with all the treasures of love, of mercy, of grace, of sanctification and salvation which it contains, in order that those who desire to render Him and procure Him all the honour and love possible, might themselves be abundantly enriched with those divine treasures of which His heart is the source." — from Revelations of Our Lord to St. Mary Margaret Alacoque"
In James Joyce 's short story "Eveline ", part of his Dubliners , a "coloured print of the promises made to Blessed Margaret Mary Alacoque" is mentioned as part of the decorations of an Irish home at the turn of the 20th Century, testifying to Joyce's fine eye for the details of Irish Catholic piety.
Saint Francis de Sales CO , OM , OFM Cap. | |
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Bishop of Geneva | |
Native name | François de Sales |
Province | Vienne |
Diocese | Geneva |
Appointed | 15 July 1602 (Coadjutor) |
Installed | 8 December 1602 |
Term ended | 28 December 1622 |
Predecessor | Claude de Granier |
Successor | Jean-François de Sales |
Orders | |
Ordination | 18 December 1593 by Claude de Granier |
Consecration | 8 December 1602 by Vespasien Gribaldi |
Personal details | |
Born | 21 August 1567 Château de Sales , Duchy of Savoy , Holy Roman Empire |
Died | 28 December 1622 (aged 55) Lyons , Lyonnais , Kingdom of France |
Previous post | Titular Bishop of Nicopolis ad Iaterum (1602) |
Motto | Non-excidet |
Coat of arms | |
Sainthood | |
Feast day |
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Venerated in |
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Title as Saint | Bishop and Doctor of the Church |
Beatified | 8 January 1661 Rome, Papal States , by Pope Alexander VII |
Canonized | 8 April 1665 Rome, Papal States, by Pope Alexander VII |
Attributes | Heart of Jesus , Crown of Thorns |
Patronage | Baker, Oregon ; Cincinnati, Ohio ; Catholic press; Columbus, Ohio ; confessors; deaf people; educators; Upington , South Africa; Wilmington, Delaware ; writers; journalists; the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest |
Shrines | Annecy , Haute-Savoie , France |
Francis de Sales , CO OM OFM Cap. (French: François de Sales ; 21 August 1567 – 28 December 1622) was a Bishop of Geneva and is honored as a saint in the Anglican and Catholic church. He became noted for his deep faith and his gentle approach to the religious divisions in his land resulting from the Protestant Reformation . He is known also for his writings on the topic of spiritual direction and spiritual formation, particularly the Introduction to the Devout Life and the Treatise on the Love of God .
Francis de Sales was born on 21 August 1567 in the Château de Sales into the noble Sales family of the Duchy of Savoy , in what is today Thorens-Glières , Haute-Savoie, France. His father was François de Sales, Lord of Boisy, Sales , and Novel. His mother was Françoise de Sionnaz, the only child of prominent magistrate, Melchior de Sionnaz, and a noblewoman. He was baptized Francis Bonaventura , after two great Franciscan saints. His father wanted him, the first of his six sons, to attend the best schools in preparation for a career as a magistrate . He therefore enjoyed a privileged education in the nearby town of La Roche-sur-Foron and at the age of eight, at the Capuchin college in Annecy .[1]
In 1583, De Sales went to the Collège de Clermont (later renamed Lycée Louis-le-Grand ) in Paris, then a Jesuit institution, to study rhetoric and humanities. As a nobleman, he was accompanied by his own servant and by a priest tutor, Abbe Deage. To please his father, he took lessons in the gentlemanly pursuits of riding, dancing, and fencing.[2] De Sales is described as intelligent and handsome, tall and well built with blue-grey eyes, somewhat reserved and quiet, and a welcome guest in the homes of the nobility among whom his father had connections.[3]
In 1584 Francis de Sales attended a theological discussion about predestination , convincing him of his damnation to hell . A personal crisis of despair resulted. This conviction lasted through December 1586. His great despair made him physically ill and even bedridden for a time. Sometime in either late December or early January 1587, with great difficulty, he visited the old parish of Saint-Étienne-des-Grès, Paris , where he prayed the "Memorare " before a famed statue of Our Lady of Good Deliverance, a Black Madonna . He consecrated himself to the Blessed Virgin Mary , and decided to dedicate his life to God with a vow of chastity. He then became a tertiary of the Minim Order .[4]
Sales ultimately concluded that God had good in store for him, because "God is love", as John's First Epistle attests. This faithful devotion to the God of love not only expelled his doubts but also influenced the rest of his life and his teachings. His way of teaching Catholic spirituality is often referred to as the Way of Divine Love, or the Devout Life, taken from a book he wrote of a similar name: Introduction to the Devout Life .
In 1588 Sales completed his studies at Collège de Clermont and enrolled at University of Padua in Italy, where he studied both law and theology. He took Antonio Possevino , a priest in Society of Jesus , as his spiritual director .[1] There he made up his mind about becoming a priest. In one incident, he rode a horse, and his sword fell to the ground and crossed another sword, making the sign of the Christian cross .
In 1592, Sales received his doctorate in law and theology. He made a pilgrimage to Loreto , Italy, famous for its Basilica della Santa Casa (Shrine of the Holy House) and then returned home to Savoy . The Senate of Chambéry admitted him as a lawyer. Meanwhile, his father secured various positions for Francis, including an appointment as senator. His father also chose a wealthy noble heiress as his bride. But Francis refused to marry, preferring to stay focused on his chosen path. His father initially refused to accept that Francis had chosen the priesthood rather than fulfill his expectations with a political-military career.[5] Claude de Granier, then Bishop of Geneva , intervened and after signing over to his younger brother his rights of family succession, he was ordained in 1593. Immediately he received a promised appointment as provost of the cathedral chapter of Geneva.[5]
In his capacity as provost, Francis de Sales, engaged in enthusiastic campaigns of evangelism in an area that had become almost completely Calvinist .[5] According to J. Ehni, despite de Sales' zeal, courage and patience he met with absolute failure at Thonon, the capital of the Chablais province, where the residents had made an agreement to refuse to hear the eloquent preacher.[6] At first Francis lived in a fortress garrisoned by the Duke of Savoy's soldiers. Several times he escaped death at the hands of assassins.[7] He traveled to Rome and Paris, where he forged alliances with Pope Clement VIII and Henry IV of France .
In 1599 he was appointed coadjutor bishop of Geneva.[8] In 1601, he was sent on a diplomatic mission to Henry IV, where he was invited to give Lenten sermons at the Chapel Royal. The morals at court reflected those of the king, which were notoriously bad, yet Henry became personally attached to Francis, and is said to have observed, "A rare bird, this Monsieur de Geneve, he is devout and also learned; and not only devout and learned but at the same time a gentleman. A very rare combination."[3]
While in Paris, he also met Cardinal Berulle and was, for a time, Madame Acarie 's confessor. They consulted with him on matters such as the introduction of St. Teresa 's Carmelites into France and plans for the reforming of monasteries and convents. He was consulted on matters of conscience by persons at court.[3]
Arms of St Francis de SalesIn 1602, Bishop Granier died, and Sales was consecrated Bishop of Geneva , but resided in Annecy (now part of modern-day France) because Geneva remained under Calvinist control and therefore closed to him. His diocese became famous throughout Europe for its efficient organization, zealous clergy and well-instructed laity, monumental achievements in those days.[9]
He worked closely with the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin , very active in preaching the Catholic faith in his diocese. They appreciated his cooperation so much that in 1617 they made him an official associate of the Order, the highest honor possible to a person outside it. It is said that at Evian , on the south shore of Lake Geneva , St. Francis of Assisi appeared to him and said: "You desire martyrdom , just as I once longed for it. But, like me, you will not obtain it. You will have to become an instrument of your own martyrdom."[7] During his years as bishop, Sales acquired a reputation as a spellbinding preacher and something of an ascetic . His motto was, "He who preaches with love, preaches effectively." His goodness, patience and mildness became proverbial.[8]
These last qualities come through in Sales' books, the most famous of which was Introduction to the Devout Life , which – unusual for the time – was written specially for laypeople . In it he counseled charity over penance as a means of progressing in the spiritual life. Sales also left the mystical work, the "Treatise on the Love of God",[10] and many highly valued letters of spiritual direction , including those with Jane Frances de Chantal compiled in the Letters of Spiritual Direction .[11] He was a notably clear and graceful stylist in French, Italian and Latin .[citation needed ]
His writings on the perfections of the heart of Mary as the model of love for God influenced Jean Eudes to develop the devotion to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary .[12]
Along with St. Jane Frances de Chantal , Sales founded the women's Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary (Visitandines) in Annecy on 6 June 1610. Despite his friendship with Denis-Simon de Marquemont , the archbishop nonetheless restricted the freedoms of de Sales' new order in 1616 by ordering that its members live cloistered lives.[13]
Sales also established a small community of men, an Oratory of St. Philip Neri , at Thonon-les-Bains , with himself as the superior or Provost . This work, however, was crippled by his death, and that foundation soon died out.[14]
In December 1622 Sales was required to travel in the entourage of Charles Emmanuel I , Duke of Savoy , for the Duke's Christmas tour of his domain. Upon arrival in Lyon, he chose to stay in the gardener's hut at the Visitandine monastery in that city. While there he suffered a stroke, from which he died on 28 December 1622.[10]
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St. Francis de Sales has been styled "the Gentleman Saint" because of his patience and gentleness.[7] Despite the resistance of the populace of Lyon to moving his remains from that city, Sales was buried on 24 January 1623 in the church of the Monastery of the Visitation in Annecy , which he had founded with Chantal, who was also buried there. Their remains were venerated there until the French Revolution .[15] Many miracles have been reported at his shrine .
Sales' heart was kept in Lyon , in response to the popular demand of the citizens of the city to retain his remains. During the French Revolution , however, it was taken to Venice , where it is venerated today.[citation needed ]
Francis de Sales was beatified in 1661 by Pope Alexander VII , who then canonized him four years later. He was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius IX in 1877.[2]
The Roman Catholic Church celebrates St. Francis de Sales' feast on 24 January, the day of his burial in Annecy in 1624.[16] From the year 1666, when his feast day was inserted into the General Roman Calendar , until its 1969 revision , he was celebrated on 29 January, a date still observed by some Traditionalist Catholics .
St. Francis de Sales is recognized as an exemplary in the Church of England , where his memoria is also observed on 24 January, and in the Church in Wales , where his memorial was moved to 23 January, due to a conflict with that of St Cadoc .
In 1923, Pope Pius XI proclaimed him a patron of writers and journalists, because he made extensive use of broadsheets and books both in spiritual direction and in his efforts to convert the Calvinists of the region.[5] St. Francis developed a sign language in order to teach a deaf man about God. Because of this, he is the patron saint of the deaf.[10]
Having been founded as the first non-cloistered group of sisters after attempts to do so with the Visitation Sisters founded by de Sales and de Chantal proved unsuccessful, the Sisters of St. Joseph (founded in Le Puys, France, in 1650) take St. Francis de Sales as one of their patrons.
In the 19th century, his vision for religious communities was revived. Several religious institutes were founded during that period for men and women desiring to live out the spiritual path which de Sales had developed.
The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest , a society of priests founded in the 20th century, also has St. Francis de Sales as one of their three primary Patrons. One of the major apostolates of the Institute in the United States is the Oratory of St. Francis de Sales in St. Louis, Missouri .[17]
Vincent de Paul met Francis de Sales in Paris in 1618 or 1619. Francis de Sales' spirituality and writings, especially An Introduction to the Devout Life , and Treatise on the Love of God , were to have a profound influence on Vincent.[8]
Jane Frances de Chantal | |
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Foundress | |
Born | 28 January 1572 Dijon , Burgundy , France |
Died | 13 December 1641 (aged 69) Moulins , France |
Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
Beatified | 21 November 1751, Rome by Pope Benedict XIV |
Canonized | 16 July 1767, Rome by Pope Clement XIII |
Major shrine | Annecy , Savoy |
Feast | 12 August 21 August (General Roman Calendar 1769-1969) 12 December (General Roman Calendar 1970-2001) |
Patronage | forgotten people; in-law problems; loss of parents; parents separated from children; widows |
Saint Jane Frances de Chantal (Jeanne-Françoise Frémiot , Baronne de Chantal; 28 January 1572 – 13 December 1641) is a Roman Catholic Saint , who founded a religious order after the death of her husband.
Jane Frances de Chantal was born in Dijon , France , on 28 January 1572, the daughter of the royalist president of the Parliament of Burgundy. Her mother died when Jane was 18 months old. Her father became the main influence on her education. She developed into a woman of beauty and refinement, lively and cheerful in temperament.[1] She married the Baron de Chantal when she was 21 and then lived in the feudal castle of Bourbilly. Baron de Chantal was accidentally killed by an arquebus while out shooting in 1601. Left a widow at 28, with four children, the broken-hearted baroness took a vow of chastity. Her mother, step mother, sister, first two children and now her husband had died.[2] Chantal gained a reputation as an excellent manager of the estates of her husband, as well as of her difficult father-in-law, while also providing alms and nursing care to needy neighbors.
During Lent in 1604, the pious baroness met Saint Francis de Sales , the bishop of Geneva who was preaching at the Sainte Chapelle in Dijon. They became close friends and de Sales became her spiritual director. She wanted to become a nun but he persuaded her to defer this decision.[1] Later, with his support, and that of her father and brother (the archbishop of Bourges ), and after providing for her children, Chantal left for Annecy, to start the Congregation of the Visitation . The Congregation of the Visitation was canonically established at Annecy on Trinity Sunday, 6 June 1610.[2] The order accepted women who were rejected by other orders because of poor health or age. During its first eight years, the new order also was unusual in its public outreach, in contrast to most female religious who remained cloistered and adopted strict ascetic practices. The usual opposition to women in active ministry arose and Francis de Sales was obliged to make it a cloistered community following the Rule of St. Augustine. He wrote his Treatise on the Love of God for them.[1] When people criticized her for accepting women of poor health and old age, Chantal famously said, "What do you want me to do? I like sick people myself; I'm on their side."
Her reputation for sanctity and sound management resulted in many visits by (and donations from) aristocratic women. The order had 13 houses by the time de Sales died, and 86 before Chantal herself died at the Visitation Convent in Moulins , aged 69. St. Vincent de Paul served as her spiritual director after de Sales' death. Her favorite devotions involved the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Heart of Mary .[3] Chantal was buried in the Annecy convent next to de Sales.[2] The order had 164 houses by 1767, when she was canonized. Chantal outlived her son (who died fighting Huguenots and English on the Île de Ré during the century's religious wars) and two of her three daughters, but left extensive correspondence. Her granddaughter also became a famous writer, Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné .
She was beatified on 21 November 1751 by Pope Benedict XIV , and canonized on 16 July 1767 by Pope Clement XIII .
Saint Jane Frances's feast day was included in the General Roman Calendar in 1769, two years after she was canonized. Her feast was set as 21 August. In the 1969 revision of the calendar, her feast was moved to 12 December, to be closer to the day of her death, which occurred on 13 December 1641, the feast of St. Lucy .[4] In 2001, Pope John Paul II included in the General Roman Calendar the memorial of Our Lady of Guadalupe on 12 December.[5] Consequently, he moved the memorial of Saint Jane Frances to 12 August.[6]
Saint Jane Frances de Chantal wrote some exemplary letters of spiritual direction .[7]
Saint Louis IX | |
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Louis IX, contemporary depiction from about 1230 | |
King of France (more...) | |
Reign | 8 November 1226 – 25 August 1270 |
Coronation | 29 November 1226 in Reims Cathedral |
Predecessor | Louis VIII |
Successor | Philip III |
Born | 25 April 1214 Poissy , France |
Died | 25 August 1270 (aged 56) Tunis , North Africa |
Burial | Basilica of St Denis |
Spouse | Margaret of Provence |
Issue among others... | Isabella, Queen of Navarre Louis of France Philip III of France John Tristan, Count of Valois Peter, Count of Perche and Alençon Blanche, Infanta of Castile Margaret, Duchess of Brabant Robert, Count of Clermont Agnes, Duchess of Burgundy |
House | Capet |
Father | Louis VIII of France |
Mother | Blanche of Castile |
Religion | Catholicism |
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Robert II |
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Henry I |
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Philip I |
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Louis IX |
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Philip IV |
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Louis X |
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Philip V |
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Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis , was King of France and a canonized saint. Louis was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the death of his father Louis VIII the Lion , although his mother, Blanche of Castile , ruled the kingdom until he reached maturity. During Louis's childhood, Blanche dealt with the opposition of rebellious vassals and put an end to the Albigensian crusade which had started 20 years earlier.
As an adult, Louis IX faced recurring conflicts with some of the most powerful nobles, such as Hugh X of Lusignan and Peter of Dreux . Simultaneously, Henry III of England tried to restore his continental possessions , but was defeated at the battle of Taillebourg . His reign saw the annexation of several provinces, notably Normandy , Maine and Provence .
Louis IX was a reformer and developed French royal justice, in which the king is the supreme judge to whom anyone is able to appeal to seek the amendment of a judgment. He banned trials by ordeal , tried to prevent the private wars that were plaguing the country and introduced the presumption of innocence in criminal procedure. To enforce the correct application of this new legal system, Louis IX created provosts and bailiffs .
According to his vow made after a serious illness, and confirmed after a miraculous cure, Louis IX took an active part in the Seventh and Eighth Crusade in which he died from dysentery . He was succeeded by his son Philip III .
Louis's actions were inspired by Christian values and Catholic devotion. He decided to punish blasphemy , gambling , interest-bearing loans and prostitution , and bought presumed relics of Christ for which he built the Sainte-Chapelle . He also expanded the scope of the Inquisition and ordered the burning of Talmuds . He is the only canonized king of France, and there are consequently many places named after him .
Much of what is known of Louis's life comes from Jean de Joinville 's famous Life of Saint Louis . Joinville was a close friend, confidant, and counsellor to the king, and also participated as a witness in the papal inquest into Louis' life that ended with his canonisation in 1297 by Pope Boniface VIII .
Two other important biographies were written by the king's confessor , Geoffrey of Beaulieu , and his chaplain, William of Chartres . The fourth important source of information is William of Saint-Parthus ' biography,[1] which he wrote using the papal inquest mentioned above. While several individuals wrote biographies in the decades following the king's death, only Jean of Joinville, Geoffrey of Beaulieu, and William of Chartres wrote from personal knowledge of the king.
Louis was born on 25 April 1214 at Poissy , near Paris, the son of Prince Louis the Lion and Princess Blanche , and baptised in La Collégiale Notre-Dame church. His grandfather on his father's side was Philip II , king of France; while his grandfather on his mother's side was Alfonso VIII , king of Castile . Tutors of Blanche's choosing taught him most of what a king must know—Latin, public speaking, writing, military arts, and government.[2] He was 9 years old when his grandfather Philip II died and his father ascended as Louis VIII.[3] A member of the House of Capet , Louis was twelve years old when his father died on 8 November 1226. He was crowned king within the month at Reims cathedral. Because of Louis's youth, his mother ruled France as regent during his minority.[4]
Louis' mother trained him to be a great leader and a good Christian. She used to say:[5]
I love you, my dear son, as much as a mother can love her child; but I would rather see you dead at my feet than that you should ever commit a mortal sin.
His younger brother Charles I of Sicily (1227–85) was created count of Anjou , thus founding the second Angevin dynasty.
No date is given for the beginning of Louis's personal rule. His contemporaries viewed his reign as co-rule between the king and his mother, though historians generally view the year 1234 as the year in which Louis began ruling personally, with his mother assuming a more advisory role.[6] She continued to have a strong influence on the king until her death in 1252.[4] [7]
On 27 May 1234, Louis married Margaret of Provence (1221 – 21 December 1295), whose sister Eleanor later became the wife of Henry III of England . The new queen's religious devotion made her a well suited partner for the king. He enjoyed her company, and was pleased to show her the many public works he was making in Paris, both for its defense and for its health. They enjoyed riding together, reading, and listening to music. This attention raised a certain amount of jealousy in his mother, who tried to keep them apart as much as she could.[8]
In the 1230s, Nicholas Donin , a Jewish convert to Christianity, translated the Talmud and pressed 35 charges against it to Pope Gregory IX by quoting a series of blasphemous passages about Jesus , Mary or Christianity. There is a Talmudic passage, for example, where Jesus of Nazareth is sent to Hell to be boiled in excrement for eternity. Donin also selected an injunction of the Talmud that permits Jews to kill non-Jews. This led to the Disputation of Paris , which took place in 1240 at the court of Louis IX, where rabbi Yechiel of Paris defended the Talmud against the accusations of Nicholas Donin. The translation of the Talmud from Judeo Aramaic to a non-Jewish, profane language was seen by Jews as a profound violation. The disputation led to the condemnation of the Talmud and the burning of thousands of copies.[9]
When Louis was 15, his mother brought an end to the Albigensian Crusade in 1229 after signing an agreement with Count Raymond VII, Count of Toulouse that cleared the latter's father of wrongdoing.[10] Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse had been suspected of murdering a preacher on a mission to convert the Cathars .[11]
Louis went on two crusades , in his mid-30s in 1248 (Seventh Crusade ), and then again in his mid-50s in 1270 (Eighth Crusade ).
In 1248 Louis decided that his obligations as a son of the Church outweighed those of his throne, and he left his kingdom for a six-year adventure. Since the base of Muslim power had shifted to Egypt, Louis did not even march on the Holy Land ; any war against Islam now fit the definition of a Crusade.[12]
Louis and his followers landed in Egypt on 5 June 1249 and began his first crusade with the rapid capture of the port of Damietta .[12] [13] This attack caused some disruption in the Muslim Ayyubid empire, especially as the current sultan, Al-Malik as-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub , was on his deathbed. However, the march from Damietta toward Cairo through the Nile River Delta went slowly. The rising of the Nile and the summer heat made it impossible for them to advance and follow up on their success.[14] During this time, the Ayyubid sultan died, and the sultan's wife Shajar al-Durr set in motion a sudden power shift that would make her Queen and eventually place the Egyptian army of the Mamluks in power. On 6 April 1250 Louis lost his army at the Battle of Al Mansurah [15] and was captured by the Egyptians. His release was eventually negotiated in return for a ransom of 400,000 livres tournois (at the time France's annual revenue was only about 1,250,000 livres tournois ) and the surrender of the city of Damietta.[16]
Louis IX was taken prisoner at the Battle of Fariskur , during the Seventh Crusade (Gustave Doré ).Following his release from Egyptian captivity, Louis spent four years in the Latin kingdoms of Acre , Caesarea , and Jaffa , using his wealth to assist the Crusaders in rebuilding their defences[17] and conducting diplomacy with the Islamic powers of Syria and Egypt. In the spring of 1254 he and his army returned to France.[12]
Louis exchanged multiple letters and emissaries with Mongol rulers of the period. During his first crusade in 1248, Louis was approached by envoys from Eljigidei , the Mongol military commander stationed in Armenia and Persia .[18] Eljigidei suggested that King Louis should land in Egypt, while Eljigidei attacked Baghdad, to prevent the Saracens of Egypt and those of Syria from joining forces. Louis sent André de Longjumeau , a Dominican priest, as an emissary to the Great Khan Güyük Khan (r. 1246-48) in Mongolia. Güyük died before the emissary arrived at his court, however, and nothing concrete occurred. Instead his queen and now regent, Oghul Qaimish , politely turned down the diplomatic offer.[19]
Louis dispatched another envoy to the Mongol court, the Franciscan William of Rubruck , who went to visit the Great Khan Möngke (1251-1259) in Mongolia. He spent several years at the Mongol court. In 1259, Berke , the ruler of the Golden Horde, westernmost part of the Mongolian Empire , demanded the submission of Louis.[20] On the contrary, Mongolian Emperors Möngke and Khubilai 's brother, the Ilkhan Hulegu, sent a letter seeking military assistance from the king of France, but the letter did not reach France.[21]
In a parliament held at Paris, 24 March 1267, Louis and his three sons took the cross. On hearing the reports of the missionaries, Louis resolved to land at Tunis, and he ordered his younger brother, Charles of Anjou, to join him there. The crusaders, among whom was Prince Edward of England , landed at Carthage 17 July 1270, but disease broke out in the camp. Many died of dysentery, and on 25 August, Louis himself died.[17] [22]
Louis' patronage of the arts drove much innovation in Gothic art and architecture , and the style of his court radiated throughout Europe by both the purchase of art objects from Parisian masters for export, and by the marriage of the king's daughters and female relatives to foreign husbands and their subsequent introduction of Parisian models elsewhere. Louis' personal chapel, the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, was copied more than once by his descendants elsewhere. Louis most likely ordered the production of the Morgan Bible , a masterpiece of medieval painting.
Pope Innocent IV with Louis IX at ClunyDuring the so-called "golden century of Saint Louis", the kingdom of France was at its height in Europe, both politically and economically. Saint Louis was regarded as "primus inter pares", first among equals, among the kings and rulers of the continent. He commanded the largest army and ruled the largest and wealthiest kingdom, the European centre of arts and intellectual thought at the time. The foundations for the famous college of theology later known as the Sorbonne were laid in Paris about the year 1257.[14] The prestige and respect felt in Europe for King Louis IX were due more to the attraction that his benevolent personality created rather than to military domination. For his contemporaries, he was the quintessential example of the Christian prince and embodied the whole of Christendom in his person. His reputation for saintliness and fairness was already well established while he was alive, and on many occasions he was chosen as an arbiter in quarrels among the rulers of Europe.[6]
Shortly before 1256, Enguerrand IV, Lord of Coucy , arrested and without trial hanged three young squires of Laon whom he accused of poaching in his forest. In 1256 Louis had him arrested and brought to the Louvre by his sergeants. Enguerrand demanded judgment by his peers and trial by battle, which the king refused because he thought it obsolete. Enguerrand was tried, sentenced, and ordered to pay 12,000 livres. Part of the money was to pay for masses in perpetuity for the men he had hanged.
In 1258, Louis and James I of Aragon signed the Treaty of Corbeil , under which Louis renounced his feudal overlordship over the County of Barcelona and Roussillon , which was held by the King of Aragon. James in turn renounced his feudal overlordship over several counties in southern France including Provence and Languedoc . In 1259 Louis signed the Treaty of Paris , by which Henry III of England was confirmed in his possession of territories in southwestern France and Louis received the provinces of Anjou , Normandy (Normandie), Poitou , Maine , and Touraine .[4]
The perception of Louis IX as the exemplary Christian prince was reinforced by his religious zeal. Louis was a devout Catholic, and he built the Sainte-Chapelle ("Holy Chapel"),[6] located within the royal palace complex (now the Paris Hall of Justice ), on the Île de la Cité in the centre of Paris. The Sainte Chapelle , a perfect example of the Rayonnant style of Gothic architecture , was erected as a shrine for what he believed to be the Crown of Thorns and a fragment of the True Cross , supposed precious relics of the Passion of Jesus. Louis purchased these in 1239–41 from Emperor Baldwin II of the Latin Empire of Constantinople , for the exorbitant sum of 135,000 livres (the construction of the chapel, for comparison, cost only 60,000 livres).
Louis IX took very seriously his mission as "lieutenant of God on Earth", with which he had been invested when he was crowned in Reims . To fulfill his duty, he conducted two crusades , and even though they were unsuccessful, they contributed to his prestige. Everything he did was for the glory of God and for the good of his people. He protected the poor and was never heard speak ill of anyone. He excelled in penance and had a great love for the Church. He was merciful even to rebels. When he was urged to put to death a prince who had followed his father in rebellion, he refused, saying: "A son cannot refuse to obey his father."[5]
Hair shirt and scourge of Louis IX. Treasury of Notre-Dame de Paris .In 1230 the King forbade all forms of usury , defined at the time as any taking of interest. Where the original Jewish and Lombard borrowers could not be found, Louis exacted from the lenders a contribution towards the crusade which Pope Gregory was then trying to launch.[14] Louis also ordered, at the urging of Pope Gregory IX , the burning in Paris in 1243 of some 12,000 manuscript copies of the Talmud and other Jewish books. Eventually, the edict against the Talmud was overturned by Gregory IX's successor, Innocent IV.[23]
In addition to Louis' legislation against usury, he expanded the scope of the Inquisition in France. The area most affected by this expansion was southern France where the Cathar heresy had been strongest. The rate of these confiscations reached its highest levels in the years before his first crusade, and slowed upon his return to France in 1254. In 1250, he headed a crusade, but was taken prisoner. During his captivity, he recited the Divine Office every day. After his release, he visited the Holy Land before returning to France.[5] In all these deeds, Louis IX tried to fulfill the duty of France, which was seen as "the eldest daughter of the Church" (la fille aînée de l'Église ), a tradition of protector of the Church going back to the Franks and Charlemagne , who had been crowned by the Pope Leo III in Rome in 800. Indeed, the official Latin title of the kings of France was Rex Francorum , i.e. "king of the Franks" (until Louis' grandfather's reign, Philip II whose seal reads Rex Franciae , i.e. "king of France"), and the kings of France were also known by the title "most Christian king" (Rex Christianissimus ). The relationship between France and the papacy was at its peak in the 12th and 13th centuries, and most of the crusades were actually called by the popes from French soil. Eventually, in 1309, Pope Clement V even left Rome and relocated to the French city of Avignon , beginning the era known as the Avignon Papacy (or, more disparagingly, the "Babylonian captivity").
He was renowned for his charity. Beggars were fed from his table, he ate their leavings, washed their feet, ministered to the wants of the lepers, and daily fed over one hundred poor. He founded many hospitals and houses: the House of the Filles-Dieu for reformed prostitutes; the Quinze-Vingt for 300 blind men (1254), hospitals at Pontoise, Vernon, Compiégne.[24]
St. Louis installed a house of the Trinitarian Order in his château of Fontainebleau. He chose Trinitarians as his chaplains, and was accompanied by them on his crusades. In his spiritual testament he wrote: "My dearest son, you should permit yourself to be tormented by every kind of martyrdom before you would allow yourself to commit a mortal sin."[5]
Louis had his two children that died in infancy to be buried at the Cistercian abbey of Royaumont; in 1820 they were transferred to Saint-Denis Basilica .[26]
During his second crusade, Louis died at Tunis on 25 August 1270, in an epidemic of dysentery that swept through his army.[22] [27] [28] As Tunis was Muslim territory, his body was subject to the process known as mos Teutonicus (a postmortem funerary custom used in medieval Europe whereby the flesh was boiled from the body, so that the bones of the deceased could be transported hygienically from distant lands back home) for its transportation back to France.[29] He was succeeded by his son, Philip III .
His heart and intestines, however, were conveyed by his younger brother, Charles I of Naples , for burial in the cathedral of Monreale near Palermo .[30] His bones were carried in a lengthy processional across Sicily, Italy, the Alps, and France, until they were interred in the royal necropolis at Saint-Denis in May 1271.[31] Charles and Philip later disbursed a number of relics to promote his veneration.[32]
Saint Louis | |
---|---|
Saint Louis, painting by El Greco c. 1592 – 95 | |
King of France, Confessor | |
Born | 25 April 1214 Poissy , France |
Died | 25 August 1270 (aged 56) Tunis in what is now Tunisia |
Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Communion |
Canonized | 11 July 1297 by Pope Boniface VIII |
Feast | 25 August |
Attributes | Depicted as King of France , generally with a crown , holding a sceptre with a fleur-de-lys on the end, possibly with blue clothing with a spread of white fleur-de-lys (coat of arms of the French monarchy) |
Patronage | France , French monarchy, Third Order of St. Francis , Archdiocese of New Orleans , Roman Catholic Diocese of Port-Louis , hairdressers; passementiers (lacemakers ) |
Pope Boniface VIII proclaimed the canonization of Louis in 1297;[33] he is the only French king to be declared a saint .[34] Louis IX is often considered the model of the ideal Christian monarch.[33] The impact of his canonization was so great that many of his successors were named Louis.
Named in his honour, the Sisters of Charity of St. Louis is a Roman Catholic religious order founded in Vannes , France, in 1803.[35] A similar order, the Sisters of St Louis, was founded in Juilly in 1842.[36] [37]
He is honoured as co-patron of the Third Order of St. Francis , which claims him as a member of the Order. Even in childhood, his compassion for the poor and suffering people had been obvious to all who knew him and when he became king, over a hundred poor people ate in his house on ordinary days. Often the king served these guests himself. Such acts of charity, coupled with Louis' devout religious practices, gave rise to the legend that he joined the Third Order of St. Francis. Though it is unlikely that Louis did join the order, his life and actions proclaimed him one of them in spirit.[2]
The cities of San Luis Potosí in Mexico; St. Louis, Missouri ; St. Louis Park, Minnesota ; St. Louis, Michigan ; San Luis, Arizona ; San Luis, Colorado ; Saint-Louis du Sénégal ; Saint-Louis in Alsace; as well as Lake Saint-Louis in Quebec, the Mission San Luis Rey de Francia in California and São Luís, Maranhão in Brazil are among the many places named after the French king and saint.
The Cathedral Saint-Louis in Versailles ; the Basilica of St. Louis, King of France completed in 1834 and the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis completed in 1914 , both in St. Louis, Missouri; and the St. Louis Cathedral, New Orleans were also named for the king. The French royal Order of Saint Louis (1693–1790 and 1814–1830), the Île Saint-Louis as well as a hospital in the 10th arrondissement of Paris also bear his name. The national church of France in Rome also carries his name: San Luigi dei Francesi in Italian or Saint Louis of France in English. Also the Cathedral of St Louis in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, the Church of St Louis in Moscow, Russia, and rue Saint Louis of Pondicherry
Port-Louis, the capital city of Mauritius, as well as its cathedral are also named after St. Louis, who is the patron saint of the island.
A bas-relief of St. Louis is one of the carved portraits of historic lawmakers that adorns the chamber of the United States House of Representatives .
Saint Louis is also portrayed on a frieze depicting a timeline of important lawgivers throughout world history in the Courtroom at the Supreme Court of the United States .
A statue of St. Louis by the sculptor John Donoghue stands on the roofline of the New York State Appellate Division Court at 27 Madison Avenue in New York City.
The Apotheosis of St. Louis is an equestrian statue of the saint, by Charles Henry Niehaus , that stands in front of the Saint Louis Art Museum in Forest Park.
A heroic portrait by Baron Charles de Steuben hangs in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore . An 1821 gift of King Louis XVIII of France , it depicts St. Louis burying his plague-stricken troops before the siege of Tunis at the beginning of the Eighth Crusade in 1270.