Louis IX of France

Louis IX became king of France at twelve, and his mother, Blanche of Castile, governed for him until he came of age. He was known for his personal devotion, his care for the poor and sick, and his concern for justice; his biographer Jean de Joinville describes him hearing the complaints of ordinary people beneath an oak tree at Vincennes. He forbade private wars and trial by combat in his lands, sent inspectors to check on royal officials, and built the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris to hold relics he believed to be Christ's crown of thorns. He led two crusades. On the first, in Egypt, he was captured in 1250 and ransomed, then spent four years in the Holy Land. He also ordered the burning of copies of the Talmud and imposed restrictions on Jews in France. On his second crusade, to Tunis in North Africa in 1270, he died of disease in camp. He was declared a saint in 1297, and the city of St. Louis, Missouri, is named after him.

Faith: French king and crusader whose canonization as a saint was proclaimed in 1297. Source: Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)