- Louis of Toulouse
Infobox Saint
name= Saint Louis of Toulouse
birth_date=February 1274
death_date=August 19, 1297
feast_day=August 19
venerated_in=Roman Catholic Church 
imagesize= 250px
caption= "Louis of Toulouse", byPiero della Francesca
birth_place= Brignoles, France
death_place= Brignoles, France
titles=
beatified_date=
beatified_place=
beatified_by=
canonized_date=April 7, 1317
canonized_place=
canonized_by=John XXII
attributes=boy bishop, often with a discarded crown by his feet; represented vested in pontifical garments and holding a book and a crosier
patronage=Valencia;Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa
major_shrine= Valencia
suppressed_date=
issues=Saint Louis of Toulouse (February 1274 –
August 19 ,1297 ) was a cadet of the royal Frenchhouse of Anjou who was made aCatholic bishop . The California mission, city and county ofSan Luis Obispo, California , are named after him.He was born in
Brignoles ,Provence , the second son of Charles of Anjou "the Lame" andMaria Arpad of Hungary . His father was appointedKing of Naples , byPope Clement IV , the former secretary toLouis IX of France . The boy was himself a nephew of St Louis and ofMary of Hungary (her great-aunt beingSaint Elizabeth of Hungary ).When his father was made prisoner in
Italy , during the war with King Pedro III of Aragon that followed theSicilian Vespers , he obtained his own freedom by giving over his three sons as hostages. The boys were taken toBarcelona —Aragonese territory—where they were placed under the care of Franciscan friars for their education and held for seven years. Though still held in captivity, Louis was madearchbishop of Lyon as soon as he reached his majority. When his older brother died in 1295, Louis also became heir to his father's secular titles; however, when he was freed that same year, Louis went to Rome and gave up all claims to his royal inheritance in favor of his brotherRobert of Anjou and announced that instead he would take the Franciscan vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.On
February 5 ,1297 as he took the Franciscan vows, Louis was also consecratedBishop of Toulouse , where his uncle,Alphonse of Toulouse had until recently been Count, but had died in 1271 leaving no heir. In this ambivalently dynastic and ecclesiastical position, in a territory between Provence and Aquitaine that was essential to Angevin interests, despite the princely standing that had won him this important appointment at the age of about 22, Louis rapidly gained a reputation for serving the poor, feeding the hungry, and ignoring his own needs. After just six months, however, apparently exhausted by his labors, he abandoned the position of Bishop. Six months later, at age 23, he died of a fever, possibly typhoid, at Brignoles.Veneration
Procedures for his canonization were quickly urged. His case was promoted by
Pope Clement V in 1307, and he was canonized by John XXII onApril 7 ,1317 . His brother Robert at Naples who owed his crown to Louis commissioned a great altarpiece fromSimone Martini , depicting Louis with that other saint in the family,Louis IX of France .St Louis of Toulouse was not otherwise widely venerated, but the Franciscans embraced him, keeping his day in their calendar and removing his
relic s in 1423 to Valencia, where he was made patron saint. Thus a Spanish Franciscan mission inAlta California came to be consecrated to San Luis Obispo de Tolosa.He can be recognized in
iconography as a boy bishop, often with a discarded crown by his feet.A polyphonic
motet , "Flos"/"Celsa"/"Quam magnus pontifex", was written in honor of Louis's canonization in 1317. The piece appears anonymously in theIvrea Codex and has been attributed by modern scholars toPhilippe de Vitry .Ancestry
Ancestors of Louis of ToulouseExternal links
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09385c.htm "Catholic Encyclopedia":] St Louis of Toulouse
* [http://merlin.allegheny.edu/employee/a/acarr/anjouhistory/stlouis.html Amelia Carr, "St Louis of Toulouse"]
* [http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintl55.htm Patron Saints: Louis of Toulouse]
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