St. Louis, the ninth of his name, was born at Poissy, France, in 1214. His father was Louis VIII, and his mother was Blance, daughter of Alfonso VIII of Castile, surnamed the Conqueror. At the age of twelve he lost his father, and his mother became regent of the kingdom. From his tenderest infancy she had inspired him with a love for holy things.

St. Louis united in himself the qualities of a great king and a great saint, being wise in peace and courageous in war. Ambition never entered into his mind; his sole motives were the glory of God, the welfare of religion and the happiness of his people.

In 1234 he married Margaret, the virtuous daughter of Raymond Berenger, Count of Provence, and two years later he took the reins of government into his own hands. In 1238 he headed a crusade, in which he fell a prisoner among the Mohammedans, but a truce was concluded and he was set free and he returned to France. In 1267 he again set out for the East at the head of a crusade, but he never again beheld his native land. In 1270 he was attacked by the pestilence at the siege of Tunis, and after receiving the Last Sacraments, he died.

Lives of the Saints, pgs. 333-334