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Louis had a special passion for sermons, first coming into vogue at the time, and he encouraged the preaching friars, repeating his favorite homilies to those at his table. Queen Marguerite's confessor re-cords that she would often get up at night and cover the king with a cloak while he was at his long prayers, because he did not notice the cold.

Twenty-two years after his first crusade, Louis tried to redeem himself with another. He landed in Tunis, in northern Africa, in the heat of the summer of 1270. Dysentery or typhoid quickly swept through the unsanitary camp. Louis fell ill and died while lying penitently on a bed of ashes, whispering the name of the city he never won: "Jerusalem, Je-rusalem." He was the only king of France given sainthood, and a major city along the Mississippi River honors his memory.

Reprinted by permission from 131 Christians You Should Know, produced by CHRISTIAN HISTORY magazine. To subscribe, call 1-800-873-6986.

1999 by the author or Christianity Today International/Today's Christian magazine (formerly Christian Reader).
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