Louis of Toulouse, Saint

(Louis d'Anjou; 1274-1297)

   St. Louis of Toulouse was the son of Charles II D'Anjou, king of Naples and Sicily, and Mary, daughter of King Stephen V of Hungary. When Alfonso III of Aragon captured Charles in 1288, Louis and his brothers were sent as hostages to Barcelona in exchange for their father's release. The boys spent seven years in captivity while Charles negotiated for their return. Louis surrendered his rights to the throne when Charles arranged for his marriage to the sister of King James II of Aragon, a liaison he opposed. Instead, with great resistance from his father, he was ordained a Franciscan at the age of 23, and, in spite of his royal lineage, he embraced an ascetic life. He was soon appointed bishop of Toulouse, a position he resigned after only a few months. He died six months later in Brignolles and was canonized in 1317, an event commemorated by his brother, Robert D'Anjou, by commissioning Simone Martini to paint the Altarpiece of St. Louis of Toulouse (1317; Naples, Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte). St. Louis is included among the Franciscan saints Taddeo Gaddi depicted in the refectory of Santa Croce, Florence, in c. 1340. He is also one of the saints in the San Ludovico Altarpiece by Annibale Carracci (c. 1589; Bologna, Pinacoteca Nazionale), painted for the Church of Santi Ludovico (in English, Louis) e Alessio in Bologna.