A (Somewhat) Forgotten Saint
Catholic, General
I was cruising Wikipedia yesterday for information on French monarchs (yes, I do need a bit of a life this summer), and came across an interesting figure, named Charles of Blois, former Duke of Burgundy (d. 1364). I found him as I progressed along French history from St. Louis IX to the One Hundred Years War. He was a great military leader and also a deeply pious and charitable man. The canonization process started shortly after his death, but was stopped for political reasons. However, he was finally beatified by Pope and Saint Pius X in 1904. God moves slowly, but always accomplishes his will. Bl. Charles is patron of prisoners, probably due to his humane and Christian treatment of those he captured. His memorial is September 29th. It’s always interesting to find heroes of the Faith who may be more obscure or without an organized, international following.
Bl. Charles of Blois, pray for us!