Remembering Louis of Anjou: The Creation of a Fourteenth]century Franciscan Saint

Holly J. Grieco, Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies - Toronto

At the end of the thirteenth century, the Franciscan Order had split over the issue of interpretation of its rule. This debate continued into the fourteenth century, reaching a low point under John XXII in 1318, when a Franciscan inquisitor of Provence turned over four Spiritual Franciscans to the secular arm to be burned at the stake as heretics. At this moment of crisis, John XXII canonized Louis of Anjou, former heir to the throne of Naples who had renounced his claim to become a Franciscan friar and bishop of Toulouse. With this move, John created an acceptable model of orthodox Franciscan spirituality that attempted to reconcile, or even elide, points of tension within the Franciscan Order. With his royal heritage and as bishop of Toulouse, Louis appealed to the pope and the Conventual hierarchy of the Franciscan Order; but as a man who renounced his royal inheritance to become a Franciscan, and who practiced extreme forms of poverty, Louis had the potential to appeal to the Spiritual brothers as well.

In this paper, I argue that Louis’s companions and acquaintances re-remembered him when they participated in the canonization proceedings, to create a Louis of Anjou who would eventually be recognized by John XXII as a saint in 1317. For Clement V, who initiated the canonization proceedings, as for John XXII, one of the goals of canonizing Louis was to offer up an attractive, yet orthodox, model of Franciscan spirituality that might be able to bridge divisions within the Franciscan Order.Witnesses who testified to Louis’s sanctity during the canonization trial not only reflected on Louis’s life; they also described him, whether knowingly or unknowingly, in the ways in which they wanted him to be remembered. The details the witnesses provided, the conventions they employed to describe Louis’s spirituality, and the choices made by Clement and John all aided the creation of this new saint—Louis of Anjou. Furthermore, the choices made by witnesses and others during the canonization proceedings has led to an understanding of Louis’s spirituality that overemphasizes his connection and appeal to the Spiritual Franciscans, making the proceedings and subsequent cult of St. Louis of Anjou an excellent example of the power of memory and the act of remembering to shape the identity of a new saint.