LOUIS 377 L0UI8B
idea of beooming a Friar Preacher, and despite the Church by St. Louis. Turon places the number of efforts of his father to dissuade him, was clothed with converts in Tubera at 10,000. What gr^tlv enhances the Dominican habit in the Convent of St. Dominic, the merit of this wonderful achievement is that all had Valencia, 26 Aug., 1544. After the usual probation, been adequately instructed in the teachings of the in which he distinguished himself above all his asso* Church before receiving baptism, and continue stead- dates in the qualities of an ideal religious, he pro* fast in their faith.
nounced the vows that irrevocably bound him to the From Tul^era the Apostle bent his steps in the dlrec- Hfe of perfection. The profound signiiicanoe of his tion of C*ipacoa and Paluato. Ilis success at Uie for* religious profession served as a stimulus to the in- mer place, the exact location of which it is impossible crease of virtues that already gave evidence of being to determine, was little inferior to that of Tubera. At cast in heroic mould. In demeanour he was grave, Paluato the results of his zealous efforts were some- and apparently without any sense of humour, vet what disheartening. From this imfruitful soil the withal possessed of a gentle and sweet disposition that saint withdrew to the pro\incc of St. Martha, where greatly endeared him to those with whom he came in his former successes were repeated. This harvest contact. While he could lav no claim to the great yielded 15,000 souls. While labouring at St Martlia, intellectual gifts and ripe scholurship that have dis- a tribe of 1500 Indians came to him u'om Paluato to tingmshed so manv of the saints oi the Dominican implorethcgraceof l)aptism, which 1x;fore they had re- Order he a{)plied himself assiduously to study, and jectoid. The work at St. Martha finished, the tireless storedf his mind with the sacred truths expounded in missionary mulertook the work of converting the war- the pages of the "Summa". In 1547 he was ad- like Caribs, probably inliabitaiits of the I..eeward Is- vanoed to the priesthood by the Archbishop of Valen- lands. Ilis efTorts amone these fierce tril)esmen seem cia, St. Thomas of Villanova. not to liavc been attended with any great success. The extraordinary sanctity of the young Domini- Xeverthcless, the apostolatc among the Caribs fur- can's life, and the remarkable influence he exercised nished the occasion again to make manifest the Divine on those about him, singled him out as one peculiarly protection which constantly oversliadowed the minis- fitted to lead others along the path of perfection. tr>' of St. Louis. A deadly draught was administered Consequently, he was appointed to the most responsible to him ])y one of the native priests. Through Di\'ine office oif master of no\ices. in the convent at \ alencia, interposition, the virulent poison failed to accomplish the duties of which he discliarged at different inter- its purpose, thus fulfilling the words of St. Mark: " If vals for an aggregate of thirty years. The plague they shall drink anj' deadly thing, it shall not hurt that decimated t)^ inhabitants of \'ulencia and the them" (xvi, 18). Tenerifte next became the field of vicinity in 1557, afforded the saint an excellent op- the saint's apostolic labours. Unfortunately, how- portunity for the exercise of his charity and zeal, ever, there arc no records extant to indicate what was Tirelessly he ministered to the spiritual and physical the result of his preaching. At Mompox, thirty-seven needs ot the afflicted. With the tenderness and do- leagues south-cast of Carthagena, we are told, rather votion of a mother he nursed the sick. The dead indefinitely, that many thousands were converttnl to
scope , .
ready large ministry into the apostolate of preaching. After an apostolatc the marvellous and enduring
Though possessed of none of the natural qualities fruits of which have richly merited for him the title of
deemed essential for a successful career in the pulpit, Apostle of South America, he n'turncd under obcdi-
he immediately attracted attention as a preacher of ence to his native Spain, which he had left just seven
great force and far-reaching influence. The cathe- vears before. Duriiig the eleven remaining vears of
dral and most capacious churches were placed at his his life many offlces of honour and responsibility were
disposal, but proved wholly inadequate to accom- imposed upon him. The numerous duties that at-
modate the multitude that desir^ to hear him. tachcd to them were not ix'rniitted to interfere with
Eventually it became necessary for him to resort to the exacting regime of his holy life. The ever increas-
tbe public squares of the city. It was probably the ing fame of his sanctity and wis<lom won the admira-
fame of his preaching that brought him to the atten- tion and confidence of even the officials of the Govem-
tion of St. iferesa, who at this time sought his coun- ment, who more tlian once consulte<l him in affairs of
ael in the matter of reforming her order. State. With the heroic natience tliat characterized
Unknown to his brethren, St. Louis had long cher- bis whole life he endured tiie ordeal of his last sickness,
fields of tlie New He was canonized by Clement X in 1C71. His feast
ished the desire to enter the mission
World. The hope that there he might find the coveted is observed on 10 Octolx?r.
crown of martyrdom contributed not a little to sliarp- _ Wilberforck, The Life of St.
emng the ed^ of his desire. Possessed of the neces- Dominique (r.-iris. 1747), IV, 4S5-5l»0; Kozk. I.es Dominicnxn%
nry permission he sailed for Amenca m 1562, and m AnUrique {Pans, 187S), 2<k)-:uo; Byusk, i>kticht8 of hIu^-
landed at Cartagena, where he immediately entered ^ribtt«Z)om»nk:on«CBo3tou, 1884). 1-95. ^
upon the career of a missionary. The work thus be- John' B. O C onnor.
gun was certainly fruitful to an extnvordinary degree, Louis de Blois. See Bi/^sius, Fran^^ois-Louis. and bore unmistakably the stamp of Divine approba-
bation. The process of his canonization bears con- Louise, Sistkr, educator and organizer, b. at vincin^ testimony to the wonderful conciuest which Bergen -op -Zoom, Holland, 14 Nov., l!Sl3; d. at the saint achiev^ in this new field of kljour. The Cincinnati, Ohio, 3 Dec., ISfSC). Josephine Susanna Bull of canonisation asserts that, to facilitate the work Vanderschriek wiw the tenth of the twelve children of of converting the natives to Gml, the apostle was Cornelius Vanderschriek, advocate, and his wife Clara miraculously endowed with the gift of tongues. From Maria Wecnan. Soon after her birth her father re- Cartagena, the scene of his first lalxjiu^. St. I^uis was moved with lus family to Antwerp, gave up the prac- sent to Panama, where in a comparati) J.y short tinie tice of the law, and engaged in what had l)ecn the he converted some 6,000 Indians. His next mission family businetf>s for generations, the manufacture and wis at Tubera, situated near the sea-coast and mid- exportation of woolen cloths, in which he amassed a way between the city of Cartagena and the Magdalcna large fortune. From her father Josephine inherited Riyer. The success of his efforts at this place is wit- remarkable skill in the management of affairs, finnness nened by the entries of the baptismal registers, in the in whatever involve<l principle, and unswerving fidel- ■aint'B own handwriting. These entries show that all ity to duty; from her mother, a gentle and amiable tbe inhabitantB of the place were received into the disposition which endeared her to all. Sho. ncvic^ <^\br
