Biography

FRANCIS LOUIS OF BLOIS, more commonly known by his Latin name, Ludovicus Blosius, was born in 1506, near Beaumont in Hainaut, of the noble house de Blois et de Chatillon.He was sent by his parents to the court of Charles V., and passed his early youth there as page to the Emperor. At the age of fourteen he left it by his own choice, and entered the Benedictine Monastery of Liesse, near Avesnes in Hainaut, where he was remarkable for his wisdom and piety. In his twenty-fourth year he was chosen Abbot, and restored the ancient discipline of the Monastery, which soon acquired a great reputation for learning and virtue.

He frequently refused both the Archbishopric of Cambrai and the Abbey of Tournai, offered him by Charles V, whose almoner he had been. He studiously exerted himself in the reform of his monastery and in the composition of devotional works.

His best-known works are the Institutio Spiritualis (Eng. trans., A Book of Spiritual Instruction, London, 1900), Consolatio Pusillanimium (Eng. trans., Comfort for the Faint Hearted, London, 1903)and Sacellum Animae Fidelis (Eng. trans., The Sanctuary of the Faithful Soul, London, 1905)

He died at his monastery on the 7th of January, 1566, in the 60th year of his age.