Bienheureux Charles de
Blois
Duc de
Bretagne (+ 1364)
Duc de Bretagne et comte
de Limoges, il fut célèbre par sa piété dont il n'interrompit jamais les
exercices, même sur les champs de bataille. Fait prisonnier, il endura neuf
années d'emprisonnement dans la Tour de Londres. Il périt à Auray lors de la
guerre de succession de la Bretagne.
Près d'Auray au pays de
Vannes, en 1364, le trépas du bienheureux Charles de Blois. Duc de Bretagne,
pieux, doux et humble, il aurait préféré faire partie des Frères mineurs mais,
obligé de revendiquer le duché contre un prétendant, il supporta avec constance
une très longue captivité et mourut, revêtu d'un cilice, sur le champ de
bataille.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : https://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/1935/Bienheureux-Charles-de-Blois.html
Charles
de Blois, reproduction d'un ancien vitrail d'Angers.
28 septembre :
Bienheureux Charles de Blois
Charles naquit à Blois en
1320, de Guy de Chatillon, comte de Blois et de Marguerite de Valois, soeur du
Roi de France.
Dès sa plus tendre
enfance, il distribuait aux pauvres tout ce qu'il possédait ; la prière le
trouvait toujours fidèle. À 17 ans, on le marie avec Jeanne de Penthièvre,
future héritière du duché de Bretagne. À son épouse, il devait la possession de
la Seigneurie de Mayenne. Il séjourna à diverses reprises en la ville de
Mayenne ; il visita et combla de ses bienfaits l'hôpital de Mayenne. Un Jeudi
Saint, il célèbre à Mayenne le Mandatum (lavement des pieds), comblant à cette
occasion les pauvres de ses largesses et leur donnant des marques de sa
particulière bienveillance.
Sa vie fut marquée par de
lourdes épreuves, notamment une captivité de neuf années, et elle s'acheva sur
le champ de bataille d'Auray en 1364.
Tu as donné, Seigneur, au
bienheureux Charles de demeurer doux et humble de cœur dans le
gouvernement de l'État comme dans les périls de la guerre ; par son
intercession, accorde-nous de rester fidèles à l'esprit de l'Évangile à travers
les réussites et les échecs de notre vie. Par Jésus Christ...
Charles de Blois baron de Mayenne et l'étendard breton. Peintures murales de la chapelle Saint Léonard à Mayenne
Profile
Son of Guy de Chatillon, Count
of Blois,
and Margaret, sister of King
Philip VI of France.
Charles felt a call to be a Francescan
friar, but political duty kept him in secular life. Married
Joan of Brittany
in 1337,
and became Duke
of Brittany
which involved him in disputes political and military. Soldier.
Captured Nantes, France.
Attended Mass
daily. Founded religious houses, helped the sick
and poor.
Made a barefoot pilgrimage
to Rennes. In 1346
he was defeated and lost his dukedom
to John de Montfort who imprisoned
him and sent him to England
to languish in the Tower of London
until ransomed and released nine years later in 1355.
Charles then spent nine more years unsuccessfully fighting to regain his
dukedom before dying in battle. Along the way he founded several religious
houses, and was known for his Christian
treatment of prisoners.
Born
killed in battle on 29
September 1364
at Aurey, France
Additional
Information
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
images
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sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001
edición
fonti
in italiano
MLA
Citation
‘Blessed Charles of
Blois‘. CatholicSaints.Info. 24 September 2022. Web. 15 October 2026.
<https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-charles-of-blois/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-charles-of-blois/
Le Bienheureux Charles de Blois, Duc de Bretagne et ses féaux, Duguesclin et Beaumanoir devant l’image de Notre-Dame des Vertus sont reçus par le révérend prieur du couvent des Cordeliers, XIVe S°, Église Saint-Malo de Dinan, Côtes-d’Armor, Bretagne, baie 27, mur nord de la nef, carton de Jean Virolle, signature du vitrail non détectée.
Blessed Charles of Blois
(Charles de Blois)
Feast Day - September 30
Charles, Duke of Brittany
in the fourteenth century, was a brave soldier who was forced to wage a
life-long war and lost his life on the battlefield. He was also an exemplary
Tertiary of St Francis who wore a hair shirt and daily assisted at Holy Mass and
recited the divine office. About six hundred years after his birth he was
enrolled among the blessed by the Holy See.
Born about 1316, Charles
was the son of Louis de Chatallon, Count of Blois, and Margaret, sister of King
Philip VI of France. Even as a boy he was known for his virtue as well as his
bravery. When he was twenty-five, in 1341, he married Joan of Brittany and thus
became Duke of Brittany. However, his uncle, John de Montfort, refused to
recognize Charles’ rightful claim to the dukedom.
Charles did all he
possibly could to settle the matter peaceably, but his efforts were in vain. A
bloody was of four years ensued, during which Charles succeeded at first in
repelling the attacks made upon him.
The duke was a model
Christian soldier. He required his soldiers to attend Holy Mass daily. When
they objected, Blessed Charles of Blois replied: “We can afford to lose
castles, but we cannot let a day go by without attending Holy Mass.” He made
careful provision for those who were wounded in battle; and to help his fallen
soldiers, he founded religious houses where Masses were celebrated and prayers
were offered up for the repose of their souls.
After four years of
fighting, de Montfort obtained help from England and defeated Charles in a
decisive battle. Charles was taken prisoner and held by the English in the
Tower of London for nine years. There he lived like a recluse, devoting much
time to prayer and never showing any signs of impatience, so that even his
jailers were edified.
Finally Charles was released
and returned to Brittany; but his implacable uncle renewed his attacks on him,
until in the battle at Auray, on September 29, 1364, Charles was killed,
fighting bravely. On that day, Blessed Charles of Blois had prepared himself
for battle by receiving the sacraments with such devotion as if he knew that he
would not survive.
Soon after his death,
miracles were reported at his grave, and the people began to venerate him as a
saint. This cult was kept up through the centuries; and on December 14, 1904, the
Holy See gave its official approval and thus declared him blessed.
From: The Franciscan Book
of Saints, Marion A. Habig, OFM
SOURCE : https://www.roman-catholic-saints.com/blessed-charles-of-blois.html
Reliquaire
du Bienheureux Charles de Blois, Cathédrale Saint-Louis de Blois. Charles
de Blois (1319-1364) fut suite à son mariage avec Jeanne de Penthièvre, l'un
des protagonistes de la Guerre de Succession de Bretagne. Particulièrement
pieux, il a été béatifié en 1904.
Blessed Charles of Blois
– September 29th
Charles was a French
prince who would have liked to be a Franciscan friar, but spent most of his
life on the battlefield. He was a nephew of King Philip VI of France, and when
he was seventeen, he married Joan of Brittany. But there was another man who
claimed he should be Duke of Brittany, instead of Charles. That is how all the
fighting began, and it lasted his whole life.
Blessed Charles hated
wars, for he saw how much suffering they bring. Once he offered to settle the
whole matter by fighting alone against his rival, but the wars went on. The
holy prince did all he could to help the wounded after every battle and to take
care of the poor people in the towns he conquered. Barefoot he made pilgrimages
and he built religious houses where monks and nuns would pray for him and for
the soldiers who were killed in battle. Once, he held up a big battle in order
to go to Mass first. One of his officers was angry at that, but Blessed Charles
answered, “We can always get towns and castles. If we lose them, God will help
us get them back again. But we cannot afford to miss Mass.”
Even while in prison for
nine years in London, Charles won the admiration of his jailers because of his
calm patience and his spirit of prayer. When he was set free, he went back to
fight for his land again, and was finally killed on the battlefield. So many
miracles took place at his tomb that the people of Brittany began calling him a
saint right away.
Do I easily find excuses
to miss Mass? How do I assist at Mass? Let us often remember the example of
this Saint, who even held up a big battle in order to go to Mass first.
SOURCE : http://thesaintsstories.blogspot.com/2008/07/blessed-charles-of-blois.html
Statue du Bienheureux Charles de Blois. Église Notre-Dame de Bulat-Pestivien.
Beato Carlo di Blois Duca
di Bretagna
Blois, 1318-19 - Auray
1364
Figlio di Guido di
Châtillon conte di Blois e di Margherita di Valois, sorella di Filippo VI di
Francia, sposò (1337) Giovanna di Penthièvre, figlia di Guido, secondogenito di
Arturo II di Bretagna. Alla morte, senza eredi diretti, di Giovanni III, figlio
primogenito di Arturo, si aprì la lotta per la successione tra Carlo e Giovanni
di Montfort, figlio di secondo letto di Arturo. La questione fu risolta dalla
Corte dei pari di Francia con un verdetto favorevole a Carlo (1341), che non fu
però accettato da Giovanni. Ne seguì tra i due pretendenti (a Giovanni, morto
nel 1345, si sostituì poi il figlio omonimo), appoggiati rispettivamente da
Filippo VI di Francia ed Edoardo III d'Inghilterra, una lunga guerra, che si
innestò in quella dei Cent'anni e che terminò, dopo varie vicende tra cui una
lunga prigionia di Carlo (1347-56; dal 1348 nella Torre di Londra) e alcuni
tentativi di pace, nel 1364 con la sconfitta e la morte di Carlo in battaglia e
l'assegnazione del ducato a Giovanni di Montfort. La fama di santità di cui
Carlo si era circondato in vita, si consolidò dopo la sua morte, sì che Urbano
V dette inizio (1369) al processo di canonizzazione, continuato poi sotto
Gregorio XI ma forse mai giunto a conclusione. Comunque Pio X (1904) ne
confermò il culto come beato.
Martirologio
Romano: Presso Vannes sulla costa della Bretagna, beato Carlo da Blois,
uomo pio, mite e umile: duca di Bretagna, avrebbe desiderato entrare tra i
Frati Minori, ma, costretto a difendere la propria sovranità contro un nemico,
forte nelle difficoltà, subì una lunga carcerazione e fu ucciso in
combattimento presso Auray.
Nacque nel 1320 da Guido di Châtillon e da Margherita di Valois, sorella del re di Francia, Filippo VI. Unì alle doti fisiche e intellettuali profonde virtù cristiane: pietà, umiltà, spirito di sacrificio. Il 4 giugno 1337 fu dato come sposo a Giovanna di Penthièvre, nipote del duca di Bretagna e sua erede presuntiva. Morto il 30 aprile 1341 Giovanni III di Bretagna, Carlo, per difendere i diritti della moglie, dovette scendere in armi contro Giovanni di Montfort, fratellastro del defunto, che rivendicava per sé il ducato. Questa lotta di successione, un capitolo della guerra «dei cent'anni», trasformò la Bretagna in un campo di battaglia dove si affrontarono Francia e Inghilterra, alleate dei due partiti avversi. Carlo, leale cavaliere, si fece un dovere di combattere, anche se la sua indole lo avrebbe portato a una vita di contemplazione e di preghiera. Scriverà: «Sarebbe stato meglio che io fossi frate minore, perché il popolo di Bretagna non può aver pace a causa dei nostri contrasti e tuttavia io non posso farci nulla senza il consiglio dei baroni».
Dal 1341 al 1347 la
guerra gli fu favorevole: in questo periodo apportò nella chiesa dei
Francescani di Guingamp abbellimenti sontuosi e fece costruire una cappella
reale dedicata a san Luigi d'Angiò. Ma il 20 giugno 1347 cadde prigioniero
nella battaglia della Roche-Derrien. Conobbe allora una lunga e dolorosa
cattività a Londra (1348-56): in quegli anni scrisse la biografia del suo santo
prediletto, Ivo, di cui aveva ottenuto dal papa la canonizzazione. Liberato,
poté godere di una pace relativa: nel 1363 la guerra riprese nonostante gli
arbitrati e, il 29 novembre 1364, Carlo soccombette nella battaglia di Auray.
Il suo corpo, rivestito del cilicio, fu inumato presso i Francescani di
Guingamp. Subito il popolo lo venerò come santo, ma fu sette anni dopo la sua
morte che Giovanna di Penthièvre fece intraprendere le pratiche per ottenere la
canonizzazione di Carlo, nonostante gli sforzi contrari di Giovanni IV di
Montfort. Il papa Gregorio XI, trascurando l'opposizione del duca, aprì il
processo apostolico che si tenne dal 9 settembre al 18 dicembre 1371 e di cui
si conserva copia degli atti nel ms. Vat. Lat. 4025. Le guerre e lo scisma di
Occidente fermarono la procedura, ma la causa fu ripresa il 4 settembre 1892:
il 14 dicembre 1904, Pio X confermò il culto immemorabile reso a Carlo
dichiarandolo beato.
Il culto verso di lui fu
organizzato, fin dall'inizio, dai Francescani. Andata distrutta (1591), durante
le guerre di religione, la chiesa di Guingamp, il corpo di Carlo fu trasportato
nella nuova chiesa della Madonna delle Grazie, fuori di città, che divenne meta
frequentatissima di pellegrinaggi. Vi si conservano ancora, in un modesto
reliquiario, offerto nel 1753 dal duca di Châtillon, resti del beato.
Viene festeggiato il 20
giugno a Blois; e il 30 ottobre nelle diocesi di Bretagna.
Autore: Hubert
Claude
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/72465
Vœu
de Charles de Blois, peinture à l'huile sur toile datée de 1890 et peinte par
le père Édouard Le Grand (1856-1936) [Après une victoire sur le comte de
Montfort, Charles de Blois avait fait le vœu de porter, en chemise et pieds
nus, les reliques de saint Yves de La Roche-Derrien à Tréguier] ; cette
toile fut exposée au Salon des Champs-Élysées à Paris en 1890. Ce tableau
provient de la chapelle Saint-Yves à Kermaria en Plougasnou. Plougasnou :
église paroissiale Saint-Pierre,
Lemaitre Henri. Monuments du procès
de canonisation du bienheureux Charles de Blois, duc de Bretagne, 1320-1364. Saint-Brieuc,
impr. de R. Prud'homme, 1921. [compte-rendu], Bibliothèque
de l'École des chartes Année 1923 84 pp.
189-190 : https://www.persee.fr/doc/bec_0373-6237_1923_num_84_1_460619_t1_0189_0000_001
Noël Maurice-Denis
Boulet. « La canonisation de Charles de Blois (1376) ». Revue
d'histoire de l'Église de France Année 1942 114 pp.
217-224 : https://www.persee.fr/doc/rhef_0300-9505_1942_num_28_114_2943
Le bienheureux Charles de
Blois : http://www.infobretagne.com/charles_de_blois.htm
