The Providential role of Saint Louis, MO

- Sermon by Segolene Renaze, May 22nd 2016 Introduction

Hello everyone, so I want to talk to you today about the Providential role of Saint Louis.
The reason I chose this subject, is, well, when I arrived here about a year ago, every
person I met would ask me: Out of all the places you could have gone too, why did you
chose Saint Louis?. So, of course I said well, my husband and my studies.
But then I wanted to think a little more deeply about it, and actually, why did I come
here? There must have been another reason, bigger that what I knew. I was inspired to
ask my witnessing leader, Laurent Ladouce (when I was on STF, I had a really great
witnessing leader, and I learnt a lot from him, his is like my mentor). So I asked him
about Saint Louis, and I asked what was the providential role of Saint Louis, and
whether True Father, in the Principle or Elsewhere had mentioned Saint Louis (the
King, and the City) at any point, and what Saint Louis represented for the rest of
America and for the world. So I gathered information about the City and the King, and
combined it with Laurents answers. It really inspired me and thought I would share it
with you.
As a French person, I feel very connected actually with Saint Louis, because of the values
he embodies.
A little of the history, Louis IX, LouisIX, who reigned from 1226 to 1270, also known
as le Prudhomme was canonized as Saint Louis. He was known to be the best king
France ever had, he was also the only French King to be made a Saint. That was due to
the fact he led an extremely pious, very humble life, which was unusual for a French
King in the Middle Age, as the kings at that time tended to be warlords or very powerful
men.
As his Father died in the Crusades, he was crowned King when he was only 12. But his
mother Blanche de Castille, who was a devout Catholic, served as his regent until he
reached adulthood.
She insisted to give him the best education possible, giving him the tools to lead a
country and teaching him about foreign affairs, politics of the country. She was also
credited with instilling Louis IX with a strong faith. The fact he became a saint is often
owed to his mother, who was an incredible woman for her time and the resulting
product was Louis.
He was a very good King also in the way that he put a lot of importance in being sure the
poor people were listened to and taken care of.
His last words to his son are beautiful, he reminded him to always surround himself
with good pious men and to pray every night.

The Principles Mention

The Principle does not mention Saint Louiss name, but mentions his grand son Philippe
IV, also known as Philippe le Bel. (Philip the Fair (not because he was fair, but because
in Frenh, Fer means Iron, or the Iron King)
Saint-Louis is an Abel figure in France, which is in a Cain position in relation to the
Saint-Empire. Whereas Philippe le Bel embodies Cains spirit in the history of France.
The Desire for Justice
He rules inspired by Christian values, which leads to creating the idea that spiritual and
political powers can be incarnated in one man only. He promotes the notion of Common
Good and develops Royal Justice where the sovereign appears to be the supreme
justiciary. By offering a single currency, he is the instigator of institutions which will
become the Parliament and the Court of Audit. He basically changed the process of trial
in France, which was a major thing. No longer would trials be settled by ordeal or
combat, but by evidence and Roman law. The move, Madden says, was part of his Great
Edict of 1254.
His Abel attitude relating to the Pope and the Emperor
In Chapter 4 The Parallels of History (Exposition of the Divine Principle), Section 5
The Period of Israels Exile and Return and the Period of the Papal Exile and Return
The Divine Principle mentions: The popes and priests, sunk in immorality, gradually
lost the confidence of the people. The authority of the papacy sank even lower due to the
repeated defeats of the Crusades. The end of the Crusades saw the gradual collapse of
the feudal system in Europe and the emergence of modern nation-states. As the power
of secular monarchies grew, the conflict between the popes and the kings escalated. In
one such conflict, King Philip IV, the Fair, of France imprisoned Pope Boniface VIII
for a time. In 1309, Philip forced Pope Clement V to move the papacy from Rome to
Avignon in southern France. For seventy years, successive popes lived there subject to
the kings of France, until 1377 when Pope Gregory XI returned the papal residence to
Rome.
Providentially, the Pope of Rome and the Emperor of Germany were supposed to unite
during this 400 year period of division of the East-West. The two figures failed, and
Saint-Louis could have been tempted to take advantage of the situation to take the
position of the Emperor. He was actually asked, but he stayed neutral, or rather in the
position of the good Cain. His grand son did the exact opposite. He had the Pope at
Anagni be slapped (it is more of a metaphore, to symbolize the disdain of the King for
the papacy), then elected a French Pope he brought in Avignon.

We see the greatness of Saint-Louis in contrast with the darkness of his grand son.
Philippe le Bel saw his descendants be extinguished (the cursed kings). That is the origin
of the Hundred Years war.

Providential Errors (?)

Saint-Louis fought the Jews in France. Then, he fought the Muslims during the
Crusades. He died in Tunis from the plague. God did not bless him. He should have
refrained. In other words, he did not have a policy of alliance with Cain, and of uniting
the Jews and Muslims to Gods will.
Now you might think its not because the city has the name of a king that the city has
anything to do with the King. Well I think otherwise. That is linked with the answer to
the question:
Why was the City of St Louis named after a French King who was born more
than 800 years ago?
Interesting research by Thomas Madden, professor of medieval history at Saint Louis
University who said: No one really knows what motivated Pierre Laclede to name his
new settlement St. Louis in 1764, but it is important to bear in mind that all of the first
settlers were French. The French would have known St. Louis as well as we know
George Washington or Abraham Lincoln, he said. This was still before the French
Revolution, so they were all subjects of the French Crown.
While the 18th century is hundreds of years after Maddens research focus, his personal
theory is that Laclede was trying to attract settlers from Fort de Chartres by associating
his settlement with an unequivocally French name. Fort de Chartres had recently come
under English ownership.
St. Louis And The Catholic Church
Building on its French Catholic origins, St. Louis became a beacon for Catholic
immigrants and a center for growth of the Catholic Church in the Midwest, said
Westhoff, adding that many of the citys social institutions, from hospitals to
orphanages, were also founded by Catholics.
It had such a huge Catholic population that as it was developing the area of St. Louis
was referred to as the Rome of the West, and still is today because of the fact that we
produced so many bishops we produced so many other dioceses 44 in fact, were
born out of the diocese of St. Louis, she said.
Which is interesting as he was Frances 44th king :)

Today:
4th most fragmented city, people like their city and town
Black and White divide, Biggest Bosnian community in the world,
Big Catholic Community
Older population, not sustainable: Philipp the Fair, cursed descendants? hopefully not!
Shows Saint Louis as a place of unity and attraction for certain communities, but also a
place of divide. Sign of a lot of potential.
Heavens Hope for Saint Louis
The hope for Saint Louis City to be great is actually old. Saint Louis Saint Louis, the
Future Great City of The World (book written by Reaven) in 1871. Great hope for Saint
Louis to become the capital of America (due to its geographical location, as well as its
railway and boating industry. For a common Interest in a common country
The Gateway City
The City of Saint Louis, founded by the French, occupied by the Spanish, sold to the
Americans, symbolises the three great legacies of the American Continent: Francophone
(Quebec, Haiti, Guyana, Antilles) Hispanic and Anglophone. Only the Portuguese legacy
is missing.
According to legend, on the day of transfer of the territory to the United States in 1803,
St. Louis flew under three flags in one day--French, Spanish, and American.
The city is symbolized by the Arch of Alliance, which can be considered as the NorthSouth, East-West Gateway, but more importantly as the vertical alliance between God
and the U.S.. Saint-Louis is intended to be the heart of the U.S. and to be a city of peace
and unity, harmony.
The city must represent the idea of One Nation Under God. Its status as an independent
city must make us think, reflect. It seems to have a very unique vocation that
distinguishes it, while putting it at the service of the whole (the Gateway City)
From the vue point of the Principle, what is the most gateway-ish, is the final of True
Love which is the Gateway to Cheon Il Guk. Saint-Louis must be a city in America, but
not entirely an American city. It must be sanctified, and go towards another citizenship,
the universal citizenship of Cheon Il Guk. To live in Saint-Louis is to have the passport
to Cheon Il Guk destined to the Americans.