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St. Louis statue of Louis IX under attack

The Apotheosis of St. Louis, which stands in front of the St. Louis Art Museum. (Wikimedia Commons)

ST. LOUIS — On top of a hill in front of an art museum in the biggest park in St. Louis stands a statue of an anti-Semite.

The monument to the city’s namesake, the medieval French king Louis IX, depicts the king astride a horse, wearing a crown and a robe and holding a sword in his right hand. Erected 116 years ago in Forest Park, it is one of the city’s best-known monuments.

Now, a coalition of activists want it taken down because Louis IX persecuted Jews, presided over a notorious mass burning of the Talmud, issued an order of expulsion against his Jewish subjects and led two Crusader armies in unsuccessful offensives in North Africa.

At a time when statues of Confederate leaders and other figures are coming down across the country, activists in St. Louis want the Louis IX statue to come down too. A petition launched last week is calling on the city not only to take the statue down, but to change the city’s name.

A group of local Catholics is defending the statue, and a group of far-right protesters rallied for the statue last weekend.

“The impossible is becoming possible,” said Umar Lee, a local activist who started the petition and also took part in a successful drive to remove a nearby Confederate monument in 2017. Lee is not Jewish but started the petition because of Louis IX’s anti-Semitism.

“So we’re at this juncture in time when we’re reimagining things and also, we’re taking a hard look at the history,” he said.

“Monuments don’t exist in the past. They exist in the present. It’s not necessary to have a monument glorifying the individual in order to recognize history. King Louis IX will be in the history books no matter what we do in St. Louis.”

The petition calls Louis a “rabid anti-Semite” who inspired Nazi Germany. The call for the statue’s removal is drawing Jewish support. Rabbi Susan Talve, the rabbi of the city’s Central Reform Congregation, said taking it down would help advance racial justice in the US.

“We’ve been talking about that statue for a long time,” she said, adding that removing the statue would be “a very important part of reclaiming history, reclaiming the stories that have created the institutionalized racism that we are trying to unravel today. If we’re not honest about our history we will never be able to dismantle the systems of oppression that we are living under.”

As in other cities where activists have sought to remove monuments, the removal effort has sparked opposition. Every night, a group of several dozen Catholics gathers by the statue to recite the rosary.

One of them, Anna Kalinowski, called the statue a “remarkable work of art.” She emphasized that she reveres Louis IX as “a man who really wanted to follow G-d and [who] really wanted to do the right thing.” She feels his persecution of the Jews should be viewed in historical context.

“He wanted people to be Catholic because the Catholic Church believed that when you’re Catholic that is the way to fully serve G-d,” she said.

“He believed that with his whole heart and soul and he wanted that for the Jewish people.

“Do we think that the way he went about that is wrong now? Sure. I mean, everybody has a right to their opinion on that, but at the time we can’t be so sure because we have to be careful and look at the context of his actions.”

But Talve said that even at the time of Louis IX’s reign in the 13th century there were people who recognized that ordering the expulsion of Jews, burning their sacred texts and leading Crusades was wrong.

“I’m not exactly sure what people are meaning when they say that, when they say you can’t judge what was happening in the Middle Ages by today’s standards, but you know what? Pillaging and looting at any time I think was wrong,” she said. “Asserting that your way is the only way I think is always wrong.”

Lee and other activists gathered near the statue on June 27 in advance of the rally.

Jim Hoft, editor of the website Gateway Pundit and one of the rally organizers, posted a call for “all Catholic and Christian men and their allies” to gather by the statue at noon to recite the rosary. Kalinowski said her group is not affiliated with the rally.

Activist Lee said: “I don’t believe anyone should be free of critical historical analysis,” he said. “It’s very problematic if you say that because someone is a saint, they can’t be analyzed through a critical lens.”

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis issued an emphatic defense of Louis, without mentioning his persecution of Jews, on Sunday.

In its statement, the archdiocese explained why the Catholic Church canonized Louis IX, including his charitable work with the poor and his reforms to France’s judicial system.

It did not mention his actions concerning Jews or his leading role in the Seventh and Eighth Crusades.

The statement said the archdiocese supports “programs and policies that will dismantle racism” and “We should not seek to erase history, but recognize and learn from it, while working to create new opportunities for our brothers and sisters.”

“The history of the statue of St. Louis, the King, is one founded in piety and reverence before G-d, and for non-believers, respect for one’s neighbor,” the statement said.

“For Catholics, St. Louis is an example of an imperfect man who strived to live a life modeled after the life of Jesus . . . For St. Louisans, he is a model for how we should care for our fellow citizen, and a namesake with whom we should be proud to identify.”




2 thoughts on “St. Louis statue of Louis IX under attack

  1. Luca

    1. I think a “Rabbi Susan” is something against Jewish religion. So, she cannot speak on behalf of Jews.
    2. The Crusades aimed at freeing Holy Land from Islamic oppression. Moslems conquered Holy Land defeating Christians, so it is not strange that Christians aimed at freeing the Land where Jesus Christ lived.
    3. Stating that St. Louis was a model for Hitler, is simply madness. Americans do not know history: they should learn. instead of stating rubbish.
    4. St. Louis was a model of justice and pity.
    5. If somebody founded a city naming her after a Saint, and you don’t like this, you are not compelled to live there. Choose another place to stay. You are not allowed to despise your ancestors.
    6. It is not true that St. Louis persecuted Jews – Moslems did, in many places, and do till nowadays – but, if you start quarreling about anti-Jews feelings, you should be aware that some Jews killed Jesus; so, what would you say if somebody said: “Oh, Jews are praising the killers of Jesus, so we should punish them”? You would not agree. would you? So, the same is about disparaging Christians.

    Reply

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