Blessed Charles the Good

Feast date: Mar 02

Charles was a son of Canute IV of Denmark and Adela of Flanders. When he was only five years old, his father was assassinated in St. Alban´s Church, Odence. He was taken by his mother to the court of Robert, his maternal grandfather and Count of Flanders as a suitable place for him to grow up.

Blessed Charles became quite the warrior, and accompanied his grandfather in a crusade to the Holy Land and also fought against the English. After Roberts death in 1111, the new Count Baldwin, Roberts son, relied heavily on Charles for advice.

The people came to have a high regard for Charles´ wise and beneficent ways as well as his personal holiness. Baldwin arranged for Charles’ marriage to the daughter of the Count of Clermont and when Baldwin was wounded in battle, he assigned Charles as successor before he died in 1119. Charles ruled his people with wisdom, diligence, and compassion.

He made sure that times of truce were respected, and fought against unethical marketing practices. One such example is his action against greedy and influential families who had plotted to hoard grain so that it would be sold at excessively high prices. His just nature encouraged the wrath of his opposition.

One day in 1127, as Charles was praying in the Church St. Donatian, his enemies set upon him and killed him. The feast day of Blessed Charles the Good is March 2nd.