Louis was born in Brignoles, Provence (or in Italy, at Nocera, where he spent a part of his early life), the second son of King Charles II of Naples and Mary of Hungary.

[6] On 5 February 1297, Louis was consecrated Bishop of Toulouse by Boniface VIII,[7] where his granduncle Alphonse had until recently been count, but had died in 1271 leaving no heir.

Here Louis stood in an ambivalent dynastic and ecclesiastical position, in a territory between Provence and Aquitaine that was essential to Angevin interests.

Despite the princely standing that had won him this important appointment at the age of about 22, Louis rapidly gained a reputation for serving the poor, feeding the hungry, and ignoring his own needs.

[11] Louis of Toulouse was not otherwise widely venerated in the rest of Europe, but the Franciscans embraced him, keeping his day in their calendar and removing his relics in 1423 to Valencia,[12] where he was made its patron saint.