Andrew of Lonjumeau

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Andrew of Lonjumeau was a Dominican missionary and papal ambassador, born in the diocese of Paris; died c. 1253.

Andrew first appeared in the company of missionaries sent to the East by Blessed Jordan of Saxony in 1228. On this journey he gained great proficiency in several Oriental languages. When Baldwin II gave over the Crown of Thorns to King Louis IX, Andrew was commissioned together with the Dominican James of Paris, to bear the sacred treasure to France.

Upon reaching Constantinople, they were asked by the Barons of that city, who ruled in the vacancy, to carry the relic to the Venetians, to whom it had, in the meantime, been sold. Andrew and James set out about Christmas, 1238 to Venice. Upon arriving in Venice, Andrew remained behind in custody of the Crown of Thorns and James hastened to King Louis IX for further instructions. If the King was willing to offer his guarantee in the amount of two hundred thousand pounds of gold, the impoverished Venetians were ready to dispose of the relic. In 1239 the two Dominicans had reached Troyes with the Crown. From that place King Louis carried it on his shoulders to the newly built chapel at Aix.

In 1245 Andrew was sent as Papal ambassador by Innocent IV to the Oriental schismatic patriarchs, to induce them to unite with the See of Rome. Contrary to all expectations he found them orthodox, as was evident from their joint letter to the Pope, as given in Raynaldus (Ann. Eccl. ad an. 1247). Andrew was probably the bearer of this letter to the Holy Father. On his journey to the Patriarchs, Andrew halted to deal with the Mogul Khan Baiothnoi, and after his death with the Mogul Ercoltai. Though this diplomatic mission utterly failed, as Bernard Guidonis expressly declares (Chronicon, ad an. 1248), there is testimony of subsequent missionaries to show that many converts were made to the Faith.

Andrew died some time after 1253, for that year he was active as missionary in Palestine. The Franciscan, Rubruquis, in his work on Oriental customs, declares that everything he had heard from Andrew on the subject was fully borne out by his own personal observations.