St. Ives was born in Kermartin, near Tréguier, Brittany, on October 17, 1253. He was the son of Helori, the lord of Hermartin, and Azo du Kenquis.
In 1267, Ives was sent to the University of Paris, where he studied civil law, and then in 1277, he went on to Orléans to study canon law. When he returned to Brittany, he had received minor orders, and was appointed the “official,” or ecclesiastical judge of the archdeanery of Rennes.
Ives studied Scripture extensively. Evidence suggests that he may have joined the Franciscan Tertiaries sometime after his appointment in Rennes. The bishop of Tréguier invited Ives to become his official in 1284. Ives was committed to his position, and didn’t hesitate to resist unjust taxation by the king, which he considered an encroachment on the rights of the Church.
Ives was known as the “advocate and patron of the poor” because of his charity. When he was ordained, he was appointed to the parish of Tredrez in 1285, and eight years later to Louannee, where he died on May 19, 1303.
St. Ives was canonized by Clement VI in 1347. He is the patron saint of lawyers.
