François Ravaillac was born at Angoulême, France in 1578. His grandfather François Ravaillac, was prosecutor of Angoulême. His father Jean Ravaillac was a violent man whose many misdeeds were a public scandal and caused legal difficulties; his mother Françoise Dubreuil (sister of the canons) was known for her Catholic piety.
He began life as a valet de chambre, but afterwards became a lawyer and also teacher of a school. After having been imprisoned by his creditors, he sought admission to the recently founded order of Feuillants, but after a short probation was dismissed as a visionary. An application for admission to the Society of Jesus was equally unsuccessful in 1606. His disappointments fostered a fanatical temperament, and rumours that the king was intending to make war upon the pope suggested to him the idea of assassination, which he carried out on the 14th of May 1610. In the course of his trial he was frequently put to the torture, but persistently (and it is now believed truly) denied that he had been prompted by any one or had any accomplices. Sentence of death was carried out on the 27th of May.
Obsessed by religion, he sought admission to the ascetic Feuillants order, but after a short probation, he was dismissed as being "prey to visions". An application in 1606 for admission to the Society of Jesus was also unsuccessful.
