The Benedictine abbey of Vézelay was founded in the 9th century and relics of Saint Mary Magdalen were brought from Saint-Maximin in Provence. In the 11th century it became an important place of pilgrimage, on the way to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. The basilica was built in the first half of the 12th century in Romanesque style. In 1146 Saint Bernard of Clairvaux preached the second crusade and in 1190 King Richard I Coeur de Lion of England and King Philip II Augustus of France convoked the third crusade. In 1217 Saint Francis of Assisi founded the first community in France of Friars Minor (Franciscans). King Saint Louis IX made four pilgrimages to Vézelay in 1244, 1248, 1267 and 1270. The importance of Vézelay started to decline at the end of the 13th century.