Suger entered the Saint-Denis Abbey as a child and rose through the ranks of the monks until his election as abbot in 1122. He improved the finances of the monastery, rebuilt the abbey church, and consecrated a new choir. Abbot Suger became the adviser of King Louis VI and oversaw the education of the dauphin Louis. In 1147, Louis VII took part in the Second Crusade and appointed him regent of the kingdom in his absence. When he died, Suger was buried in the crypt lined with seven radiating chapels (photo) that he had built under the choir ambulatory. During the Revolution, his tomb was desecrated and his ashes thrown into a mass grave.