One day a stranger appeared before him and stated that he was a pilgrim from Palestine, and asked for food. Stephen fed the stranger and asked in return to be told about the Holy Land. The stranger told his stories and he must have seen that Stephen was greatly affected as he finally declared himself to be Jesus Christ and to have come to appoint Stephen to lead the children in a crusade, and gave him a letter to the king of France. Stephen at once entered into his holy mission and told his story to parents and neighbors, showed the letter he had to the king, and declared himself to be called to go forth as a leader in the Crusade. Stephen called the children to his crusade and there flocked about him the children of his neighborhood, but he soon saw that he could not arouse the nation, from this out-of-the-way place. So he determined to go to the greatest religious center in France, the city of St. Denis, the place of burial of the martyr Dionysius, whose tomb was the great shrine of the land, to which great crowds went on pilgrimages. To this place Stephen went, attired in his shepherd's dress, crook in hand, and wallet by side. He went from crowd to crowd, before the church door and in the market place, showing his letter to the king and preaching his Crusade. It was not long before he attracted attention and aroused enthusiasm in the young. The people carried news of him throughout France as they returned to their homes and the young people gathered together their fellows and returned with crowds of children to Stephen. As the numbers increased, Stephen led them through the towns and villages till he had all the children wild to join him. This did not go on without some opposition. Some of the more intelligent men, among them some from the clergy, thought it should not go on, and even the king, Philip Augustus, was in doubt about it. He asked an opinion concerning it from the University of Paris, and after due deliberation its members advised the king that the movement should be stopped even if vigorous means had to be used. The king then issued an edict, commanding the children to give up the enterprise and to return to their homes. This edict had but little effect, as the movement went right on, and the king did not dare enforce the edict.