St. Louis de Montfort

Brittany Childhood and the Road to Paris

St. Louis de Montfort was born Louis-Marie Grignion in 1673 at Montfort-sur-Meu in Brittany, France, the eldest surviving child of a large and modest family. After studies at the Jesuit college in Rennes he walked to Paris to prepare for the priesthood at Saint-Sulpice, giving away his belongings along the road, and was ordained a priest in 1700.

Missionary Apostolic to Western France

His heart was set on preaching to the poor. After early trials and opposition, he went to Rome, where Pope Clement XI gave him the title of missionary apostolic and sent him back to evangelize his own country. For the rest of his short life he crisscrossed western France on foot, preaching parish missions marked by fervent devotion to the Rosary, dramatic renewals of baptismal promises, and tireless care for the sick and destitute. His blunt zeal earned him enemies as well as converts; he was banned from preaching in several dioceses and is said to have survived an attempt to poison him.

True Devotion and His Religious Families

Louis's greatest legacy is his Marian teaching. In works such as True Devotion to Mary and The Secret of the Rosary, he taught total consecration to Jesus through Mary as the surest path of holiness. The manuscript of True Devotion lay hidden and forgotten until 1842; once published, it shaped generations of Catholic spirituality, most famously Pope St. John Paul II, whose motto Totus Tuus was drawn from Montfort's consecration. He also founded the Daughters of Wisdom, with Blessed Marie-Louise Trichet, and the Company of Mary, known today as the Montfort Missionaries.

Death While Preaching a Mission

Worn out by his labors, he died on April 28, 1716, at Saint-Laurent-sur-Sevre while preaching a mission, at the age of forty-three. He was beatified in 1888 by Pope Leo XIII and canonized in 1947 by Pope Pius XII. His tomb in the basilica at Saint-Laurent-sur-Sevre remains a place of pilgrimage, and his feast is celebrated on April 28.

Significance

Louis de Montfort taught that the surest way to belong completely to Jesus is to place oneself in the hands of His Mother. Long after his death, the rediscovery of his writings spread that teaching widely, shaping a pope, religious families, and generations of Catholics. His poverty, his missions to the poor, and his perseverance under opposition show that true Marian devotion always leads to Christ and to a life of love.