While all the saints loved the Blessed Virgin Mary, few were as devoted to her as St. Louis de Montfort (1673-1716). St. Louis was a French Catholic priest who dedicated much of his preaching and writing to promoting Our Lady.
This year, Verso Ministries is leading a pilgrimage to France from October 8 to 17. We’ll visit some of the sites connected to this great saint, including his burial place at the Basilica of St. Louis de Montfort in Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre. We invite you to come along to renew your relationship with your Mother in heaven.
Here’s some fascinating background on this popular saint.
St. Louis de Montfort wrote one of the greatest books on Mary.
St. Louis’ “True Devotion to Mary” is considered by many to be the best resource on Marian spirituality. It was mostly forgotten for over a century after the saint’s death and not republished until 1843.
“True Devotion to Mary” shows that becoming a great saint is easier than you think. In a nutshell, simply consecrate yourself to the Blessed Mother and remain devoted to her. She’ll work wonders in your spiritual life!
He was a favorite saint of Pope St. John Paul II.
St. John Paul II’s deep devotion to Mary was inspired by St. Louis’ writings. He revealed that St. Louis also influenced his episcopal motto, Totus Tuus.
The pope wrote about the humble French priest on several occasions, including in a letter marking the 50th anniversary of St. Louis’ canonization and a letter to the Monfort religious family. The pope called him “an incomparable bard and disciple of the Mother of the Saviour whom he honors as the one who so assuredly leads towards Christ.”
He loved St. Thomas Aquinas and the Dominicans.
Many people don’t know that St. Louis was a Third Order Dominican. The Third Order was the branch of the Dominican family through which laypeople and diocesan priests could share in aspects of the Dominican spirituality without becoming a friar or sister.
St. Louis possessed intellectual gifts and studied many of St. Thomas Aquinas’ writings in seminary. Though not a friar, he imitated St. Dominic’s simplicity and love for the poor and abandoned.
He wanted to become a missionary to America.
St. Louis considered a few different paths for his life, including becoming a hermit or missionary. He lived at a time when the Americas were still considered mission territory. He longed to carry the knowledge and love of Christ and our Lady to foreign lands, particularly America. However, his request was denied and he spent his life preaching in France.
If we’ve inspired you to learn more about this great saint, be sure to register for our fall pilgrimage to France. We hope to see you there!
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Thank you for this short bio of St Louis! He is a giant but no one knows about him! Thank you for the formation Verso gives!