St. Louis de Montfort’s life is inseparable from his efforts to promote genuine devotion to Mother Mary, the blessed mother of Jesus and Mother of the Church. He, Louis Marie Grignion, was born in 1673 at Montfort, France. At the age of twelve, he went to study at the Jesuit college at Rennes, where he made frequent visits before the Blessed Sacraments.
He listened to stories from the local priest of his life as a missionary, which encouraged Louis to pursue his vocation. At age nineteen, he walked to Paris to study theology and along the way gave away all he owned to the poor. He was ordained in 1700 and was assigned as chaplain to the hospital in Poitiers. There he met Blessed Marie Louise Trichet who would later help him to organize the Daughters of Divine Wisdom known for the teaching of children and the care of the poor.
Louis Marie traveled to Rome and Pope Clement XI appointed him Apostolic Missionary, sending him back to France. He preached missions from Brittany to Nantes. His success caused such great controversy that attempts were made to kill him. He worked hard to further his devotion to the Blessed Mother through the rosary. He wrote the now famous books True Devotion to the Blessed Mother, the Secret of the Rosary and the Secret of Mary.
In 1715, he organized the Company of Mary (the Montfort Fathers), a missionary group of priests, and along with Blessed Marie Louise Trichet opened a school in La Rochelle. The following year he died at Saint-Laurent-sur-Sevre where a basilica has been erected in his honor. He was canonized a Saint in 1947.
St. Louis De Montfort Prayer