Saint Louis de Montfort

Image: St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort

The 28th of April is the feast day of Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort (31 January 1673 – 28 April 1716). He was a French Roman Catholic Priest and confessor, known in his time as a preacher and was sent as a missionary apostolic by Pope Clement XI.

He was born in Britanny, France, his family were farmers. When he was a child, he spent a lot of time in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. He travelled by foot to Paris to study theology at a prestigious school when he was 19 years old. On his way there, he gave his possession away to the poor, and made a vow of poverty and to support himself on alms. He became a priest at 27 years old and at 32 years old, after his bishop tried to silence him, received the title of “Apostolic Missionary” from the Pope. For the next 17 years, he preached in many towns and villages in France, converting many with his devotion and his skill in speech. The Jansenists tried to poison him and banished him from preaching in their dioceses, and attempted to assassinate him. He wrote many books and was devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary. His most famous book is the True Devotion to Mary.