St. Louis de Montfort

St. Louis de Montfort was born January 31, 1673, the eldest surviving child of 18. At the age of 12 he entered the Jesuit College of St. Thomas Becket, where his uncle was a priest. Under the guidance of some other priests he developed a strong devotion to the Blessed Mother. This devotion led to his focus on the rosary and eventually his acclaimed book the Secret of the Rosary.

He was ordained in June 1700. His desire was to go on foreign missions but he was denied this by his spiritual director. In November he joined the Third Order of the Dominicans and asked to form rosary confraternities. This eventually led to the formation of the Company of Mary. For many years he preached in missions and became known as “ The good father from Montfort”.

After leaving the mission the next several years became very busy for him, always traveling on foot. He somehow found time to write ‘True Devotion to Mary’, ‘The Secret of Mary’, and the ‘Secret of the Rosary’.

The heated style of his preaching was thought of as strange by some and he was even poisoned once.

During his final mission he became ill and died on April 28 1716. He was 43 years old and had been a priest for 16 years.

He is the patron of preachers