A few weeks before his death, Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort (1673-1716) made an act of faith. It was to implore God to give missionaries for his Company and Wisdom through the intercession of Mary. 33 penitents walked as pilgrims, 2 by 2, from Saint-Pompain to Notre-Dame des Ardilliers in 1716...
PONTCHATEAU, France - On November 28, 2024, the “Montfortian Heritage in France” Committee appointed by the Superior General (cf. Sec. Gen. 26-2024) met at the Calvary of Pontchâteau to reflect on the future of the Montfortian mission in France. The participants worked on a strategy aligned with the orientations of the SMM General Chapter 2023 and the current needs of the Montfortian Places in France...
SAINT-LAURENT-SUR-SÈVRE, France - It is 14°C in this small town on the edge of the Vendée. The gray sky does not prevent the bell towers, which, piercing the sky, continue to sublimate the soul of this place imbued with spirituality. At 9am, twenty valiant men are heading towards the Salle Notre-Dame du Saint-Esprit, while four others, stuck in traffic on the outskirts of Nantes, are still on their way. Under the soft and benevolent light of this freshly renovated room, a song to the Virgin Mary rises, “Mary, witness of Hope”...
PONTCHÂTEAU – France. On Sunday, September 29, the Calvary park of Pontchâteau welcomed about 3,000 Scouts from the five different movements present in France: the “United Scouts of France”, the “Scouts and Guides of Europe”, the “Scouts and Guides of France”, the “Europe-Scouts” and the “Sainte Barbe Company”....
DINAN, France - The beatification investigations of Claude and Marguerite de La Garaye, born in 1675 and 1681 respectively, married in 1701, friends of St. Louis-Marie de Montfort, opened on Sunday, September 22, 2024, in the Church of Saint-Malo in Dinan.
PONTCHÂTEAU, France - On February 10 and 11, 2024, a session on interculturality organized by the Daughters of Wisdom brought together young Montfortians in Pontchâteau under the leadership of three priests from the Society of African Missions, Fathers Laurent, Roger and Etienne. The event was attended by 19 sisters from the Daughters of Wisdom and 2 young Montfort missionaries, namely Fr. Eric MANIRAKIZA, SMM and Fr. Olivier RAMAHENINTSOA, SMM...
PARIS, France - The Conference of Religious Men and Women of France (CORREF) recently organized its annual Welcome 2024 session for foreign missionaries working in France. It was participated by one from the Montfort Missionaries and three from the Daughters of Wisdom. This week, which took place from Monday, February 5 to Friday, February 9 in Paris, was marked by enriching exchanges and a deep immersion in French social and religious reality...
SAINT-LAURENT-SUR-SEVRE, France - The Association of Rectors of Sanctuaries (ARS), recently changed its name to become the Association of Catholic Sanctuaries (ASC). This association held its annual congress from January 29 to 31, 2024 at the sanctuary of Notre Dame de Montligeon, world center of prayer for the Souls of Purgatory...
MONTFORT-SUR-MEU, France - “God loves singing, angels sing, and by singing, we are like them.” “God wants his servants to sing and be merry” “to sing in the heavens above”, said Father de Montfort. If he lived in our time, he would undoubtedly have caused a sensation. In his time, he knew how to make the most of the jewels that are hymns. “How many souls have been led and brought back to Our Lord, thanks to these rhymed and melodic instructions,” said Louis Cardinal Dubois...
SAINT-LAURENT-SUR-SÈVRE, France - It is with joy that our parish-sanctuary welcomed Mgr. François JACOLIN from Thursday, November 30 to Sunday, December 3, 2023, with the celebration of the Mass of the first Sunday of Advent during which 28 young people received the sacrament of Confirmation. This visit was part of the bishop's pastoral visit to the Herbiers deanery. The latter is made up of 7 parishes. And it is in our Parish-Sanctuary of Saint-Louis de Montfort in Saint-Laurent sur Sèvre that this immersion of the pastor among his sheep ended. Of course, it was a symbolic event...
PONTCHÂTEAU, France - The Calvary Site today includes 30 monuments. Chapels, caves, stations of the cross, halls and Calvary are harmoniously located in this life-size park of 14 hectares. The Father de Montfort Chapel is visible in all its splendor at the same time as the hill of Calvaire, the highest point of the Site. It's right at the foot...
MARILLAIS, France - A good start for the (pastoral) year that has just begun! The four international Montfortian communities of France met at Marillais, where, in 430, Our Lady appeared to the bishop Saint Maurille and who wanted the feast of her birth to be established and celebrated. There, these “true children of Mary” (PM 11) gathered together on October 30, 2023, to receive and reflect on the Acts of the 38th General Chapter. Thus, the place is more than symbolic.
MONTFORT-SUR-MEU, France - The influence of the spirituality of Father de Montfort and that of the Montfort missionaries in Montfort-sur-Meu experienced its golden age during the long years of presence of the novices at the birthplace. All of a sudden, Covid forced their departure. The birthplace tried to maintain its activities and continued to be a place of presence, visit and prayer. All of these are in perfect harmony with the life of the Saint Louis-Marie Parish in Brocéliande...
BRITTANY, France - A statue of Montfort was recently installed in the Vallée des Saints Bretons. The Valley of Saints is a large hill in Carnoët, in the heart of Brittany, where, inspired by Easter Island, a site has been created where statues of saints, sculpted by artists from around the world, have been installed. The initiators of paying homage to the saints of Brittany and the popular devotion which accompanies them, decided to raise 1000 monumental statues, between 3 and 4 meters high, in blocks of Breton granite in a project started a few years ago and which will continue in the years to come...
SAINT-LAURENT-SUR-SEVRE, France – Since January 2023, Fr. Olivier Nantenaina RAMAHENINTSOA, SMM is sent to France as a missionary. Like other confreres before him, he signed an agreement for international collaboration between entities under the mediation of the General Administration, which supports the project to relaunch the Montfortian mission in France. On June 25, Fr. Olivier was appointed as the secretary of the Vice-Province of France and a collaborator of the parish in Saint Laurent-sur-Sèvre. Here is a self-introduction of the confrere...
FRANCE, ND du Chêne - "This is my Body, this is my Blood..." "Each time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you announce the death of the Lord, until he comes" (1Co 11:26). With these words, Saint Paul reminds the Christians of Corinth that the "Lord's Supper" is not only a convivial meeting, but also - and above all - the memorial of the ransom sacrifice of Christ. Redemptive sacrifice for love...