In the Footsteps of St. Louis Marie de Montfort
"Footsteps Online"
Christmas 1996 (Volume 2, Issue 1)
Decree on the Insertion of the Feast of St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort in the Universal Calendar
It is clear that St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort (1673-1716) must be placed among the most illustrious missionary apostles. Giving himself definitively to Divine Wisdom, he was the slave of the Mother of God and worked ceaselessly to confound the wisdom of the world by the folly of the cross, in order to bring Christian people to a life lived according to the Gospel.
Exercising his ministry in the towns and in the countryside, in the public squares and the hospitals of many dioceses of France, he preached the love of God Alone, the mystery of Christ crucified, Eternal and Incarnate Wisdom, the renewal of the baptismal promises, the inexhaustible richness of the rosary. His burning words, and more especially the example of his virtue, made his apostolate fruitful.
Through his hymns and his other writings - we note particularly his celebrated treatise on the True Devotion to the most Blessed Virgin - he lead the souls of the faithful to Jesus through Mary.
The sovereign pontiff, John Paul II, in his encyclical letter, "Redemptoris Mater", affirmed that authentic Marian spirituality must be an expression not only of the doctrine of faith but also the life of faith; on this point he referred particularly to St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort: "Marian spirituality, like its corresponding devotion, finds a very rich source in the historical experience of individuals and of various Christian communities present among the different peoples and nations of the world. In this regard, I would like to recall, among the many witnesses and teachers of this spirituality, the figure of St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, who proposes consecration to Christ through the hands of Mary, as an effective means for Christians to live faithfully their baptismal commitment." (N. 48).
In seminaries and noviciates around the world, there are priests, there are men and women consecrated to God, not forgetting the lay faithful, who are formed in the Marian doctrine of St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort and who find there a fruitful source of norms by which they can live their lives. Many Saints and Blessed, among whom especially Blessed Marie Louise of Jesus (Trichet), have found in Montfortian spirituality the spring from which they could sustain their devotion to the Mother of Christ and the Church. There are also Marian movements and groups, spread throughout the world, which make specific reference to the teaching of St. Louis Marie.
This is why the sovereign pontiff, John Paul II, taking into consideration how many of the writings and examples of St. Louis Marie have fostered and continue to foster the true Marian devotion of pastors, of religious, of all the faithful, not only in doctrine but also in the practice of Christian life, has decreed that the name of St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort be added to the Universal Roman Calendar and that his feast may be celebrated each year on 28 April as an optional memorial.
This memorial will be registered in the 'Ordos' for Holy Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours as well as in the liturgical books published by Episcopal Conferences.
Anything to the contrary notwithstanding.
The Congregation for Divine Cult and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 20 July 1996.
Antonius M. Cardinal Javierre, Prefect.
Gérard M. Agnelo, Secretary.
