Saint Montfort has a uniqueness. This uniqueness is because he had a relationship with Jesus and gave his life to Christ. Since childhood, he has shown his relationship with Jesus whom he loved. Likewise his relationship with the Mother of Jesus.

Saint Montfort was a French priest, living in the 17th and 18th centuries, who was called by God to help renew the Christian life of the people of Western France through preaching, parish missions, and especially the promotion of sincere devotion to Mary, the Mother of Jesus. The life of Saint Montfort has been written by several biographers. The first four authors of the life of Saint Montfort were Grandet, Blain, Besnard, and Picot de Clorivières. They have preserved for us many eyewitness accounts and original documents, and they offer a solid historical basis for reconstructing many truths about Montfort's life. They also remind us of remarkable or unusual traits in Montfort's personality and behavior.

Saint Montfort's Life in the Family

Louis-Marie Grignion was born in Montfort-sur-meu on January 31, 1673. He was baptized the following day at St. Mary's Parish Church. John. He was the second son of 18 children (8 sons and 10 daughters). His father named Jean-Baptiste Grignion (1647-1716) was a lawyer who was tough and temperamental. His mother named Jeanne Robert de la Viseule (1649-1718) was a devout, gentle, and patient person. His mother is the daughter of the mayor of Rennes.

Louis-Marie was the eldest child. The family was patriarchal and was raised with strict discipline and devotion to God. Of the eight sons, four died in infancy, three sons became priests and one married. The two Montfort sisters became nuns. The third daughter died as a member of the Order of St. Francis. A few days after his baptism, Montfort was entrusted to the wife of a kind farmer in La Béchelleraie, “Mother Andre” a good Catholic. And Louis, this servant of God, loved and was grateful to her all his life. A cross has been erected on the site of his former home. This reminds people that this place was once sanctified by the cradle of a saint. Life in the village was very hard, but full of peace and joy. Memories of the forests and peaceful fields would leave a deep impression on the mystical character of this child.

After becoming a strong child, Mother Andre returned Louis-Marie to his father's house. Madame Grignion was surprised to see Louis-Marie so calm beside her, repeating the prayers that his nanny had taught him. But the family did not stay long in Montfort. Due to economic difficulties, Jean-Baptiste Grignion left the city and moved to Bois Marguer, a house in the village of Iffendic, four kilometers from the city. Together with his pious mother, Louis-Marie went to the church in Iffendic. In front of the altar he prayed for a long time and with great enthusiasm. Together with the villagers, he attended Sunday mass and let the Word of God inspire him in an inexpressible way. On his way home from church, he often repeated almost literally the sermon or the Catechism lesson that he had heard. He must have often, alone or with other children, passed through the narrow winding streets of the village. In preparation for her first communion, she listened eagerly to her parish priests and received from them the first lessons that added to the basic knowledge she had learned at home. Like Jesus in the temple, she amazed her teachers with her obedience, intelligence, and effort. Later, the teachers stated that she never made things difficult for them. All tasks were done sincerely and never had to be forced. So great was the grace that was in her soul at that time.

Life of Saint Montfort During Education

At the age of 12, St. Montfort became a strong and precocious young man with great intellectual talents. Near his home in the city of Rennes there was a school called St. Thomas Becket. This school was run by the Jesuits. He was very close to a professor who taught literature, Father Camus. During school, Montfort did not leave his life of prayer and work and therefore was not interested in going to places of entertainment. He used his time to study and complete his homework. Before going to school and after school, he always dedicated himself to the Virgin Mary. He participated in the activities of the Brotherhood of St. Mary which was respected in Jesuit schools. Such a devotional life made him brave to oppose all conversations and attitudes that were contrary to good manners and healthy education. Because of his attitude, he was highly respected by his friends and became a role model. When he returned home he became a "teacher" for his younger siblings. He taught his younger siblings to read and write and catechism.

Become a Priest

During his studies Saint Montfort assimilated well the teachings of the holy priests who taught and were in some way connected with Colossae where he studied. Especially these four priests, namely Fr. Philippe Descartes, Fr. Prevost, Fr. Francois Gilbert and Fr. Julien Bellier. From the relationship with these four figures grew in Montfort three things that would later mark his whole life: first, love and concern for the poor and sick; second, a warm love and devotion to Mary; third, love and passion for missionary work. In the spiritual search during these years of study in Rennes, he then arrived at the decision to become a priest. This was what he felt as his definite calling in life. So after completing his studies in Rennes, at the age of 20 (1692) he left for Paris to enter the Major Seminary of St. Sulpice.

From 1692 to 1700, Montfort was a student at the Seminary of Saint-Sulpice, a major seminary for the education of future priests founded by Jean-Jacques Olier in 1642. The seminary was divided into the Great Saint Sulpice which housed the children of the nobility and the Little Saint Sulpice which housed seminarians from the lower classes and the poor. Montfort entered the Little Saint Sulpice Seminary. During his stay in this community, to earn extra money for his life in the seminary, Montfort was seen begging on the streets of Paris, besides occasionally guarding the many corpses that filled the morgues in the almshouses in the city of Paris. In addition, during his time in the seminary, he was instructed by his spiritual director to: teach catechism to the young and poor people of Saint-Germain, become the seminary librarian and be a witness at the Parish Church of St. Sulpice. For several years he attended lectures at the Sorbonne University. His job as a librarian gave him the opportunity to read Marian books, Pneumatology, Christology-Trinitarian, Ecclesiology, the opinions of the Church Fathers and Church Doctors. The results of these readings were summarized in the Notebook. Finally, after eight years of study at Saint Sulpice, Montofrt was ordained a priest on June 5, 1700.

From the beginning of his work Saint Montfort had a desire to create a group of priests who would carry out their duties under the banner and protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This small group would later be called  Company of Mary.

The life of Saint Montfort was a unique one full of tension between holiness and the challenges of the consequences of the life he chose.