Basilica of Saint-Laurent-sur-Sevre (Tomb of St. Louis de Montfort)
The burial place of St. Louis de Montfort.
St. Louis de Montfort → Plan a trip hereThe Story
The Basilica of St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort rises at the center of Saint-Laurent-sur-Sevre, a small town in the Vendee region of western France sometimes called the "holy city" of the Vendee. It holds the tomb of St. Louis de Montfort (1673–1716), one of the Church's greatest apostles of devotion to Mary. A tireless missionary preacher, Louis-Marie crisscrossed western France giving parish missions, teaching the Rosary, and calling the faithful to a total consecration to Jesus through Mary — the spirituality set out in his classic work, True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin. He founded the Company of Mary (the Montfort Missionaries) and, with Blessed Marie-Louise Trichet, the Daughters of Wisdom. He died at Saint-Laurent-sur-Sevre on April 28, 1716, while preaching a mission there, and was buried in the parish church. His tomb quickly became a place of pilgrimage. The present Romanesque-Byzantine church was begun in 1889, the year after his beatification, and completed in 1949; it was raised to the rank of minor basilica under Pope St. John XXIII. Beneath a stone ciborium in the basilica rest St. Louis de Montfort and Blessed Marie-Louise Trichet, whose lives of mission and charity remain intertwined in death as in life. Montfort's influence reaches across the modern Church: Pope St. John Paul II took his papal motto, Totus Tuus, from Montfort's consecration to Mary and came as a pilgrim to pray at this tomb in 1996. Pilgrims today visit the basilica and the Montfortian holy places of the town, especially around the saint's feast on April 28.
Church Recognition
St. Louis de Montfort was canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1947, and the church over his tomb was raised to the rank of minor basilica under Pope St. John XXIII; Pope St. John Paul II venerated his tomb there in 1996.
Catholic Teaching
Montfort's teaching of total consecration to Jesus through Mary is a celebrated expression of the Church's Marian doctrine — that devotion to the Mother of God always leads to her Son (CCC 971) — and his zeal for the Rosary continues to shape Catholic prayer.
Plan Your Visit
Practical
Additional Information
Pilgrims venerate the tombs of St. Louis de Montfort and Blessed Marie-Louise Trichet beneath the basilica's ciborium and follow the Montfortian heritage route through Saint-Laurent-sur-Sevre. Pilgrimage activity peaks around the saint's feast on April 28, and the basilica is open to visitors.
Go Deeper
The official basilica website (https://www.basiliquemontfort.com) presents the shrine and its history. Essential reading includes St. Louis de Montfort's True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin and The Secret of the Rosary, with the Catechism on Marian devotion (CCC 963–975).
Location
Visit the official website ↗ See it on the interactive map →Pilgrim Photos
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