Poitiers

Poitiers, at the time of Father de Montfort and Marie-Louise Trichet, was a city of barely 20,000 inhabitants. Marked by religious wars (Catholic-Protestant), Poitiers had a real vitality linked to its intellectual, judicial, and administrative activity. As an episcopal city, it had become a stronghold of Catholicism. The number of secular and regular clergy was impressive (almost a thousand), with about twenty parish churches and numerous convents of nuns and religious. The Jesuits had a renowned College in Poitiers. In contrast to the upper part of the city, where the wealthiest people lived, the city’s physiognomy was also marked by the general hospital, in the lower part of the city, a place of containment for the underprivileged, the poor, and a refuge from misery. For Father de Montfort, Poitiers was an unknown city where Providence led him in 1701 and where he stayed three times from 1701 to 1706. For Father de Montfort, these stays in Poitiers, “represented a real school of training”. It was in this city that everything began, the commitment to the poor, the missions, the preaching, the spiritual guidance, but also de Montfort’s contemplation of Jesus’ Wisdom and the very special place of Mary in our salvation and sanctification. It was also there that Father de Montfort, Marie-Louise Trichet and their faithful companion Mathurin, planted the seeds that would become the community of the Daughters of Wisdom. If we look at how lay people (men and women) were involved in various aspects of the life and mission of Fr. de Montfort in Poitiers, we might be surprised by the number and diversity of these people. The most important thing is to ask ourselves in what way these experiences lived by, and with, lay people can enlighten, stimulate and open us to reflection. It can help us to examine our life and our mission as Christians today, right where we are. The following is a brief, non-exhaustive overview of the lay people who played a role in the mission of Father de Montfort and Marie-Louise Trichet, in Poitiers:

The most important thing is to ask ourselves in what way these experiences lived by and with lay people can enlighten, stimulate and inspire us to reflect on our mission as Christians today. Here is a small, non-exhaustive overview of the lay people who played a role in the mission of Father de Montfort and Marie-Louise Trichet, in Poitiers:

• Mme de Montespan
• The residents of the general hospital
• The group of Gouvernantes inside the hospital
• Marie Louise’s sister • Marie-Louise Trichet herself
• Mathurin Rangeard • The ‘elite’ students’ association of the Jesuit College
• Jacques Goudeau
• The inhabitants of Montbernage
• Five individuals and four groups of people • Madame de Montespan