Page 9 - Michael Journal March 2020

bankers, in appropriating control over its creation, Louis Even’s motto was “To build the Kingdom of the
have made it an instrument of domination. The most Immaculate”.
striking commentary on this matter was by Pope Pius Father Kolbe, who died a martyr in 1941 in the
XI who wrote in his Encyclical Letter, Quadragesimo concentration camp of Oswiecim, Poland had found-
Anno, in 1931: ed Niepokalanow, the “City of the Immaculata”,
“This power becomes particularly irresistible where over 600 brothers worked to disseminate vari-
when exercised by those who, because they hold ous publications intended to make Our Lady known
and control money, are able also to govern credit and loved. Father Kolbe strived to instill a belief in the
and determine its allotment, for that reason supply- importance of soliciting subscriptions to these publi-
ing, so to speak, the lifeblood to the entire econom- cations, and increased the paper’s circulation to over
ic body, and grasping, as it were, in their hands the one million copies, when the City of the Immaculata
very soul of production, so that no one dare breathe was forced to close in 1939.
against their will.” To make Our Lady known and loved
Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort In December, 1964,
Saints Louis-Marie de at the age of 79, Louis
Montfort and Maximilian Even became seriously ill
Kolbe were important to but recovered against all
the life and work of Louis expectations. He said: “I
Even. have obtained a reprieve.
Louis Even, born in I have loved the Blessed
Montfort-sur-Meu, France, Virgin much in my life,
on March 23, 1885, was but perhaps I have not
christened Louis-Marie in made her loved enough.”
honour of St. Louis-Marie Since the beginning,
Grignion de Montfort, who every meeting of the
was also born in Montfort- movement began with
sur-Meu. In his book, True the recitation of the Ros-
Devotion to Mary, St. Louis ary. But during the last
de Montfort, born in 1673, ten years of his life, from
says that Marian devotion, 1964 to 1974, Louis Even
far from removing us from Christ, brings us closer to did even more: besides
Him; far from being a detour it is a short cut. Louis continuing to write on So-
Even inherited from his patron saint this devotion to cial Credit, he wrote arti-
the Virgin Mary, and the consecration to the Mother cles on the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin through-
of God marked his entire life. out the world, sharing the Virgin Mother’s insistence
Saint Maximilian Kolbe on the urgency for all her children to repent and return
to God through the recitation of the Rosary.
Another saint import-
ant to Louis Even was Max- In 1968, Mr. Even and the directors of MICHAEL
imilian Kolbe, a Franciscan travelled to San Damiano, Italy, to meet visionary, Rosa
priest, who also had a great Quattrini, to whom the Virgin Mother had appeared
devotion to Mary. In 1917, since 1964. Our Lady delivered the following message
the same year as the Appar- to the directors. “Apostles of right thinking, pray a lot
itions of Our Lady at Fatima to Saint Michael to defend you with his sword. Make
and also the creation of So- me known and loved by everyone through the recita-
cial Credit by Clifford Hugh tion of the Rosary.” It was after receiving this message
Douglas, St. Kolbe founded that the Pilgrims of St. Michael added the Rosary Cru-
the Militia of the Immaculata sade to their apostolate work, which consisted of recit-
to convert the Freemasons. ing the Rosary with families they visited when spread-
St. Maximilian founded a monthly review, The ing the Social Credit message.
Knight of the Immaculata, which was published until Louis Even left a tremendous spiritual inherit-
September, 1939 when Hitler’s armies invaded Po- ance to the Pilgrims of St. Michael, the “apostles of
land. The same month, the first issue of VERS DE- right thinking” and “pilgrim-warriors”. Let us become
MAIN (the French-language version of the English worthy of this legacy by soliciting subscriptions to
language magazine, MICHAEL) was published in our publication, MICHAEL, in order to make known
Canada, as though to take over the battle for the the exceptional Social Credit message. v
triumph of the Immaculata from Kolbe’s periodical. Alain Pilote

www.michaeljournal.org MICHAEL January/February 2020 11