Dinan [dee-nun]

One night while returning from a mission in Dinan, Montfort found a beggar all covered with sores on the street and shivering from the cold. He carried him on his back and brought him to the mission house. The door keeper of the house where he stayed was very much astonished to hear him knock at the door one night and cry aloud several times: “Open to God!” He took the sick man to his own room, laid him on his own bed and spent the night nursing him. Montfort sees in the poor, the person of God Himself.

Rennes [ran]

Montfort was twelve years old and it was time for him to attend school at the St. Thomas Becket College in the city of Rennes. The college was very large with some 3,000 students. One day, Montfort saw a poor student mobbed by a number of mischievous boys who were richer. Without caring for their reactions, he declared himself the poor student’s friend. Then a thought crossed his mind: Why not get the help of the richer students for this poor student? So, Montfort begged from them for the poor boy in rags and then took the little money he collected, along with his poor friend, to the tailor. “Here is my brother and yours”, Montfort told the tailor. “I begged in class as much as I could to get him a new uniform. I know it will not be enough but I have done what I could, please help our dear friend out!” Sure, the money was not enough, but the tailor was so moved and impressed by Montfort’s determination and sincerity that he not only made one but two new sets of uniform for the poor student.

Poitiers [pua-tee-air]

Montfort entrusted the mission at the General Hospital of Poitiers to Marie-Louise Trichet - the co-foundress of the Daughters of Wisdom - who continued to care for the destitute. He reminded them in one of his hymns (149) that “Those whom the world rejects, must move you the most”. Montfort then went to Montbernage, a suburb of Poitiers, for his next mission. As the people in Montbernage were too far away from the parish church in Poitiers, no priests or religious even bothered to visit them. They were initially sceptical of Montfort’s efforts but were eventually moved by his sincerity and compassion. Afterall, he was the only priest who bothered doing home visits and asking about their well-being. To help the people in their faith, he purchased and converted a barn into a chapel for them to pray in. At the end of his mission, Montfort planted a cross, which was painted red, to remind the people of Montbernage to continue to pray, love and care for one another.

Cesson [s-air-s-on]

On his way to Paris to pursue his priestly studies, Montfort met three beggars at the Cesson Bridge. To the first beggar, he gave the money which were meant for his studies. To the second beggar, he gave his spare bundle of clothes. However, when he saw the third beggar, he realised that he had nothing extra to give. It was then that Montfort decided to exchange the clothes he was wearing with the beggar’s torn and tattered ones. From that day on, Montfort radically decided to become poor for the sake of Christ and totally depended on Divine Providence.