Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre is a commune

Communes of France

The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...

 in the Vendée

Vendée

The Vendée is a department in the Pays-de-la-Loire region in west central France, on the Atlantic Ocean. The name Vendée is taken from the Vendée river which runs through the south-eastern part of the department.-History:...

 department in the Pays de la Loire

Pays de la Loire

Pays de la Loire is one of the 27 regions of France. It is one of the regions created in the late 20th century to serve as a zone of influence for its capital, Nantes, one of a handful so-called "balancing metropolises" ¹...

 region

Régions of France

France is divided into 27 administrative regions , 22 of which are in Metropolitan France, and five of which are overseas. Corsica is a territorial collectivity , but is considered a region in mainstream usage, and is even shown as such on the INSEE website...

 in western France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

Pilgrimage

Some 25,000 visitors per year arrive at the town, for it is the burial place of two well known Roman Catholic figures: Saint Louis de Montfort

Louis de Montfort

St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort was canonized in 1947. He was a French priest and known in his time as a preacher and author, whose books, still widely read, have influenced a number of popes....

 and
Blessed

Beatification

Beatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name . Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process...

 Marie Louise Trichet

Marie Louise Trichet

Blessed Marie Louise Trichet also known as Marie-Louise de Jésus was a French Catholic figure who, with Saint Louis de Montfort, founded the Congregation of religious women called Daughters of Wisdom and since the age of seventeen devoted her life to caring for the poor and the sick. She is also...

. The Basilica of Saint Louis de Montfort

Basilica of Saint Louis de Montfort

The Basilica of St. Louis de Montfort is a Roman Catholic basilica at Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre in the Vendée department, in the Pays de la Loire region in France....

 at Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre is an impressive structure that attracts a good number of pilgrims each year.

On September 19 1996, Pope John-Paul II visited the town to meditate and pray on the adjacent tombs of Saint Louis and Blessed Marie Louise. Pope John Paul II's strong Marian

Mariology

Roman Catholic Mariology is theology concerned with the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ as developed by the Catholic Church. Roman Catholic teachings on the subject have been based on the belief that "The Blessed Virgin, because she is the Mother of God, is believed to hold a certain...

 devotion was highly influenced by the Mariology

Mariology

Roman Catholic Mariology is theology concerned with the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ as developed by the Catholic Church. Roman Catholic teachings on the subject have been based on the belief that "The Blessed Virgin, because she is the Mother of God, is believed to hold a certain...

 of Saint Louis de Montfort

Louis de Montfort

St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort was canonized in 1947. He was a French priest and known in his time as a preacher and author, whose books, still widely read, have influenced a number of popes....

. According to his Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae

Rosarium Virginis Mariae

Rosarium Virginis Mariae is the title of an Apostolic Letter by Pope John Paul II, issued on October 16, 2002. This Apostlic Letter deals with the Holy Rosary and views it as compendium of the Gospel message:...

, the pontif's personal motto "Totus Tuus" was inspired by St. Louis' doctrine on total consecration to the Virgin Mary.