French priests seek to rekindle former prayer chapters across the US, including the Ocean State

Montligeon Spiritual Fraternity encourages intercessions for souls in purgatory

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PROVIDENCE — Can prayer help ease the suffering of a soul that has passed from this life? The Catholic Church teaches that a soul in need of purification prior to entering heaven can be aided by the prayers of the living. In the latter days of the 19th century, a priest in France dedicated himself to this task of praying for the souls in purgatory, particularly the forgotten souls in greatest need – the forsaken souls.
With the deaths of his brother and two nieces, Father Paul-Joseph Buguet understood the importance of praying for the dead. Father Buguet, a parish priest of the Diocese of Seez in France, established a shrine 93 miles outside of Paris at a site called Montligeon and a fraternity bearing its name, the purpose of which is to pray for the souls in purgatory. His mission spread throughout Europe and the world, with the printing press he established printing pamphlets in French, Spanish, English and German, to name a few. In 1897, he undertook a trip to the U.S. to establish more chapters of the Montligeon Spiritual Fraternity.
Father Axel de Perthuis, chaplain of the fraternity, spoke about Father Buguet’s mission, in an interview with Rhode Island Catholic from the shrine in France.
“In his travels, the founder of the shrine talked about eschatology, what happens after death, and he asked people to pray for the souls in purgatory, because we think about them on the second of November, but maybe they need prayers on more than one day; it’s very important to pray for them on the second of November, but we can do more,” Father de Perthuis said in the Zoom interview.
Alongside Montligeon’s rector, Father Paul Denizot, Father de Perthuis followed in their founder’s footsteps this past December, traveling to locations in the U.S., including the Diocese of Providence, to meet with Bishop Thomas J. Tobin. The main purpose of the trip was to rekindle chapters of the fraternity where once they had been active. In enrollment registries from 120 years ago, Father de Perthuis found the names of many members from the New England area.
“When people are enrolled in the fraternity, they make the engagement of praying for the poor souls, and also everyday Mass, the perpetual Mass, is offered for them in several places in Montligeon,” he explained.
According to Father de Perthuis, the organization is technically an archconfraternity, recognized by the pope and “placed under the protection of the pope and his successors by Pope St. Pius X.”
The prayer commitment of fraternity members can vary, he continued. In some places, members might pray weekly or monthly for the souls in purgatory, offer rosaries or Masses, as well as perform other tasks that their parish priest might need, such as maintaining cemeteries. Most of the 1,200 active chapters are located in France and in French-speaking parts of Africa, such as the Congo, as well as some in Latin America. There are currently two chapters in the U.S., both in Canton, Ohio. Father de Perthuis hopes to see the formation of more and the mission of praying for the deceased grow throughout the world.
With secularism taking hold in places like France and the U.S. to a lesser extent, Father de Perthuis sees enrollment in the fraternity as a counterpoint to this.
“People are forgetting about eternal life. … We think that maybe in the secularized world that people hear more about what will happen after death about the judgement, about heaven, purgatory, hell … I think it’s a good way to fight atheism,” he said.
The Shrine of Our Lady of Montligeon offers perpetual Masses daily in five different locations “for members of the fraternity, for the forsaken souls, for everyone who is recommended to the confraternity. So, it’s not only the members, but people can recommend other people,” he said. “For example, when my grandmother died, I recommended her to the perpetual Mass.”
The deceased are especially remembered at the shrine in November, the month the church dedicates specifically to this intention.
“During the month of November, every Sunday we have a big pilgrimage, we have many pilgrims who come from the Paris region, many are immigrants,” Father de Perthuis commented.
One of the most prominent features of the shrine is an impressive statue of Our Lady of Montligeon, Liberatrix (of Deliverance). More than nine feet tall, Mary holds the infant Jesus in her arms with two representations of the same soul at her feet: the one on her right depicting the soul still in purgatory; the figure to her left being crowned in heavenly glory by the Christ Child. This sculpture demonstrates Mary’s role as intercessor between her son Jesus and mankind. On the shrine’s website (montligeon.org) can be found a special prayer to Our Lady of Montligeon for the salvation of souls.
Perhaps one of the greatest reasons to dedicate oneself to praying for the souls in purgatory may be summed up on the Shrine of Montligeon’s website: “Praying for the souls in purgatory, above all is believing that one’s prayer can touch hearts, even beyond death.”