Written in 1712, the manuscript remained practically unknown for more than a century, when it was discovered by chance in 1842, at the Motherhouse of the Missionaries of the Company of Mary at St. Laurent-sur-Sèvre, France. Published in 1843, the work became an instant success. It was first translated into English by Father
William Faber The book complements de Montfort's other works the
Secret of the Rosary and the
Secret of Mary.
True Devotion to Mary attracted attention in the 20th century when in an address to the Montfort Fathers,
Pope John Paul II said that reading this book had been a "decisive turning point" in his life. According to his
Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae he borrowed his apostolic motto
Totus Tuus from the book. In his 1987 encyclical,
Redemptoris Mater the Pope cited Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort as a teacher of Marian spirituality. ==See also==