Father René Laurentin (; October 19, 1917 – September 10, 2017) was a French theologian. He is widely recognized as "one of the world’s foremost students" of

Mariology Mariology is the Christian theological study of Mary, mother of Jesus. Mariology seeks to relate doctrine or dogma about Mary to other doctrines of the faith, such as those concerning Jesus and notions about redemption, intercession and g ...

and is the author of numerous books and scholarly articles on topics including Marian apparitions such as

Lourdes Lourdes (, also , ; ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for its Château fort, a ...

and

Medjugorje Medjugorje (, ) is a village in the municipality of Čitluk in Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since 1981, it has become a popular site of Catholic pilgrimage due to Our ...

; visionaries and mystics including

Bernadette Soubirous Bernadette Soubirous, Sisters of Charity of Nevers, SCN (; ; ; 7 January 184416 April 1879), also known as Bernadette of Lourdes (religious name, in religion Sister Marie-Bernarde), was a miller's daughter from Lourdes ( in Occitan), in the Dep ...

, Thérèse de Lisieux, Catherine Labouré, and Yvonne Aimée de Malestroit; as well as biblical exegesis, theology, and

Vatican II The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilic ...

."Guide to the Father René Laurentin collection 1948-2003", International Marian Research Institute, University of Dayton
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Life

Laurentin was born October 19, 1917, in

Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

, France, to Marie Jactel and Maurice Laurentin, an architect. He is the brother of journalist Gregoire Laurentin. Laurentin attended secondary school at Sainte-Marie de Cholet. In 1934 he entered the Carmelite Seminary at the Catholic University of Paris. A student of neo-Thomist philosopher

Jacques Maritain Jacques Maritain (; 18 November 1882 – 28 April 1973) was a French Catholic philosopher. Raised as a Protestant, he was agnostic before converting to Catholicism in 1906. An author of more than 60 books, he helped to revive Thomas Aqui ...

, Laurentin also studied at the Sorbonne. In 1938 he obtained two degrees: a Licentiate of Philosophy with a focus on the work of Saint

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the W ...

and a Licentiate of Letters - Philosophy from the Sorbonne. Called to serve in the French army during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he was taken as a prisoner of war in Belgium in May 1940 and spent five years in detention at

Oflag An Oflag (from ) was a type of prisoner of war camp for Officer (armed forces), officers which the German Army (Wehrmacht), German Army established in World War I in accordance with the requirements of the Hague Conventions (1899 and 1907), 1899 ...

4D in Germany.Smith, Harrison, "René Laurentin, Catholic scholar who studied visions of Mary, dies at 99", ''The Washington Post'', September 18, 2017
/ref> After his return, he was ordained to the priesthood on December 8, 1946. He went on to obtain a Doctor of Letters from the Sorbonne in 1952 and a Doctor of Theology from the Institute Catholique in 1953 (cum laude singulari prorsus).

Teaching and Research

In 1955, Laurentin was nominated to serve in the Pontifical International Marian Academy (l'Académie pontificale mariale internationale). Also in 1955, he was appointed Professor of Theology at the Catholic University of Angers. In the early 1960s he served as a consultant to the Preparatory Theological Commission of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

on parts of the Marian doctrine in the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church. He also served as a correspondent for

Le Figaro () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...

, where he contributed editorials on the council and the election of

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

. In 1981 the Vatican authorized Laurentin to study the writings of Yvonne Aimée de Malestroit (Yvonne Beauvais) who was under consideration by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Laurentin has served on the theology faculty at the

University of Florence The University of Florence ( Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Firenze'') (in acronym UNIFI) is an Italian public research university located in Florence, Italy. It comprises 12 schools and has around 50,000 students enrolled. History The f ...

and the

University of Milan The University of Milan (; ), officially abbreviated as UNIMI, or colloquially referred to as La Statale ("the State niversity), is a public university, public research university in Milan, Italy. It is one of the largest universities in Eu ...

and has served as a visiting professor at several universities in Europe and North America. From the 1970s through the early 2000s, he taught courses at the International Marian Research Institute at the

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a Private university, private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary (Marianists), Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the U ...

.Harris, Kayla. "Father Ren? Laurentin and the Marian Library", Marian Library, University of Dayton
/ref> Laurentin also served as Vice President of the French Mariological Society (Société française d’études mariales) from 1962 to 1997. Laurentin was a strong promoter of the purported apparitions at Medjugorje, which brought him into conflict with the local bishop. He was also a supporter of Vassula Ryden. Laurentin's 1995 book ''An Appeal from Mary in Argentina'' gives an account of reported appearance of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Gladys Quiroga de Motta in

San Nicolás de los Arroyos San Nicolás de los Arroyos (usually shortened to ''San Nicolás'') is a city in the provinces of Argentina, province of Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires, Argentina, on the western shore of the Paraná River, from Rosario. It has about 133,000 ...

, Argentina beginning on September 25, 1983. They were declared "worthy of belief" by the local ordinary Bishop Cardelli on May 22, 2016."Marian apparition has been approved in Argentina"
news bulletin published online on June 4, 2016 by Catholic News Agency Laurentin died on September 10, 2017, at the age of ninety-nine in Évry, a suburb of Paris.
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Publications

Laurentin is widely recognized as an expert in the field of Mariology and is the author of over 150 books six volumes of which focused on

. His writings, translated in many languages, cover a range of topics on Marian apparitions including Lourdes and Medjugorje; visionaries and mystics including Bernadette Soubirous, Thérèse de Lisieux, Catherine Labouré, and Yvonne-Aimée de Malestroit; as well as biblical exegesis, theology, and Vatican II.

Awards

Laurentin has received various awards and distinctions including the Marian Award of 1963 from the University of Dayton (1964), the Wlodzimierz Pietrzak Literary Award (1974), Italy's National Catholic Culture Award (1996), Officer of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

(2002), and many other awards for his writing and contributions to Catholicism and Mariology.

References

External links