René Laurentin

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

Life Laurentin was born on 19 October 1917 in Tours, France, to Marie Jactel and Maurice Laurentin, an architect. After his return, he was ordained to the priesthood on 8 December 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). Laurentin also served as Vice President of the French Mariological Society (Société française d’études mariales) from 1962 to 1997.

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, Argentina beginning on 25 September 1983. They were declared "worthy of belief" by the local ordinary Bishop Cardelli on 22 May 2016.

Laurentin died on 10 September 2017 at the age of ninety-nine in Évry, a suburb of Paris.

Publications

Laurentin is widely recognized as an expert in the field of Mariology and is the author of over 150 books