Recently, the Militia Immaculatae has been launched in the Netherlands. It all began with a faithful who was a member of the modern version of the M.I. and wanted to move to the traditional observance of the M.I. Father K. Huysegems, responsible for the chapel in Leiden, was asked to do the consecration ceremony in April 2018 at St Clement’s Church in Gerwen.
Then, in all three chapels of the Fraternity in the Netherlands, the priests and the new members got to know the M.I. through leaflets, emails, and two conferences on this theme, presented by a young member and Father Huysegems.
The consecrations were not long in coming: the first in Leiden on the 8th of December, when seven new Knights, including Father Huysegems himself, joined the ranks of the M.I. in Leiden; they were followed by three others on the 2nd of February; and finally on the 25th of March, 31 faithful joined the ranks with the prior, Father C. de Beer. In total, there are 45 new members for the moment.
On this beautiful day of the Feast of the Annunciation, Father de Beer preached about the Blessed Virgin, as the Ark of the Covenant, the Immaculate Conception and the Woman who will crush Satan’s head. Father de Beer quoted Saint Maximilian Kolbe, who had understood this struggle very well between God and the devil, and who erected the M.I. in order to tear souls from the devil’s claws. He also recalled that Bishop B. Fellay, the previous Superior General, incorporated this Marian struggle for souls into the Society of St. Pius X, in an authentic way, without adaptation to the modern spirit but of the traditional observance, under the direction of Father Karl Stehlin. Father said that it is through Mary that Jesus distributes the graces of conversion and salvation and that the Immaculate wants us, as Knights, to participate in the salvation of souls. He ended his sermon by saying that it is for this purpose that Mary let her servant, Father Kolbe, found the M.I., and hat Mary will overcome all heresies.
In order for the Knights to keep their ardent fervour and zeal and the torch of devotion to Our Lady, the M.I. obtained a column in the Society’s newsletter in the Netherlands, called the “Informatieblad”. In addition, a Dutch-speaking M.I. website has been launched, on which you can find, for example, the history of M.I., general information or the news. In this way we try to reach to other people, hoping that the number of Knights in the Netherlands will continue to grow.
