Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary is the gift of oneself entirely to Jesus Christ by the hands of his Mother, taught by St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort in his classic book True Devotion to Mary. After a preparation of thirty-three days, the faithful renew their baptismal promises and give Mary everything they are and have, so that she may lead them to her Son. Below is what the consecration is, how the 33-day preparation works, start dates for the Marian feasts of 2026–2027, and the full text of St. Louis de Montfort’s consecration prayer.
What is Total Consecration to Mary?
St. Louis de Montfort (1673–1716), a French missionary priest, taught that the surest and quickest way to belong entirely to Jesus is through Mary, since God himself chose to come to us through her. The consecration is, at its heart, a renewal of the promises of Baptism: rejecting Satan and giving oneself to Christ, now placed in Mary’s hands. Montfort called it a “holy slavery of love,” borrowing St. Paul’s language of being servants of Christ: not a loss of freedom, but the free gift of everything to the One who loves us most.
His book True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin lay hidden for over a century after his death and was rediscovered in 1842. Pope St. John Paul II read it as a young factory worker in wartime Poland and took his papal motto, Totus tuus (“Totally yours”), from it.
The 33-day preparation
In Montfort’s method, the consecration is prepared by:
- Twelve days of emptying oneself of the spirit of the world.
- First week: knowledge of oneself, with sorrow for sin.
- Second week: knowledge of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
- Third week: knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Each day includes spiritual reading and prayers. The traditional prayers include the Veni Creator, the Ave Maris Stella, the Magnificat, the Litany of the Holy Spirit, the Litany of Loreto, the Litany of the Holy Name and the Rosary. Many people today follow a modern guide, such as Fr. Michael Gaitley’s 33 Days to Morning Glory.
On the day of consecration, go to confession (in the days before) and Holy Communion, then pray the act of consecration below and sign it. Many renew it every year on the same feast.
Start dates for 2026–2027
Begin the preparation 33 days before the Marian feast on which you want to make your consecration:
| Consecration day (feast) | Begin preparation on |
|---|---|
| Tuesday, December 8, 2026 (Immaculate Conception) | Thursday, November 5, 2026 |
| Saturday, December 12, 2026 (Our Lady of Guadalupe) | Monday, November 9, 2026 |
| Friday, January 1, 2027 (Mary, Mother of God) | Sunday, November 29, 2026 |
| Tuesday, February 2, 2027 (Presentation of the Lord) | Thursday, December 31, 2026 |
| Thursday, February 11, 2027 (Our Lady of Lourdes) | Saturday, January 9, 2027 |
| Thursday, March 25, 2027 (Annunciation, traditional date) | Saturday, February 20, 2027 |
| Thursday, May 13, 2027 (Our Lady of Fatima) | Saturday, April 10, 2027 |
| Monday, May 31, 2027 (Visitation) | Wednesday, April 28, 2027 |
| Sunday, August 15, 2027 (Assumption) | Tuesday, July 13, 2027 |
| Wednesday, September 8, 2027 (Nativity of Mary) | Friday, August 6, 2027 |
| Thursday, October 7, 2027 (Our Lady of the Rosary) | Saturday, September 4, 2027 |
In 2027 the liturgical celebration of the Annunciation is moved to April 5 because March 25 falls in Holy Week; many people still consecrate themselves on March 25. See the Annunciation.
St. Louis de Montfort’s act of consecration
The prayer from True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, in the translation of Father Frederick William Faber:
O Eternal and Incarnate Wisdom! O sweetest and most adorable Jesus! True God and True Man, only Son of the Eternal Father, and of Mary always Virgin! I adore Thee profoundly in the bosom and splendours of Thy Father during eternity; and I adore Thee also in the virginal bosom of Mary, Thy most worthy Mother, in the time of Thine Incarnation.
I give Thee thanks for that Thou hast annihilated Thyself, in taking the form of a slave in order to rescue me from the cruel slavery of the devil. I praise and glorify Thee for that Thou hast been pleased to submit Thyself to Mary, Thy holy Mother, in all things, in order to make me Thy faithful slave through her. But, alas! ungrateful and faithless as I have been, I have not kept the promises which I made so solemnly to Thee in my Baptism; I have not fulfilled my obligations; I do not deserve to be called Thy son, nor yet Thy slave; and as there is nothing in me which does not merit Thine anger and Thy repulse, I dare no more come by myself before Thy Most Holy and August Majesty. It is on this account that I have recourse to the intercession of Thy most holy Mother, whom Thou hast given me for a mediatrix with Thee. It is by her means that I hope to obtain of Thee contrition, and the pardon of my sins, the acquisition and the preservation of wisdom. I salute Thee, then, O immaculate Mary, living tabernacle of the Divinity, where the Eternal Wisdom willed to be hidden, and to be adored by Angels and by men. I hail thee, O Queen of heaven and earth, to whose empire everything is subject which is under God.
I salute Thee, O sure refuge of sinners, whose mercy fails to no one. Hear the desires which I have of the Divine Wisdom; and for that end receive the vows and offerings which my lowness presents to thee. I, N., a faithless sinner—I renew and ratify to-day in thy hands the vows of my Baptism; I renounce for ever Satan, his pomps and works; and I give myself entirely to Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Wisdom, to carry my cross after Him all the days of my life, and to be more faithful to Him than I have ever been before.
In the presence of all the heavenly court I choose thee this day for my Mother and Mistress. I deliver and consecrate to thee, as thy slave, my body and soul, my goods, both interior and exterior, and even the value of all my good actions, past, present, and future; leaving to you the entire and full right of disposing of me, and all that belongs to me, without exception, according to thy good pleasure, to the greatest glory of God, in time and in eternity.
Receive, O benignant Virgin, this little offering of my slavery, in the honour of, and in union with, that subjection which the Eternal Wisdom deigned to have to thy Maternity, in homage to the power which both of you have over this little worm and miserable sinner, and in thanksgiving for the privileges with which the Holy Trinity hath favoured thee. I protest that I wish henceforth, as thy true slave, to seek thy honour, and to obey thee in all things.
O admirable Mother, present me to thy dear Son as His eternal slave, so that as He hath redeemed me by thee, by thee He may receive me! O Mother of mercy, get me the grace to obtain the true Wisdom of God; and for that end put me in the number of those whom thou lovest, whom thou teachest, whom thou conductest, and whom thou nourishest and protectest, as thy children and thy slaves.
O faithful Virgin, make me in all things so perfect a disciple, imitator, and slave of the Incarnate Wisdom, Jesus Christ thy Son, that I may attain, by thy intercession, and by thy example, to the fulness of His age on earth, and of His glory in the heavens. Amen.
Frequently asked questions
Why 33 days?
Montfort recommended at least twelve days of preparation followed by three weeks, which makes thirty-three days. Many also see in it the thirty-three years of Jesus’ life.
Can I make the consecration on any day?
Yes, but it is traditionally made on a feast of Our Lady or of the Lord, so that the preparation ends on a meaningful day.
Does consecration to Mary take away from Jesus?
No. Montfort insists that the whole purpose is to belong more perfectly to Jesus. Mary never keeps anything for herself; she leads everything to her Son.
Do I have to renew the consecration?
It is a lifelong gift, but many renew it every year on the anniversary, and some renew it briefly every day with the words “Totus tuus.”
More Marian prayers
- Ave Maris Stella
- Immaculate Heart of Mary
- Litany of Loreto
- Magnificat
- Marian feast days
- 54-day Rosary novena
- Three Hail Marys devotion
Texts and sources
- St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort, A Treatise on the True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, translated by F. W. Faber (1904 printing), public domain (archive.org). Small scan corrections are listed in our text log.
- The start dates were calculated for this page.