Pierre Goursat’s mother transmitted to her son a great love for Mary. She also gave him a great love for the ‘Heart of Jesus’ – the term Pierre used to refer to the ‘Sacred Heart’. At his birth, on 15th August 1914, he was consecrated to Our Lady by his mother, and on the following year, she consecrated her second son, Bernard, to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Pierre was born on the feast of the Assumption of Our Lady, and died on the 25th March 1991, date of the feast of the Annunciation, which that year fell on the Monday of Holy Week: these dates, concerning his earthly and heavenly birth, signify Mary’s presence in his life, and her particular protection over him.