Page 13 - Michael 2024 March

“When he arrived here in Laprairie, he was put dom of the Immaculate”. Is this not what happened to
to work at the printing shop. We had a very primitive the Blessed Virgin herself, who, having consecrated
printing press. The typesetting was done letter by let- herself to the Temple, had to leave it to accomplish
ter with clamps. We composed the lines and pages by the most sublime of missions: that of becoming the
hand, letter by letter. And that’s where Mr. Even and Mother of God? God forms His saints according to the
my brother, Brother Clément, worked together for a mission they have to accomplish. He made Louis Even
long time. a great apostle of justice.
“Mr. Even was very intelligent and brilliant. He in- To accomplish his mission,
sisted that we buy a linotype. It’s a big machine, very Louis Even had to work with
complicated, especially at the time when we had no the workers, which is what he
idea about these machines. Mr. Even worked day and did when he joined the Gar-
night to learn how to handle and use it. In the mean- den City Press printing plant
time, we had a big contract to print all the English in Sainte-Anne de Bellevue,
books for use in all the schools in the province. west of Montreal. The follow-
“It was Mr. Even who worked, and I can assure ing year, on December 10,
you that he worked day and night, putting together 1921, he married Laura Le-
these English books and then printing them on very blanc in Montreal, who died on Laura Leblanc
primitive presses. It was an extraordinary job that re- December 5, 1962 at 87. They
quired stamina and intelligence to understand how the had four children: a son, François, who became a law-
machine worked and to put this work on the market. yer and died in 2006, at 83, and three daughters, all of
He already knew English, and he learned Latin and whom became teachers: Gemma, who died in 2017,
German, working day and night. at 92, Agnès, who died in 2020,
Brother Amaury-Joseph took at 93 and Rose-Marie, who died
in 2014, at 84.
his perpetual vows on August
24, 1912 on Saint Bartholomew’s Like all families, Louis Even,
Day. This was the feast day of his responsible for a family of four
brother Emile, Brother Bartholo- children and a wife, had to cope
mew who died at the age of 24. with the impact of the Depres-
St. Bartholomew’s Day became sion between the years 1929
a great feast day in the Even and 1939. However, a few years
family. Emile and Marie-Louise, after his father’s death, his son
Louis Even’s brother and sister, François told journalists that he
and three nephews and nieces and his sisters had never lacked
took his name. Louis-Marie Even for anything. All the children ac-
solemnly consecrated himself as cessed and enjoyed professional
a slave of love to Jesus through careers, despite the privations of
Mary that same year, 1912. that decade in world history. v
Ultimately, after acquiring Thérèse Tardif
extraordinary training at home, As we saw in the previous
then later with the brothers, issue of MICHAEL, it was as an
through his mortifications and employee of James John Harpell
prayers, his deafness served him at Garden City Press that in 1934
as a cloister. Louis-Marie Even, Louis Even discovered the solu-
with his experience in the print- tion, not only to the economic
ing business, his strong soul, vir- crisis of the 1930s, but also to
ile spirit, and invulnerable to the the current financial problems
corruption of the political world, of all families and governments,
was ready to undertake the mis- when he found the writings of
sion for which God had prepared the Scottish engineer Clifford
him so well. Hugh Douglas. A few years after
He was released from his this discovery, he founded the
vows by Rome on November magazines, Vers Demain and MI-
20, 1920 and left the community Louis Even in 1925 CHAEL, still in publication today.
on November 24. This was un- In the next issue, we will
questionably God’s plan. We can see from his life’s explain why Louis Even decided to advance Douglas’
journey that, in God’s plan, his entry into the brothers teaching by focusing on the education of the popula-
was not the definitive vocation, but the preparation tion rather than pursuing political goals to bring Eco-
for the foundation of a great work to “Build the King- nomic Democracy to society.

www.michaeljournal.org MICHAEL March/April 2024 13