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Maria Montessori, her life, her philosophy and her beliefs
Her life

Maria Montessori was born in 1870, the only child of an Italian family. “Her parents, while Catholic, did not have strong religious beliefs” (Klaske 2019: 9). In fact, her father was an anti- clerical.
She attended an Italian technical school in Rome that typically educated only boys. When she entered the University of Rome in 1890, the administrators were refusing to admit her, or any woman. She persisted and graduated in 1896.
“After graduation, Dr. Montessori contributed to a newspaper edited by Giuseppe Sergi, a supporter of Italian unification and an early socialist” (Klaske 2019: 10).
She then proceeded to study paediatrics and psychiatry, and also worked at a women's hospital.
She first gained international acclaim as a fierce advocate for women's right at the International Women's Congress in Berlin in 1896.
In 1897, Maria Montessori founded in Rome the Italian feminist society La Union per la Donna. One of the delegates of this society, Cecilia Meyer, spoke at the masonic feminist congress of 1900 in Paris, at the occasion of the Universal Exposition. This congress was organised, run and made up almost entirely of high-ranking Freemasons, such as Annie Besant.
In 1898, Montessori gave birth to a son, Mario, through a relationship with a colleague, Dr Guiseppi Montesano, whom she refused to marry, knowing it would be the end of her career if she did. She placed her son in foster care. She only revealed herself to Mario as his mother when he was 15 years old. How can anyone even think of applying the educational method of a woman who refused to raise or educate her own child. This bears striking similiarities to Jean-Jacques Rousseau, one of 
the philosophers of the Enlightenment who wrote books on the education of children when he himself had abandoned his five children.
Starting in 1900, Montessori co-directed a school for children with mental disabilities. It was through her role as a teacher that she would begin to implement her understanding of theosophy into her method of education. When Maria Montessori started working with normal children, she used the same materials she had used with the mentally disabled children.
Montessori, however, only truly applied her feminist and scientific approach to social change with the opening of the Casa dei Bambini (The House of Children) in 1907. The Casa enabled mothers to work, assured that their children were well cared for. She explained: “Let it be remembered that all the mothers in the tenement may enjoy this privilege, going away to their works with easy minds.”
In 1907, Maria Montessori went to hear Annie Besant (Theosophical Society) speak in London. Theirs was a lifelong friendship, not merely a day's meeting. In fact, we shall see later on that Montessori had been a member of the Theosophical Society since 1899, therefore prior to developing her Method.
In 1913, Maria Montessori went to the United States to promote her method there. The first conference she gave in the USA was held at the Masonic Temple in Washington, D.C. (Klaske 2019: 16).
Montessori later fled Mussolini's Italy and went to India. “She had been invited to give a Montessori Training Course at Adyar (the sprawling estate of the Theosophical Society) by the then international president of the Theosophical Society (since 1934), George Arundale, a high-level Freemason since 1902. He had made invitation to Montessori while he and his wife were visiting Holland. They even went to the airport in Madras to meet Maria and Mario. Maria spent the rest of the war years working in India and the Theosophical Society sponsored her.” She regularly wrote for the Theosophical Society journal, The Theosophist. The first journal of the Theosophical Society had been founded in 1887 by Mrs Blavatsky and was entitled “Lucifer”...
“In October 1947, Time magazine reported that world famous educationist Dr. Maria Montessori, though 'almost forgotten', was none the less very much alive in India where she was continuing to give lectures in the grounds of the Theosophical Society's magnificent estate at Adyar on the outskirts of Madras.” (History of Education Society Bulletin (1985) Vol. 36 pp 52 -54).
“In view, no doubt, of her continued residence at Adyar and the generous support the Theosophical Society extended to Montessori and Mario during the War years, the Dottoressa was asked on one occasion under the shade of the famous giant banyan tree at Adyar, whether she had in fact become a Theosophist. The imperious Montessori retorted, 'I am a Montessorian' [note that she did not answer 'I am a Catholic'...]. But, following her death in 1952, the Society President, C. Jinarajadasa, reported that Dr. Maria Montessori did in fact join the Theosophical Society on May 23rd 1899. Her original application had been found by the Recording Secretary's Office at Adyar. There being no Italian Section at the time, Montessori joined the European Section and was admitted by the General Secretary, Mr. Otway Cuffe. Her membership was later dropped, although the date is not known. [...] It is now clear, however, that Montessori's connection with Theosophy was older than the Method .” (History of Education Society Bulletin (1985) Vol. 36 pp 52 -54).
It is interesting to note that Maria Montessori also had numerous letter exchanges with Sigmund Freud in 1917 and Mahatma Gandhi in 1931.
   

Her philosophy
Montessori first gave her vision of the “New Woman” during a series of lectures around Italy in 1899: “The new woman will marry and have children out of choice, not because matrimony and maternity are imposed on her”.
She read extensively the works of Itard, Séguin and Froebel, (as described by herself in Montessori Method) these men who had been highly influenced by the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and, in turn, influenced Montessori's view of the child. In any case, it seems clear that her philosophy is heavily influenced by Rousseau, for instance when she describes the child as a “Messiah” who can teach the teacher if his soul hasn't been “deformed”. Rousseau thought that man was perfect, it was society which corrupted him. This is a total denial of orginal sin, and Montessori's pedagogy implies the same denial. She once said to a co-worker “I don't need to teach anything to children; it is they who, placed in a favourable environment, teach me, reveal to me spiritual secrets as long as their souls have not been deformed” (Kramer 1976: 251).
The introduction to Education for a New World (Montessori series Book 5), by Maria Montessori and Lillya Foteva, reads: “So here begins a new path, wherein it will not be the professor who teaches the child, but the child who teaches the professor”. And the introduction to the book The Secret of Childhood (Montessori Book Series No 22) reads: “The adult should be determined to learn from the children rather than to force their own ideas on them”!
She rejected the traditional method of teaching, where the teacher is in a position of authority, for a new way of education where the child is the equal of the teacher. In her own words, “[the child] must have absolute freedom of choice”, “the child must learn by his own individual authority...and not be questioned in his choice”. (Montessori 1949: 5 & 7).
Montessori wrote some telling works, such as one entitled “The Child: The Eternal Messiah” (article in the Theosophist magazine). “We must remember that religion is a universal sentiment which is inside everybody and has been inside every person since the beginning of the world. It is not something we must give to the child” (Maria Montessori, in The Child, society and the world: Unpublished speeches and writings).
I quote from her own book, Montessori Method: “As for punishments, the soul of the normal man grows perfect through expanding, and punishment as commonly understood is always a form of repression”. She also disagreed with giving prizes or even grades: “The prize and the punishment are incentives toward unnatural or forced effort” (Montessori Method).
Montessori was clearly ecuмenical: “Just as language has many expressions, English, Swedish, Swahili, and so forth, so does elevation express itself by way of different creeds: Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism and many different belief systems in order to communicate with and about God” (Montessori 1989).

Annie Besant was Mrs Blavastki's successor at the head of the Theosophical Society.
Besant was an Irish protestant who left her husband and two children. “She had a tenacious hate against marriage, family and religion” (R.P. Lucien Roure). “We must fight Rome and its priests, fight everywhere against Christianity, and chase God from the heavens” (Annie Besant in Bombay, in 1924). She described herself as being “as proud as Lucifer” (Besant quoted in Fjällsby 2016: 80). Annie Besant was also member of anglo-french masonic society, of the Memphis-Mïsraim rite. Her friends were Freemasons, such as George Martin, Freemason, communist and one of Garibaldi's men, or Maria Arundale, a feminist Freemason, whose sister eventually became the secretary general of the Supreme Conseil Universel Mixte, the highest global body of mixed (men and women) Fɾҽҽmαsσɳɾყ.

Annie Besant described the following experience in the theosophical periodical Lucifer: “I felt that the air in the room turned into pulsating waves and then the Master’s shining astral body manifested itself, visible for my physical eyes” (Fjällsby 2016: 86). Given the name of the periodical she writes in, there is not really any doubt as to whom 'the Master' was...
Besant was “convinced that the Montessori methods were the result of the introduction of the theosophist ideas in education, especially by placing the child as a 'continuation of the act of creation' and validated a spiritual pedagogy” (Wagnon 2017: 154).

Montessorians are often theosophians and vice-versa in many countries (Wagnon 2017: 154). As a matter of fact, the first Montessori school in Australia was founded in Adelaide by theosophist Lucy Spence Morice around 1912. “In Australia, members of the Theosophical Society had been promoters of Montessori education from the beginning” (Feez 2013: 226).
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Such were Maria Montessori's best friends, the people who sponsored her and promoted her ideas in India and worldwide, this is the Society she was a member of,... These are not mere “pictures of her with some questionable person”.
Indeed, 'Jinarajadasa presumed that Montessori failed to acknowledge the efforts of the Theosophical Society in furthering her work, particularly in India, because she was a Roman Catholic, and to have mentioned the work of 'The Theosophical Society', would have drawn upon her the wrath of the Catholic hierarchy'. (History of Education Society Bulletin (1985) Vol. 36 pp 52 -54).

The people promoting the Montessori method:
We have seen how the Theosophical Society actually sponsored Maria Montessori to work in India and were the main promoters of her method worldwide.
One of the first persons to approve and support Montessori was the mayor of Rome, Ernesto Nathan, then Grand Master of the Masonic Grand Orient of Italy (Klastke 2019: 14).
Another person known to disseminate her method is Robert Muller. For more than three decades, Robert Muller served as Under-Secretary of the United Nations. His vision of a World Core Curriculum, as outlined in his book New Genesis: Shaping a Global Spirituality, was endorsed by the influential Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), the curriculum branch of the NEA (National Education Association) and is being used as model or basis for the core curriculum adopted in nations around the world.
Muller's driving vision is a world united through global education and evolving spiritually toward ultimate perfection. He admits that his beliefs are based on the channelled teachings of “Tibetan Master Djhwal Khul”, a spirit guide to occultist Alice Bailey. Speaking at an international conference sponsored by the UN Population Fund, the University of Peace, and the Government of Costa Rica, Muller said: “We need a new world education. Global education, namely the education of the children into our global home and into the human family is making good progress. But we have to go beyond. We need the cosmic education foreseen by the religions and by people like Maria Montessori. We need a holistic education, teaching the holism of the universe and of the planet...”.
We can also mention Philip Gang, an early leader in the Montessori movement, who served as a member of the original design team for UNESCO's Global Education Project led by Robert Muller. Later, he founded and headed the Global Alliance to Transform Education (GATE).
The Popes who approved of her?
It is widely reported that St Pius X approved of the Montessori Method, and had even given his Apostolic Benediction to Maria Montessori. This is untrue. Here is what truly happened:
The Franciscan Sisters Missionaries of Mary had opened a Montessori school in Italy, in 1911. However, in 1912, a Jesuit priest condemned the Montessori Method as lacking discipline and ignoring human nature by refusing to reward good behavior. “When the sisters’ advising priest read Dr. Montessori’s books for himself, he also concluded that her works were 'scientifically inadequate and, moreover, harmful to the people of faith' ” (Klastke 2019:32). The school was closed in 1915. Shortly before his death,St Pius X had complimented the Franciscan Sisters' work with the children, mostly children of the streets, and gave the Sisters his Apostolic Benediction. That is all. He never commented on the Montessori Method.
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Pope Benedict XV most definitely gave Montessori a blessing and praised her work. However, Benedict XV was a known progressist and a liberal. The modernist Laberthonnière wrote: “I rejoiced upon the election of Benedict XV thinking of the defeat of the fundamentalists” (Lagrave 2014: 64). Benedict XV chose as his Secretary of State Pietro Gasparri, who tried to put a stop to Pope Pius X's beatification (Poulat cited in Lagrave 2014: 64).
Popes Paul VI and John-Paul II also praised the Montessori method.
In conclusion:
I strongly recommend, for those who like to watch videos or listen to podcasts, the conference entitled “Resistance Podcast 122: The Problems of Maria Montessori Part 1”: .
I only watched the first five minutes before I wrote this article, but I would have saved myself a lot of time and research if I had watched it all. A lot of the quotes I put in this article are also found in this podcast. However, it is very complete and goes much deeper than I am able to intellectually. Do not be discouraged by the first 9 minutes. If you prefer, go straight to minute 9.
Part 2 is entitled “Resistance Podcast 125: Catechesis of the Good Shepherd: a Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing”:

~ AVE MARIA ~


Bibliography
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Burger, Maya. Marge ou centre? Où chercher la vérité? L’orientalisme d’une Russe en Inde: Helena Petrovna Blavatsky in Études de lettres, 2-3 | 2014, 297-322. https://journals.openedition.org/edl/761
Encyclopedic World Dictionary, 1971. Paul Hamlyn, ed. Feez, Susan. Montessori, the Australian Story. 2013.
Fjällsby, P-O. Idealizing India: A transformative perspective on Theosophists contribution to education and politics (1879-1930). 2016. Available online: http://kau.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:919959/FULLTEXT01.pdf
History of Education Society Bulletin (1985) Vol. 36 pp 52 -54 .
http://www.kelpin.nl/fred/download/montessori/english/theosophist.pdf
Klaske, Elise M. The great Italian Educator: The Montessori Method and American Nativism in the 1910s. 2019.
Kramer. Maria Montessori: A biography. 1976.
Lagrave, Christian in Le Sel de la Terre No 89 Eté 2014, La tactique moderniste, de Saint Pie X à
Pie XI.
Lagrave, Christian in Le Sel de la Terre No 94 Automne 2015, Le féminisme contre la famille. Montessori, Maria. The Child, in The Theosophist, December 1941.
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Montessori, Maria. Montessori method.
Montessori,Maria. To Educate the Human Potential. 1949a.
Montessori, Maria. The Absorbent Mind. The Theosophical Publishing House. 1949B Montessori, Maria.The Child, Society and the World. Unpublished Speeches and Writings. 1989. www.parlonsmusique.wordpress.com/2017/03/29/maria-montessori www.thenewinquiry.com/blog/dr-maria-montessori-feminist/ www.theosophical.org/publication/quest-magazine/1409-montessori-and-the-theosophical-society
Wagnon, Sylvain. Les théosophes et l’organisation internationale de l’éducation nouvelle (1911- 1921). Revista de Estudios Históricos de la Masonería Latinoamericana y Caribeña, vol. 9, n° 1, 2017, May-Novembre, pp. 148-182 Universidad de Costa Rica.
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