THE MARIST PROJECT

Marist FathersMarist Brothers

Marist LaityMarist Sisters

Marist Missionary Sisters

The Pioneers of the Marist Project

Chavoin 1786

Colin 1790

Champagnat 1789

Perroton 1796

A COMMON ORIGIN

The Marist Project Has its origins in France, at the Marian shrines of

Le Puy and Lyon

LE PUY- THE BEGINNING

The Origins of the Marist

Project can be traced back to

the Marian shrine at Le

Puy and a man know as

COURVEILLE

Le Puy is an unusual place with many shrines and Churches built on top of ancient volcanic plugs

LE PUY-MARIAN SHRINE• Le Puy was a major

shrine of Mary and has been a Pilgrimage destination for over 1000 years.

• Thousands of visitors still come to Le Puy each year to visit the Marian shrine.

JEAN-CLAUDE COURVEILLE

• 1787- Born: just before the French Revolution

• 1797- Contracted the Smallpox disease which affected his vision

• 1800- His vision was getting worse- he was becoming blind

• 1807- He wanted to become a priest but his bad eyesight was a problem

At MARY’S SHRINE

1809- Aged 22, Courveille was inspired to make a pilgrimage to Our Lady of Le Puy to ask a cure for his near-blindness

THE SANCTUARY LAMPS

He took some oil from a lamp which burns before the statue of Mary and rubbed it on his eyes

INSTANT CURE

His prayer was answered.

As soon as he wiped the oil from his eyes he could see things very distinctly in the Cathedral.

GRATEFUL COURVEILLE

1810- In the same Church, before the same miraculous statue, he promised Mary he would devote himself entirely to her, and to do whatever she wanted.

REVELATION OF LE PUY

• 1812- August 15th, Feast of the Assumption of Mary, Courveille returned to Mary’s shrine. There he ‘heard’ the “Revelation of Le Puy”, calling him to found a Religious Society in honor of Mary.

MARY’S REQUEST

This is what I desire…a Society consecrated to me, which will bear my name, being called the Society of Mary. It’s members will be known as Marists..

STUDY FOR THE PRIESTHOOD

1812- November 1st (All Saints Day), Courveille joined the philosophy class at the Le Puy Seminary He later

transferred to the Lyon Seminary in 1814

THE CITY OF LYON

The Modern City Today The old streets

are still an important part of life in the city of Lyon today

LYON- THE ROMAN CITY

From 43BC Lyon (then Lugdunum) was the capital of Gaul- an important Roman city

LYON- CITY OF CHRISTIAN MARTYRDOM

Saint Pothin was the first Bishop of Lyon. He established the city’s first shrine to Mary, and the first Christian Church, in 175ADPothin was martyred in 177AD along with 18,000 Christians

LYON-CITY OF TWO RIVERS

The turbulent Rhone, from GenevaThe placid Saone from the East of France

Lyon stands on one of the natural crossroads of the continent

LYON- FOURVIERE

Fourviere is the hill which overlooks the whole city of Lyon

The Chapel of Our Lady was restored in 1751

The Basilica was built in 1896

LYON- SHRINE OF MARY

1170- a shrine to ‘Our Lady of Good Counsel’ was erected on the site of the old ‘Roman Forum’

This became a place of ‘pilgrimage’ to ask Mary for special favours

SHRINE OF MARYThe original shrine was destroyed in 1562 but was rebuilt as the church of the Assumption.

This shrine of Mary became famous during the plague of 1628

It was restored in 1751

LYON-SEMINARY

1814- November 1st, All Saints Day, Courveille entered the seminary of St. Irenaeus.The old streets of Lyon remain but the seminary has gone.

FIRST RECRUIT

At the seminary, below the hill of Fourviere, Courveille first spoke of his plan to Etienne Declas, a fellow seminarian. “I have a plan…

to go to the poor people in country parishes who have greater need than those in the big towns or cities”.

THE PROJECT TAKES SHAPE

Declas approved of Courveille’s idea which was based on the work of St Francis Regis.

It was not until later that year, that Courveille mentioned the idea of a new Order devoted to Mary.

DEVOTED TO MARY

Courveille and Declas looked for other suitable seminarians to join this new order in the Church devoted to Mary.

SECRET MEETINGS

During 1815 and the first part of 1816 the number of seminarians interested in the Marist Project grew to 15. “Wherever Jesus has an altar, Mary also has hers at the side. Jesus has his society (Jesuits) so Mary should have hers”.

FORMULATING PLANS

Under the leadership of Courveille, the group met frequently to encourage each other and formulate plans for the future Society of Mary.

“Our model will be that of the early Church- with the disciples gathered around Mary”.

THE SOCIETY OF MARY

Within sight of Mary’s shrine on the hill of Fourviere, the pioneer Marists prepared for their day of Ordination and continued to talk about plans for the new society of Mary.

THE PIONEER MARISTS

The seminarians who became key people:

Jean-Claude Colin, founder of the Marist Fathers and Marist Sisters

Marcellin Champagnat, founder of the Marist Brothers and Marist Fathers

Terraillon assisted Champagnat at L’Hermitage, and Declas joined the first community of priests at Cerdon.

“WE NEED BROTHERS”

Marcellin Champagnat convinced the group that another branch was needed-that of teaching Brothers for children in rural areas.

The Society of Mary was to be like a tree consisting of 3 branches-Priests, Sisters and Lay people.

ORDINATION

July 22nd, 1816

The Church was that of St. Jean, which was close to the seminary

8 members of the Society of Mary group were ordained

“FOURVIERE” DAY

July 23rd, the day after their ordination, 8 new priests and 4 seminarians climbed the 800 steps from the church of St Jean to the Marian shrine on Fourviere.

THE FOURVIERE MASS

At the shrine of Mary on the hill of Fourviere, the 12 new Apostles of Mary attended Mass. Courveille presided and gave Communion to the other members

THE FOURVIERE PLEDGE

At the conclusion of Mass, and before the image of the ‘Black Virgin’, the pioneer Marists made their special pledge to God and Mary.

“WE THE UNDERSIGNED….

Striving to work together for the greater glory of God and the honor of Mary, Mother of the Lord Jesus, assert and declare our sincere intention and firm will, of consecrating ourselves at the first opportunity to founding the pious congregation of Marists..

THE DISPERSAL

They promised to work at beginning a new Order for Mary-but only 3 did, and they were in different parts of the Diocese

Courveille

Champagnat

Colin

Cerdon

LAVALLA

Champagnat arrived at his first parish on August 13th.

It was a rural parish in the foothills of Mt. Pilat, with a population of around 2000

CHAMPAGNAT at LAVALLA

After an incident with a dying boy, Champagnat decided to act.

He made an appointment with a young man from the parish to meet at the local bridge

Here Champagnat outlined his vision for teaching brothers.

FIRST ‘MARIST’ HOUSE

Fr. Courveille paid half of the cost of the house to help get the Marist Project under way.

Champagnat decided to buy a small house near the presbytery, then spent two months renovating it.

THE MARIST BROTHERS

Jan 2nd, 1817, less than six months after ordination, Champagnat had the first two recruits move into a house near the presbytery.

They made nails to earn some money, while Champagnat taught them to read and write

LAVALLA PRESBYTERY

Champagnat initially lived in the Priest’s house, but later moved to the poorer house to join the growing number of Brothers. Champagnat was

at Lavalla for eight years where he attended to both his priestly duties and the formation of his Brothers

FIRST ‘MARIST’ SCHOOL

Within two years of arriving at Lavalla, Champagnat had his first recruit in charge of a school in the Brother’s house.

First School, 1818

The School today

COURVEILLE RETURNS

With Courveille’s help, Champagnat purchased land and began building a five storey house for the growing number of Brothers

The foundations

In 1824 the Bishop sent Courveille to help Champagnat at Lavalla

AMAZING GROWTH

L’Hermitage today

While Champagnat was busy building the Hermitage, Courveille was in charge of the Brothers formation at Lavalla

16 YEARS LATER…

Champagnat died on June 6th 1840 leaving 280 Marist Brothers in 48 schools throughout France and the Missions

In Oct. 1839, Br. Francois Rivat was elected to take over the Brother’s leadership

JEAN-CLAUDE COLIN

Following Ordination in 1816, Jean-Claude Colin was sent to the small village of Cerdon

THE COLIN BROTHERS

Jean-Claude lived with his brother Pierre who was parish Priest of Cerdon

Cerdon- priests house today and as it was in 1816

COLIN THE LEADERDuring the next 20 years, Jean-Claude Colin was to become the leader of the Marist Priests and instrumental in founding the Marist Sisters

Colin shared his vision of the ‘Marist Project’ with his brother Pierre.

COUTOUVRE

Pierre was enthused by the ‘Marist Project’ and informed his brother of two young women from his previous parish-Coutouvre

The two young women he mentioned were:

Jeanne-Marie Chavoin

Marie Jotillon

JEANNE-MARIE CHAVOINBorn at Coutouvre in 1786

She had a deeply religious disposition which was developed through:

•Assisting the parish priest

•Being an active member of the parish Association of Divine Love

•Making retreats at a Lyon convent

•Looking for a new way to serve God

CHAVOIN AT CERDON

At the invitation of Colin, Chavoin came for a meeting at the Cerdon Presbytery

Jeanne-Marie was instantly impressed with Colin’s vision of the ‘Marist Project’ and hurried home to share her news with her friend.

MARIST PROJECT GROWS

Towards the end of 1817 both women came to live at Cerdon. Two years later Jeanne-Marie lived and worked in the presbytery with the Colin brothers to develop plans for the ‘Marist Project’

Cerdon Church

SLOW PROGRESS

Church approval for the Marist Project was very slow.

In 1820 Chavoin traveled to LePuy to seek approval for the Marists to be located there, but had no success.

Bishops did not want a new Religious Group with an independent organisation.

DAUGHTERS OF MARY

Finally, Bishop Devie gave permission, and on Sept. 8th 1823, the first community of ‘Marist’ sisters came together. On Dec. 8th 1824, in the Church at

Cerdon, the first ‘Clothing Ceremony’ took place- the first ceremony of the ‘Society of Mary’.

MOVE TO BELLEY

Bishop Devie invited the three ‘Marist’ priests to Belley so they could conduct missions in the mountain hamlets.

The Colin brothers arrived in June 1825. Five days later (June 29th) the Sisters arrived-15 in all- (10 Novices and 5 Postulants)

MARIST SISTERSWhen Jeanne-Marie and the other sisters arrived at ‘Bon Repos’, they found a small house, a barn and a disused field Jeanne-Marie lost

no time in adding an extra storey to the house and in transforming the barn into a chapel.

SISTERS FIRST VOWSIt was here on Sept 6th 1826 that the Sisters made their first vows to Bishop Devie

Sister’s Chapel Jeanne-Marie Chavoin

‘BON REPOS’ TODAY

The ‘Mother house’ still has a community of sisters who look after a retirement home for women

CONFLICT OF VIEWSRelations between Colin and Chavoin became strained between 1839 and 1852 Colin wanted the

sisters to lead an enclosed ‘monastic’ life which included singing the Office in choir.

Chavoin wanted them to be free to respond to the needs of people

The ‘Choir Stalls’ can be seen to the right of photo

CHAVOIN’S RESIGNATION

Chavoin resigned and went to live with the community at Meximieux. Here, her inactivity and isolation were a great suffering. Colin resigned in 1854

and his successor, Fr Favre and the Superior General of the Sisters, invited Chavoin to open a new house in the small village of Jarnosse. Better things were ahead.

MIRACLE AT JARNOSSE

At Jarnosse the community was able to live the kind of Marist life that Jean-Marie had always intended for the sisters. They were known and loved by the local people. They taught in the

local school, performed parish work and helped adults in need.

CHAVOIN’S DEATHJean-Marie died at Jarnosse in June 1858 at the age of 72. Her last years were spent supervising the construction of the convent, borrowing money to pay bills and seeing her dream for the sisters come true

Jean-Marie’s body was moved to the chapel at Bon Repos in 1962 where it resides, out of sight, behind the choir stall.

THE MARIST FATHERS

Events moved more slowly in the establishment of the Marist Fathers:

A letter to Rome in 1819 failed to elicit a reply from the Church authorities.

The request to move to the Diocese of LePuy in 1820 was not successful.

Authorities were opposed to a community of Marist priests in the diocese of Lyon.

SEEKING APPROVAL

Fr. Declas asked permission to go to Rome to present their cause, but this was refused.

Courveille drafted a letter to be sent to the Pope- but it was considered unsuitable.

The Colin brothers composed another letter for Rome, which Courveille signed.

This letter received a response- the first positive sign from the authorities (1822)

COLIN OFF TO PARIS

Jean-Claude Colin was chosen to represent the Marists and to present their cause in Paris.

He presented the Rule he had been working on for the previous five years.

He had to make a second visit in 1823 with a revised Rule.

1823: ANOTHER SETBACK

In 1823 Rome changed the diocesan boundaries in France, affecting Lyon.

As a result, the Marist priests at Cerdon were in a different diocese to those at Lavalla. They could no longer meet together.

The authorities in Paris gave Colin’s Marist dossier to the new Bishop of Belley- at first a problem….later a blessing.

1824: A BEGINNING

May: the archbishop’s council in Lyon decided to transfer Courveille to Lavalla to help Champagnat.

October: Fr. Declas was allowed to leave his parish to join the Colin brothers at Cerdon.

This was the first real community of Marist priests. The “Project” had begun. Marist priests were now at Lavalla and at Cerdon.

1825: MOVE TO BELLEYBishop Devie called the three Marist priests from Cerdon to Belley in June 1825.

He provided lodging for them in the minor seminary and had them conduct parish missions in the country regions of the diocese

The minor seminary

1826: MORE PROBLEMS

Fr. Courveille had not endeared himself to the Marist Brothers at Lavalla or L’Hermitage and left Champagnat in May. He had also upset Colin and the other Marists.

Fr Terraillon wanted to join the trio of Marist priests at Belley, instead of staying with Champagnat at L’Hermitage. He left L’Hermitage in October to preach a series of ‘Jubilee sermons’

1830- SECRET ELECTION

In October, the Lyon Marists journeyed to Belley for a meeting. They elected Colin as “Central Superior” and Champagnat as ‘Provincial-Rector’ of L’Hermitage.

The town of Belley

PROGRESS CONTINUES

1832:- a THIRD Marist community was established at Valbenoite

1833:- Colin and two companions went to Rome to seek papal approval for the ‘Marist Project’

1834:- Letter of approval for the ‘Third Order’ (lay people) and for the Priests to elect a ‘Superior’. No approval for the Marist Priests, Sisters or Brothers.

1836-VICTORY AT LAST

20 Years after their pledge at Fourviere, the Marist priests won approval from Rome:-Not for the Sisters or Brothers!The Papal decree

“Omnium Gentium” recognised the Marist Fathers and entrusted them with the mission area of Western Oceania

BELLEY GATHERING

September 1836- 24 priests gathered at the Belley seminary to discuss the election of a Superior and to select the new missionaries.On September 24th in

the Chapel at La Capuciniere, Colin was elected Superior General

PRIESTS- FIRST VOWS

Twenty Marists knelt at these steps on Sept 24th 1836 to make their vows

MARIST MISSIONARIES

Dec 24th 1836, eight Marists left France for the missions of the Pacific:

•Bishop Pompallier

•Four Marist Priests (including St Peter Chanel)

•Three Marist Brothers (though still not officially approved or recognised)

BACK TO LYON

Colin purchased ‘Puylata’(in Lyon) in 1838, and moved there himself in 1839. It was to be the General House of the Marist priests for some time. Puylata was

just down the hill from the Fourviere shrine and not far from the Marist Sisters convent.

COLIN AT ‘La NEYLIERE’

La Neyliere was purchased in 1852 and Colin spent his last years there writing the Marist Rule.

It was accepted by the Priests in 1870 and approved by Rome in 1873.

COLIN’S DEATHColin died at La Neyliere on November 15th 1875

He is buried in the chapel there. The stone at the left covers his grave- a simple monument to this great man.

He was leader of the Marists, Founder of the Marist Fathers, and Co-founder of the Marist Sisters

THE ‘THIRD ORDER’ (LAITY)

From the beginning, the laity were going to be an integral part of the Marist Project- the THIRD group with the Priests and Religious.

The initial Marist Laity group was established at Cerdon. It consisted of a group of 30 men who met together for prayer under the direction of the two Colin brothers.

THIRD ORDER IN BELLEY

When the Colin brothers moved to Belley, they established another group of lay Marists, called the “Confraternity of the Mother of God”

Rome gave approval to this group in 1834, but Colin later withdrew his support and encouragement. (He thought the Bishop might think he was usurping his authority).

THE LYON ‘LAY’ GROUPS

In Lyon, TWO groups were established:

•A group of men who became known as the “Tertiary Brothers of Mary” (1832)

• A group of women who were known as the “Association of Christian Virgins” (1836)

THE TERTIARY BROTHERSThe Tertiary Brothers of Mary met in this building- just 50m from the shrine of Fourviere In 1832, under the

direction of Fr. Pompallier, they became associated with the Marist Project. They made vows but wore no distinctive attire and kept their own employment.

THE CHRISTIAN VIRGINS

In 1836, four young women agreed to attend a meeting convened by Pompallier. He invited them to form the “Association of Christian Virgins”.

Soon after this, Pompallier was invited to go to the Missions, so this new group was left on their own without a chaplain.

MISSION SUPPORTERSWith no Marist Priest to guide them, they continued to meet regularly and felt very much part of the Marist Project.

In 1845, this group had 14 members who met at the Marist Sisters house in Lyon.They read letters from the Missionaries, prayed for them and made clothing for them.

Women’s groups expand

In 1850 Fr Eymard was appointed by Fr. Colin to look after this group of women.

Their numbers increased and new groups were begun for Mothers and Young Girls.

These groups became very popular and spread to other regions of France.

FRANCOISE PERROTON

She had no direct contact with the Marist pioneers, but she was involved with the” Propagation of the Faith” group in Lyon.

In 1843 she read a letter in one of their publications requesting women for the missions of the Pacific.

Born in 1796, Perroton lived in Lyon.

OFF TO THE MISSIONSIn 1845, at the age of 49, Perroton decided God was calling her to go to the Pacific Missions.

She expressed her wish to Fr Eymard, and spoke to the captain of a ship who was taking supplies to the Missions. (He was a member of the Marist ‘Third’ order).

After a visit to the shrine of Fourviere (with Fr Eymard) she set off for Wallis Island.

MARIST MISSIONARY SISTERS

Perroton was alone on Wallis Island until 1857, when three other women came to join her. In 1858 six more came. Another arrived in 1860. These were the Pioneers of the Marist Missionary SistersThis 1890’s photo from

Wallis Is. shows Sr. Marie Rose de Lima, a “Pioneer” from 1858 seated in the middle

SMSM SISTERS TODAY

Today the Marist Missionary Sisters are very much part of the Marist Family and work to achieve the aims of the Marist Project.

THE MARIST FAMILYThe original concept for priests, brothers, sisters and laity, all working under one Superior, was too complicated for the authorities in Rome.A Third Order (Laity) was approved in 1834

The Priests were given approval in 1836

The Brothers group was approved in 1852

The Marist Sisters were approved in 1884

The Marist Missionary Sisters in 1932

WORLDWIDE MARISTS In 2001, the four Marist Orders each had their General Chapters in Rome. They gathered on Sept 12th to celebrate the feast of The Holy Name of Mary.

Marist World Leaders

Chapter delegates from the four Marist Orders at a special Papal audience.

THE WORK OF MARY“To enable Church to happen” may be a useful way of describing the Marist enterprise.

The specific task of Marists is to be there- as Mary was at the beginning of the Church.

The Marist Project continues today in the lives of those who make the effort to live the dream of the original Marist Pioneers.

Mural near the tomb of Colin, showing Mary and the Pacific missionaries

More information may be found under the heading “Marist Spirituality” on the “Maristoz” website:

www.maristoz.edu.au

A Marist Resources Product Produced by Br. Terry Mulligan