Today is the Feast Day of St. Marcellin Champagnat. One hundred and eighty-one years ago on this day, he died at the age of fifty-nine. As a young priest, serving in the small rural French hamlet of Lavalla, he quickly came to realize that the poor country children of his surrounding area had no hope of a future as there were no schools. More alarming to him was his concern that many of those young people lacked a basic understanding of our faith. With no money and two young recruits, he began the Marist Brothers on January 2, 1817. His dream of educating young people to become “good Christians and good Citizens” quickly grew. Today that dream continues to inspire many young people in eight-two countries around our world. 

As we celebrate his Feast Day today in our USA Province, we are blessed to be able to welcome forty-one Lay Marists who will formally commit to being a Marist of Champagnat. Each of these Lay Marists recently completed a six-month Formation Program within our Province. We are further blessed to be soon welcoming our two current postulants into our USA Novitiate in September as they continue their formation to becoming Marist Brothers.

From the earliest days of our founding, St Marcellin entrusted the needs of all our Brothers, Lay Marists, young people and our many schools and programs to Mary, our Good Mother. He knew that under her protection, all our unspoken prayers and needs would be met. On this his Feast Day, let us continue to entrust all the needs of our Marist world to the sacred heart of Mary. May she continue to watch over our Marist world and all of us that are graced to be part of it.