The Marist Charism
Foundation of the Marist Brothers
The Marist Brothers are a religious congregation of men in the Catholic Church, founded by St Marcellin Champagnat. They are devoted to the Virgin Mary and committed to the education of young people, especially the least favoured. Following the spirit and attitudes of Mary since 1817 they have gained over 3500 Brothers, are now working in 79 countries on 5 continents and educating close to 654,000 children and young people.
Marcellin Champagnat was born on 20 May 1789 in the village of Le Rosey near the city of Lyon in France. Due to the French Revolution, many children did not attend school regularly including Marcellin. Marcellin noticed the lack of care and respect teachers showed their students and realised that many young people had little religious or academic education. Marcellin was determined to fight the illiteracy and spiritual poverty caused by the violence and chaos of the Revolution.
With this passion and perseverance, on the 2 January 1817, Marcellin and two other young men, Jean-Marie Granjon and Jean-Baptiste Audras, founded the religious community "The Little Brothers of Mary" (later known as the “Marist Brothers”). This community of Brothers were to make known, through their service and lives, the love of Mary and Jesus - especially where access to love and support, education and catechism was inaccessible.
Types of Work
In 1818, The Marist Brothers opened their first school in LaValla, France. The Brothers designed the school timetable to suit the farming needs of the parishioners allowing the children to be absent from school to help in the fields for planting and harvesting crops. The cost of the education at this school was at a price where the brothers kn...
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...ared and organised. Students also attend classes equipped and prepared to participate in a positive way. The students also show respect during prayer and liturgies and being compassionate and kind towards fellow classmates and teachers.
Bringing God into the Lives of the Poor
The charism “bringing God into the lives of the poor” is shown in many ways at St Peters. Each year students are encouraged to donate spare change to Project Compassion, an organisation that helps fight poverty and promote social justice for vulnerable communities worldwide. The school also holds multiple fundraisers throughout the year which donates every cent raised to charities. Staff teach their students about poverty and the lack of education some children receive and the school group “Social Justice” discusses key issues like poverty and attempts to find ways to improve its current state.
Born in Paris on Nov. 4,1577, Francois Leclerc du Tremblay was the son of a royal judge. After brief military career, he underwent a religious conversation and joined the Capuchin order, taking the name Father Joseph. His missionary zeal , political astuteness, and tireless activity enable him to rise rapidly within the Capuchin order, and Father Joseph directed its energies to converting infidels aboard and the Protestant Huguenots in France.
Even though these schools are all different, they have some similarities such as the teachers. All of the teachers that we meet are encouraging the students anyway they can, in addition they are always striving to get the kids to believe in themselves and pushing them towards
In 1709, French monarch Louis XIV ordered police to the abbey of Port-Royal des Champs in an attempt to control the Jansenists; followers of a spiritual movement founded by Cornelius Otto Jansen, also known as Jansenius (1585-1638). Monarchial fears of Jansenism persisted, and two years later the abbey would be destroyed completely, the bodies of Jansenists exhumed, and the area converted into farmland. Although Louis XIV believed he had successfully destroyed the potential Jansenist threat to his authority, the movement would later reemerge, and in 1762 the parlement of Paris was considered a Jansenist stronghold. Once established in the Paris parlement, the Jansenists would dissolve the Jesuit Order, or Society of Jesus, labeling the organization as perverse and destructive of religious principle. The Jansenist campaign for Jesuit persecution was interpreted by many French intellectuals, including the famous philosopher Voltaire, as revenge for the Order's endorsed destruction of the abbey Port-Royal des Champs.1
Leclercq, Jean. The Love of Learning and the Desire for God; a Study of Monastic
Accordingly, children went to school to learn the skills they needed for life. In rural areas, the school year lasted for five to six months, “from the last harvest to the first planting” (Shields, 2000, 24). However, in the urban environment, schools were open eleven or twelve months of the year (Shields, 2000). This is because urban schools provided a way to get children off the labor market, as well as enable them to learn the new technology of the time (McLain, 1973). Then, in 1847, in order to offer a standard curriculum, “urban schools reduced the length of their school year and rural areas increased the number of their school days (Shields, 2000, 25). The result was the traditional, agrarian school calendar of nine months in school, with a three month vacation.
The Society of Jesus was first established in France by Ignatius of Loyola 1534. Ignatius was a soldier in the Spanish army and saw combat when King Francis I of France invaded Spain in 1521 and on the 20th of May he was wounded when a cannonball hit his right leg which would forever leave him with a limp. His recuperation in the castle of Loyola, however, would lead Ignatius into a conversion of the soul. John W. O’Malley author of The First Jesuits, explains Ignatius of Loyola’s transformation in the castle: “He found none of the tales of the chivalry that he loved to read. In some desperation he turned to the only literature at hand—the lives of the saints in The Golden Legend by Jacopo da Voragine and the Life of Christ by Ludolph of Saxony” (O’Malley, 24). Still, according to O’Malley, he contemplated a return to service even with his limp, however, when he entertained the notion he was left “dry and agitated in spirit,” O’Malley again: “He gradually came to the conclusion that God was...
Most people feel that they should help the needy in some way or another. The problem is how to help them. This problem generally arises when there is a person sitting on the side of the road in battered clothes with a cardboard sign asking for some form of help, almost always in the form of money. Yet something makes the giver uneasy. What will they do with this money? Do they need this money? Will it really help them? The truth of the matter is, it won't. However, there are things that can be done to help the needy. Giving money to a reliable foundation will help the helpless, something that transferring money from a pocket to a man's tin can will never do.
a living and were not bound to any particular monastery but answered directly to the pope.
Hopkins, Marilyn. The enigma of the Knights Templar: Their history and mystical connections. New York: Disinformation Co., 2007.
In the mid eleventh century, a group of people devoted to taking care of the sick came together to form one of the greatest brotherhoods of the Middle Ages. They named themselves the Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, more commonly referred to as the Knights Hospitaller. They named themselves after Saint John the Hospitaller. These knights devoted their time and lives to the care and protection of the ill and dying during the twelfth century. The Hospitallers took in people of all illnesses, except those with leprosy due to safety reasons, regardless of their age, race or sexuality. Not even a century later, in 1113 Pope Paschal II recognized the Knights Hospitaller in a Papal bull (bill). As the years passed, the Knights Hospitaller soon transformed from a group that cared for the sick, into “one of the most effective fighting forces of the Middle Ages.” Although the Knights Hospitaller cared for the sick and defended the people, did these righteous people continue their great service, or did they turn on their vows and become corrupt like many organizations before them.
The Theatines order was established to help stop the spread of heresy within the church. This order also helped with the regeneration of the clergy. The order of Ursulines specialized in educating young girls. Devoting to the traditional works of mercy, the Ursulines order helped exemplify the Counter Reformation’s reaffirmation of the importance of faith, works, and salvation through God's grace. This made the church much more effective, all while reaffirming the fundamental establishments of the Medieval Church.
In 1118 a French Crusader named Hugues de Payens and seven companions appointed themselves protectors of pilgrims in the Holy Land. Jerusalem's King Baldwin II joined the Patriarch of Jerusalem in support of this small band of men dedicated to Christ, providing them a home in the temple adjoining the royal palace. Living on alms, they became known as the Poor Knights of the Temple.
St Ignatius of Loyola is an inspiring person and has touched the lives of many people even now centuries after his death. Loyola has affected the lives of an uncountable number of people, either directly or indirectly. He started as an extremely brave and tough soldier and turned into the founder of a powerful religious order. He was born in 1491 in Spain and founded the Jesuits in 1540 at the age of 49.The Jesuits today are still a devoted religious order. Everything they do is in God’s name, hence their motto AD MAIOREM DEI GLORIAM this literally means “for the greater glory of God”. (Linten, Seven Things) Many Jesuits (and even non Jesuits like Pope John Paul II) sign their documents with amdg at the end to show that they do their work for God and not solely for themselves. (Linten, Seven Things) The Jesuits have survived multiple persecutions and yet have still remained a major influence in the church and in universities around the world. If it were not for an unfortunate cannonball shattering a soldier’s leg then none of this may have happened.
The entire community plays an essential role in the growth and development of children within our community. As a school leader, building an inclusive school culture that is open and friendly to all stakeholders using a variety of effective methods is crucial. There is no magic formula to incorporating a positive school culture, much depends on the leadership of the campus. The leadership on campus cultivates the climate providing support and respect for everyone invested in the student’s education.
We must have the correct mind-set. We believe our students can learn; have high expectations; are willing to give extra help; find ways to make