Every June 6, the Catholic Church celebrates Saint Marcellin Champagnat, French priest and founder of the Congregation of the Marist Brothers. Saint Marcellin lived in times when his native France was going through a profound social and political crisis.
The saint led what would be the Church’s response to these circumstances: a religious movement focused on access to education, especially dedicated to the training of children and young people.
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Education, gift from Heaven
Marcellin José Benito Champagnat Chirat was born on May 20, 1789 in Marlhes (France), into a humble family that would suffer the consequences of anticlericalism and hatred of the faith that accompanied the French Revolution.
His mother consecrated him as a child to the Virgin Mary, and one of his aunts, who was very close to him, was the one who taught him his first letters. That aunt was the one who introduced little Marcellin to the knowledge of the lives of the saints.
Unfortunately, the then youngest of the Champagnats could not go further in his schooling, since his family could not afford it. Marcellin would grow up without attending school, but since he knew how to read, he became fond of the pious readings that he could find at home or where one of his relatives was. With these he learned a lot, mainly about the love of God and the Church.
At the same time, like all the boys in the town, he learned a trade – he became a bricklayer – and discovered a certain natural talent for business. For a time, Marcelino would dedicate himself to selling lambs, an activity that allowed him to save the money necessary to pay for his studies in the future.
As soon as he reached the necessary age, the saint presented himself to the minor seminary of his town. The trainers admitted him and helped him adapt to the new environment. However, he did not do very well and he began to show difficulty in learning the subjects, to the point that he was almost kicked out of the place.
Fortunately, his good behavior and the support of his friends allowed him to continue. Among his companions was none other than another great saint, the future Curé of Ars, Saint John Mary Vianney. Juan María, like Marcellin, did not stand out in his studies either, although he did stand out in piety and fervor.
At Mary’s “school”
Saint Marcellin was ordained a priest in 1816. Almost immediately, he would be sent as vicar of an elderly priest, to one of those remote towns where life revolves around parties and drunkenness. The saint, without caring much, encouraged everyone to get closer to God again, especially the young.
Father Marcelino proposed that the boys of the town arrive at the church before six in the morning to receive catechism, and he achieved it – something that could well be considered “his first miracle.”
The vicar acquired the habit of visiting the Marian Sanctuary of la Fourviere. The story goes that on one of his visits, in the middle of his prayer, he received the inspiration to found a religious congregation dedicated to teaching catechism and training the youngest.
In those days, Marcellin had been accompanying a deathly sick young man who lacked any preparation in the faith. He certainly could have helped him die in peace, but the fact left him with a terrible disappointment.
Facing the Lord, in prayer, he decided to gather some of his companions and begin an apostolic work. Enthusiastic, he came to the conviction that this work had to be educational: many young people needed an opportunity to educate themselves, and to know God more and better.
“All in honor of Jesus, but through Mary…”
The foundation of the Congregation of the Marist Brothers took place on January 2, 1817. The new community, consecrated as the “Company of Mary”, began school work. Previously, its members, known as “the Marist brothers”, had received the appropriate instruction for such a high mission from their founder.
Father Marcellin sent his spiritual sons to nearby parishes as religious teachers or catechists. As time went by, new candidates would arrive to be part of the Congregation. In this way, with a sufficient number of “religious-educators” the first “Marist schools” appeared.
The method used by the Marists in the classrooms was marked by the exercise of charity, the practice of singing and the active participation of the students. All humiliating treatment was strictly prohibited, as was physical punishment. Father Marcellin, furthermore, was convinced that all pedagogy should focus on the love of Mary: “Everything in honor of Jesus, but through Mary. “All for Mary, to reach Jesus.”
“Our community,” he used to remind his religious, “belongs completely to Our Lady, the Mother of God. Our activities must be aimed at making her loved, esteemed and glorified. Let us instill his devotion in our young people, and thus we will more easily lead them to Jesus Christ.”
Education for Saint Marcellin Champagnat is not limited to the transmission of knowledge, or to enhancing only the intellectual dimension. Without a search for God, without truth that illuminates the spirit and without charity, the soul of the young man is cut off. Educating is training the person.
Training for holiness
Saint Marcellin Champagnat left for the Father’s House on June 6, 1840 at only 51 years of age. What seemed like acute gastritis had actually been stomach cancer. However, his educational and spiritual work would maintain the founding impulse that he gave it, thanks to the persistence and affection of his brothers in the Congregation. As proof of this, there was an expansion of the Order in many countries.
The founder of the Marists was canonized in 1999 by Saint John Paul II. In the homily of the canonization Mass the Holy Father stated: “Saint Marcellin announced the Gospel with a burning heart. He showed sensitivity to the spiritual and educational needs of his time, especially to the religious ignorance and abandonment particularly experienced by youth.”
Saint Marcellin Champagnat, pray for us!
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