Current Feature
“It’s goodnight from me and it’s goodnight from him”.Over the past six weeks, the 2008 participants in the Marist Renewal have enjoyed sharing some of our experience with you. Of course it’s true that people’s individual responses to the Marist Places Pilgrimage are personal and a virtual experience, at least at this point in the development of the Internet, is a virtual experience. While a virtual experience is perhaps better than nothing, for the meantime “you just had to be there” to experience it all. It’s been a real...
La Neyliere
La Neyliere was bought in 1850 by Fr Colin when he was superior general. The money (Francs 48,000) came from Fr J-F Viennot, a former lawyer. It was the Founder's intention that the house be a Eucharistic Retreat for Marists. The second superior general, Fr Favre, did not favour this intention and the idea was not pursued. Fr Colin came to Lay Neyliere in 1854 after his resignation.
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Le Puy
It was in the cathedral of Le Puy that the idea of the Society of Mary came to Jean-Claude Courveille. Le Puy is 140km south-west of Lyons. Built in the volcanic crater, it is dominated by two strange stalagmite-shaped rock formations. On one, 630 metres high, a chapel in honour of St Michael has been erected. On the other, a huge statue of Mary, 16 metres high.
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St Bonnet-le-Troncy
In the Autumn of 1804, Jean-Claude left St Bonnet for the minor seminary of St Jodard. He returned only for holidays, and when he was gravely ill in April 1809. It was on this occasion that he was shocked to learn of the greed of his family. When he seemed to be on his deathbed and his family thought he was going to die soon, everyone thought only of his own interests.
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Fourviere
On 23rd July 1816 the twelve marist aspirants, priests and seminarians, climbed the hill to the shrine of Our Lady of Fourviere. They placed their promise to found the Society of Mary under the corporal while Jean-Claude Courveille celebrated Mass. After communion which they all received from Fr Courveille’s hand, they read out their declaration promising to devote themselves and all that they ad to the foundation of the Society of Mary.
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Sainte Foy
In a sense, Sainte Foy is not strictly a place of Marist origin, if we take “origin” as referring to places which the “founders founded”. However, Fr Colin did spend a good deal of time at Sainte Foy. The name more appropriately associated with Sainte Foy is that of Father Favre, the second superior general, who had the house build between 1858 and 1860, several years after Fr Colin had resigned as superior general.
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Belley
Belley marks the fifth stage in the development of the Society of Mary. First, Le Puy with the inspiration to Courveille; then Fourviere with the promise of 1816; then Cerdon with the writing of the first draft of the Rule; then Le Bugey where the first Marist teams went out on Marist mission; and now Belley where the consolidating process begins.
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Le Rosey-Marlhes
Marcellin Champagnat was born in the hamlet of Le Rosey. Something of his leadership ability came from his father, who during the Revolution was elected town clerk. His mother attended clandestine worship even while her husband’s office required that he preside at the secular rituals prescribed by the Revolution. Marcellin enjoyed a wholesome family life, quite contrary of Jean-Claude Colin’s.
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Rome: 1st Journey
Seventeen years passed from the time of the Fourviere Promise in 1816 and Colin's first visit to Rome in 1833. During that time some important developments had taken place. During these early years Courveille was still regarded at the centre of the group. However he was not seen as the religious superior either by those involved nor the diocesan authorities
Read more about JC Colin's first journey to Rome
Rome: 2nd Journey
Colin returns to France in January 1834. It would be eight yeears before he ws to make another visit to Rome and during that time some significant events had taken place in the Marist Project, so the reasons for the second visit were rather different.
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Rome: 3rd and 4th Journey
Fr Colin's third voyage to Rome was in 1846. In fact he made two journeys around this time and so for convenience they are combined here into one. The first, in 1946 was made alone. The second was the longest of his stays, from December 1946 until June 1947. He was initially accompanied by Fr Debreul who was later replaced by Fr Poupinel.
Read more about JC Colin's third and forth journeys to Rome
Rome: 5th Journey
Colin made his final visit to Rome in 1854 following the General Chapter in which his resignation as Superior General was accepted. In the seven years since his previous visit to Rome, many significant events had taken place which affected the life of the Society of Mary. Chief among them was the French Revolution of 1848.
Read more about JC Colin's fifth journey to Rome