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Society of Mary (Marists)
Encyclopedia
The Society of Mary, is a Roman Catholic religious congregation or order, founded by (later) Father Jean-Claude Colin
and a group of other seminarians in France in 1816. Jean-Claude Courveille (1787–1866) had the original insight for the congregation but it was brought to fruition by Colin.
By the beginning of the 19th century Christian churches were well established in the Americas, Europe, and Australia. Christian evangelization efforts turned to Africa, Asia and Oceania. The Holy See
, keen to get the Catholic faith established in this area entrusted its evangelization efforts of Oceania to two religious congregations. The Vicariate Apostolic of Eastern Oceania (including Tahiti
, the Marquesas and Hawaii) was assigned to the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
(Picpus Fathers). Similarly, the Vicariate Apostolic of Western Oceania (including Micronesia
, Melanesia
, Fiji, New Zealand
, Samoa, and Tonga
), was assigned to the Society of Mary (Marists). The Society's members include two canonized saints, Saint Peter Chanel
, S.M., martyred on the island of Futuna
and Saint Marcellin Champagnat
, S.M., founder of the Marist Brothers
. The society's name derives from the Blessed Virgin Mary whom the members attempt to imitate in their spirituality and daily work.
, the most retiring of the group. Later at Cerdon, where he was pastor, he began drafting a tentative rule and founding the Sisters of the Holy Name of Mary; Saint Marcellin Champagnat
, another of the group, established at Lavalla-en-Gier the Little Brothers of Mary
. Because of the cool reception they received from the ecclesiastical authorities in Lyon
, the foundation of the missionary priests' branch could not be made until Cerdon
, Colin's parish, passed from the jurisdiction of Lyon Diocese to that of Belley
. In 1823, Bishop Devie of the newly restored Diocese of Belley authorised Colin and a few companions to resign their parish duties and form into a missionary band for the rural districts. Their zeal and success in that difficult work moved the bishop to entrust them also with the conduct of his seminary
, thus enlarging the scope of their work. However, the fact that Bishop Devie wanted a diocesan institute only, and that Fr. Colin was averse to such a limitation, came near placing the nascent order in jeopardy when Pope Gregory XVI
, in quest of missionaries for Oceania, by Brief of April 29, 1836, approved definitively the "Priests of the Society of Mary" or Marist Fathers, as a religious institute with simple vows and under a Superior General
. The Little Brothers of Mary and the Sisters of the Holy Name of Mary, commonly called Marist Brothers and Marist Sisters
, were reserved for separate institutes. Father Colin was elected Superior General on September 24, 1836, and on that same day the first Marist professions took place, Saint Peter Chanel
, Colin, and Saint Marcellin Champagnat
being among those professed.
Outside France, their first field of labour was the Vicariate Apostolic of Western Oceania, comprising New Zealand
, Tonga, Samoa
, the Gilbert
(now known as Kiribati
) and Marshall Islands
, Fiji, New Caledonia
, New Guinea
, the Solomon
and the Caroline Islands
. Under the vicar apostolic, Bishop Jean Baptiste Pompallier
, who took up residence in New Zealand, the Marists successively moved to Wallis
in 1837, soon converted by Father Pierre Bataillon; Futuna
in 1837, the place of Saint Pierre Chanel's martyrdom
; Tonga
in 1842, New Caledonia
in 1843, where Bishop Douarre, Pompallier's coadjutor, met untold difficulties and Brother Blaise was massacred; and, in spite of much Protestant opposition, Fiji in 1844 and Samoa in 1845. The immense area of the vicariate, together with the presence at its head of a diocescan bishop, soon necessitated the creation of smaller districts under Marist bishops: Central Oceania under Bishop Bataillon (1842), Melanesia
and Micronesia
under Bishop Epalle (1844), New Caledonia under Bishop Douarre (1847), Wellington (New Zealand) under Bishop Viard (1848), Bishop Pompallier retaining Auckland; the Navigator Islands
(1851), long administered by the Vicar Apostolic of Central Oceania; the Prefecture of Fiji (1863), etc. Of these, Melanesia and Micronesia had to be abandoned after the massacre of Bishop Epalle at Isabella Island and the sudden death of his successor, Bishop Colomb, the Solomon Islands alone reverting to the Marists in 1898. Those various missions have progressed steadily under the Marist Fathers who, beside their religious work, have largely contributed to make known the languages, fauna, and flora of the South Sea Islands. The growth of New Zealand has been such as to call for a regular hierarchy, and the Marists were concentrated (1887) in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington
and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Christchurch
that were still governed by members of the order.
within circle of the seminarians that would became the first Marists. It was in this atmosphere that the Marian maxim "I (Mary) was the mainstay of the new-born Church; I shall be again at the end of time" began to circulate. The early Marists saw themselves as the ones to live and minister under Mary's name. That was the core of the spiritual understanding of what they saw as their vocation.
Marist spirituality is largely based on the vision of Jean-Claude Colin. A phrase that was central to his understanding of religious life was "Ignoti et quasi occulti in hoc mundo", hidden and even unknown in this world. For Colin this sentence is exemplary for the way Mary lived the Gospel in a humble, modest and simple way. The Marists are called to imitate Mary in this way of life and ministry. Colin said Marists must "...think as Mary, judge as Mary, feel and act as Mary in all things.".
Colin called the missionary and pastoral activity of the Marists the "Work of Mary". According to Marist tradition the Society of Mary as a whole and every individual Marist is called to be an "Instrument of Mercy" for all mankind. As Mary was a healing presence in the Early Church so the Marists want to be present in the Church of their days.
Appointment to a University Lectureship followed at Queen's College, Cambridge, in due course. Certain themes recur in Bradshaw's work: the importance of history and experience for identity, particularly in Ireland; the inadequacies of whig history; the importance of thorough documentary analysis as the only basis for decent history, although this is coupled with an awareness of the value of literary sources for the historian. For Bradshaw, the historian, like any other intellectual, has a duty to communicate with society.
, whither Archbishop Odin called them in 1863 to take charge of a French parish and college, the Marists have passed into eleven states and even branched off into Mexico
, and, although continuing to minister to a number of French speaking communities, they have not limited their action there, but gradually taken up other ministries and apostolates. The Lourdes Center in Boston Massachusetts was established in 1950 by Cardinal Richard J. Cushing and Bishop
Pierre-Marie Theas
to distribute Lourdes water
in the United States. It is operated by the Marists of the USA Province.
Jean-Claude Colin
The Venerable Jean-Claude Colin, S.M. was a French priest who became the founder of the Society of Mary ....
and a group of other seminarians in France in 1816. Jean-Claude Courveille (1787–1866) had the original insight for the congregation but it was brought to fruition by Colin.
By the beginning of the 19th century Christian churches were well established in the Americas, Europe, and Australia. Christian evangelization efforts turned to Africa, Asia and Oceania. The Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
, keen to get the Catholic faith established in this area entrusted its evangelization efforts of Oceania to two religious congregations. The Vicariate Apostolic of Eastern Oceania (including Tahiti
Tahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
, the Marquesas and Hawaii) was assigned to the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
The Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary and of the Perpetual Adoration of the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar is a Roman Catholic religious order of brothers, priests, and nuns...
(Picpus Fathers). Similarly, the Vicariate Apostolic of Western Oceania (including Micronesia
Micronesia
Micronesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising thousands of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It is distinct from Melanesia to the south, and Polynesia to the east. The Philippines lie to the west, and Indonesia to the southwest....
, Melanesia
Melanesia
Melanesia is a subregion of Oceania extending from the western end of the Pacific Ocean to the Arafura Sea, and eastward to Fiji. The region comprises most of the islands immediately north and northeast of Australia...
, Fiji, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Samoa, and Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
), was assigned to the Society of Mary (Marists). The Society's members include two canonized saints, Saint Peter Chanel
Peter Chanel
Pierre Louis Marie Chanel, known in English as Saint Peter Chanel was a Catholic priest, missionary, and martyr.-Early years:Chanel was born in La Potière near Cuet in the area of Belley, Ain département, France....
, S.M., martyred on the island of Futuna
Futuna Island, Wallis and Futuna
Futuna is an island in the Pacific Ocean belonging to the French overseas collectivity of Wallis and Futuna. It is one of the Hoorn Islands or Îles Horne, nearby Alofi being the other...
and Saint Marcellin Champagnat
Marcellin Champagnat
Saint Marcellin Joseph Benedict Champagnat was born in Rozet, village of Marlhes, near St. Etienne , France...
, S.M., founder of the Marist Brothers
Marist Brothers
The Marist Brothers, or Little Brothers of Mary, are a Catholic religious order of brothers and affiliated lay people. The order was founded in France, at La Valla-en-Gier near Lyon in 1817 by Saint Marcellin Champagnat, a young French priest of the Society of Mary...
. The society's name derives from the Blessed Virgin Mary whom the members attempt to imitate in their spirituality and daily work.
Foundation (1816-1836)
The first idea of a "Society of Mary" originated in 1816 in Lyon, France, with a group of seminarians, who saw in the 1815 restoration of the Bourbon Dynasty an opportunity for evangelisation, but the real founder was Jean-Claude ColinJean-Claude Colin
The Venerable Jean-Claude Colin, S.M. was a French priest who became the founder of the Society of Mary ....
, the most retiring of the group. Later at Cerdon, where he was pastor, he began drafting a tentative rule and founding the Sisters of the Holy Name of Mary; Saint Marcellin Champagnat
Marcellin Champagnat
Saint Marcellin Joseph Benedict Champagnat was born in Rozet, village of Marlhes, near St. Etienne , France...
, another of the group, established at Lavalla-en-Gier the Little Brothers of Mary
Marist Brothers
The Marist Brothers, or Little Brothers of Mary, are a Catholic religious order of brothers and affiliated lay people. The order was founded in France, at La Valla-en-Gier near Lyon in 1817 by Saint Marcellin Champagnat, a young French priest of the Society of Mary...
. Because of the cool reception they received from the ecclesiastical authorities in Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
, the foundation of the missionary priests' branch could not be made until Cerdon
Cerdon
Cerdon is the name of several communes in France:* Cerdon, in the Ain département* Cerdon, in the Loiret départementIt is also a pink sparkling wine from grapes originating in the village of Cerdon in France....
, Colin's parish, passed from the jurisdiction of Lyon Diocese to that of Belley
Belley
Belley is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France.-History:Belley is of Roman origin, and in the 5th century became an episcopal see. It was the capital of the province of Bugey, which was a dependency of Savoy till 1601, when it was ceded to France...
. In 1823, Bishop Devie of the newly restored Diocese of Belley authorised Colin and a few companions to resign their parish duties and form into a missionary band for the rural districts. Their zeal and success in that difficult work moved the bishop to entrust them also with the conduct of his seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
, thus enlarging the scope of their work. However, the fact that Bishop Devie wanted a diocesan institute only, and that Fr. Colin was averse to such a limitation, came near placing the nascent order in jeopardy when Pope Gregory XVI
Pope Gregory XVI
Pope Gregory XVI , born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari, named Mauro as a member of the religious order of the Camaldolese, was Pope of the Catholic Church from 1831 to 1846...
, in quest of missionaries for Oceania, by Brief of April 29, 1836, approved definitively the "Priests of the Society of Mary" or Marist Fathers, as a religious institute with simple vows and under a Superior General
Superior general
A Superior General, or General Superior, is the Superior at the head of a whole religious order or congregation.The term is mainly used as a generic term, while many orders and congregations use other specific titles, notably:* Abbot general...
. The Little Brothers of Mary and the Sisters of the Holy Name of Mary, commonly called Marist Brothers and Marist Sisters
Marist Sisters
The Marist Sisters are an international congregation or order of Roman Catholic women. The Marist Sisters recognise Jeanne-Marie Chavoin as their Foundress and Jean-Claude Colin as their Founder.-Early life of Mother Saint Joseph:...
, were reserved for separate institutes. Father Colin was elected Superior General on September 24, 1836, and on that same day the first Marist professions took place, Saint Peter Chanel
Peter Chanel
Pierre Louis Marie Chanel, known in English as Saint Peter Chanel was a Catholic priest, missionary, and martyr.-Early years:Chanel was born in La Potière near Cuet in the area of Belley, Ain département, France....
, Colin, and Saint Marcellin Champagnat
Marcellin Champagnat
Saint Marcellin Joseph Benedict Champagnat was born in Rozet, village of Marlhes, near St. Etienne , France...
being among those professed.
Early Development (1836-1910)
From its definitive organisation the Society of Mary developed along the various lines of its constitutions in and out of France. In France it did work in the mission field in various centres. When educational liberty was restored to French Catholics, it also entered the field of secondary, or college education, its methods being embodied in Montfat's "Théorie et pratique de l'education chrétienne" (Paris, 1880), and moreover assumed the direction of a few diocesan seminaries together with professorships in Catholic institutes for higher education. The French province also supplied men for the various missions undertaken abroad by the Society of Mary.Outside France, their first field of labour was the Vicariate Apostolic of Western Oceania, comprising New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Tonga, Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
, the Gilbert
Gilbert Islands
The Gilbert Islands are a chain of sixteen atolls and coral islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are the main part of Republic of Kiribati and include Tarawa, the site of the country's capital and residence of almost half of the population.-Geography:The atolls and islands of the Gilbert Islands...
(now known as Kiribati
Kiribati
Kiribati , officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. The permanent population exceeds just over 100,000 , and is composed of 32 atolls and one raised coral island, dispersed over 3.5 million square kilometres, straddling the...
) and Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...
, Fiji, New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
, New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
, the Solomon
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
and the Caroline Islands
Caroline Islands
The Caroline Islands are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia in the eastern part of the group, and Palau at the extreme western end...
. Under the vicar apostolic, Bishop Jean Baptiste Pompallier
Jean Baptiste Pompallier
Jean Baptiste François Pompallier was the first vicar apostolic to visit New Zealand. He was born in Lyon, France. He became the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Auckland.-Appointment and voyage:...
, who took up residence in New Zealand, the Marists successively moved to Wallis
Wallis Island
Wallis is an island in the Pacific Ocean belonging to the French overseas collectivity of Wallis and Futuna....
in 1837, soon converted by Father Pierre Bataillon; Futuna
Futuna Island, Wallis and Futuna
Futuna is an island in the Pacific Ocean belonging to the French overseas collectivity of Wallis and Futuna. It is one of the Hoorn Islands or Îles Horne, nearby Alofi being the other...
in 1837, the place of Saint Pierre Chanel's martyrdom
Peter Chanel
Pierre Louis Marie Chanel, known in English as Saint Peter Chanel was a Catholic priest, missionary, and martyr.-Early years:Chanel was born in La Potière near Cuet in the area of Belley, Ain département, France....
; Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
in 1842, New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
in 1843, where Bishop Douarre, Pompallier's coadjutor, met untold difficulties and Brother Blaise was massacred; and, in spite of much Protestant opposition, Fiji in 1844 and Samoa in 1845. The immense area of the vicariate, together with the presence at its head of a diocescan bishop, soon necessitated the creation of smaller districts under Marist bishops: Central Oceania under Bishop Bataillon (1842), Melanesia
Melanesia
Melanesia is a subregion of Oceania extending from the western end of the Pacific Ocean to the Arafura Sea, and eastward to Fiji. The region comprises most of the islands immediately north and northeast of Australia...
and Micronesia
Micronesia
Micronesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising thousands of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It is distinct from Melanesia to the south, and Polynesia to the east. The Philippines lie to the west, and Indonesia to the southwest....
under Bishop Epalle (1844), New Caledonia under Bishop Douarre (1847), Wellington (New Zealand) under Bishop Viard (1848), Bishop Pompallier retaining Auckland; the Navigator Islands
Archdiocese of Samoa-Apia
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Samoa-Apia consists of the Independent State of Samoa. The origins of the archdiocese stem from the August 20, 1850, canonical erection by the Holy See of the Vicariate Apostolic of the Navigators' Archipelago, entrusted to the Society of Mary...
(1851), long administered by the Vicar Apostolic of Central Oceania; the Prefecture of Fiji (1863), etc. Of these, Melanesia and Micronesia had to be abandoned after the massacre of Bishop Epalle at Isabella Island and the sudden death of his successor, Bishop Colomb, the Solomon Islands alone reverting to the Marists in 1898. Those various missions have progressed steadily under the Marist Fathers who, beside their religious work, have largely contributed to make known the languages, fauna, and flora of the South Sea Islands. The growth of New Zealand has been such as to call for a regular hierarchy, and the Marists were concentrated (1887) in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington
The Latin Rite Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington is the Metropolitan Archdiocese of New Zealand. Catholics number about 83,214 . Parishes number 47 parishes and the archdiocese extends over central New Zealand between Levin and Masterton in the north to Kaikoura to Westport in the...
and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Christchurch
Roman Catholic Diocese of Christchurch
The Latin Rite Roman Catholic Diocese of Christchurch is a suffragan diocese of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington. Its cathedral and see city are located in Christchurch, the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand...
that were still governed by members of the order.
Spirituality
The Society of Mary was founded in a time of great turmoil and difficulty for the French clergy and religious institutions. In this time of unrest arose a strong notion of eschatologyEschatology
Eschatology is a part of theology, philosophy, and futurology concerned with what are believed to be the final events in history, or the ultimate destiny of humanity, commonly referred to as the end of the world or the World to Come...
within circle of the seminarians that would became the first Marists. It was in this atmosphere that the Marian maxim "I (Mary) was the mainstay of the new-born Church; I shall be again at the end of time" began to circulate. The early Marists saw themselves as the ones to live and minister under Mary's name. That was the core of the spiritual understanding of what they saw as their vocation.
Marist spirituality is largely based on the vision of Jean-Claude Colin. A phrase that was central to his understanding of religious life was "Ignoti et quasi occulti in hoc mundo", hidden and even unknown in this world. For Colin this sentence is exemplary for the way Mary lived the Gospel in a humble, modest and simple way. The Marists are called to imitate Mary in this way of life and ministry. Colin said Marists must "...think as Mary, judge as Mary, feel and act as Mary in all things.".
Colin called the missionary and pastoral activity of the Marists the "Work of Mary". According to Marist tradition the Society of Mary as a whole and every individual Marist is called to be an "Instrument of Mercy" for all mankind. As Mary was a healing presence in the Early Church so the Marists want to be present in the Church of their days.
Notable Marist Fathers
The Irish historian, Brendan Bradshaw, is a Marist Father. His decision to join the religious order opened up opportunities for further studies and he then took his first degree at University College, Dublin. It was at this point he moved to Cambridge and undertook graduate research with Sir Geoffrey Elton. He was a graduate student at Corpus Christi and then had the good fortune to be elected to a Research Fellowship at St John's.Appointment to a University Lectureship followed at Queen's College, Cambridge, in due course. Certain themes recur in Bradshaw's work: the importance of history and experience for identity, particularly in Ireland; the inadequacies of whig history; the importance of thorough documentary analysis as the only basis for decent history, although this is coupled with an awareness of the value of literary sources for the historian. For Bradshaw, the historian, like any other intellectual, has a duty to communicate with society.
Other Areas
In Great Britain, the Marist foundations began as early as 1850 at the request of Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman, Archbishop of Westminster, but have not grown beyond three colleges and five parishes. In the United States, the Society of Mary has taken a firmer hold. From LouisianaLouisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, whither Archbishop Odin called them in 1863 to take charge of a French parish and college, the Marists have passed into eleven states and even branched off into Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, and, although continuing to minister to a number of French speaking communities, they have not limited their action there, but gradually taken up other ministries and apostolates. The Lourdes Center in Boston Massachusetts was established in 1950 by Cardinal Richard J. Cushing and Bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
Pierre-Marie Theas
Pierre-Marie Théas
Pierre-Marie Théas was a French Roman Catholic bishop. He was ordained on September 16, 1920 as a priest. He was consecrated as the Bishop of Montauban, France, on July 26, 1940...
to distribute Lourdes water
Lourdes water
Lourdes water is water which flows from a spring in the Grotto of Massabielle in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, France. The location of the spring was described to Bernadette Soubirous by an apparition of Our Lady of Lourdes on 25 February 1858...
in the United States. It is operated by the Marists of the USA Province.
Today
Today the Society which has a General Administration in Rome operates in 7 Provinces: Australia, Canada, Europe, Mexico, New Zealand, Oceania, USA and in four mission districts: Africa (Senegal and Cameroun), Brazil, Peru-Venezuela and the Philippines. The European Provinces, Districts and Delegations (England, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain) reconfigured in 2008 and formed a new province, Europe. The Provinces in the United States (Atlanta and Boston) became one Province (USA) on 1 January 2009. There are around 1000 Marists worldwide. While the provinces and districts named are often countries Marists also work in countries which are not named including many Pacific countries, Japan, Thailand and Norway.External links
- The Society of Mary, official website
- The Province of New Zealand, official website
- The Province of Oceania, official website
- The Province of Australia, official website
- The Province of the USA, official website
- Foundation Places of the Marist Fathers
- Marist Spirituality