Marcellin Champagnat was born in 1789 to a hardworking farm family in southern France. He was described as a robust country boy with limited education. Marcellin began his seminary training at Verrières in 1805.
Marcellin was ordained on the 22nd July 1816. The morning after his ordination, he joined a group of young men who pledged to establish the Society of Mary at Our Lady of Fourvière church. The Marist family traces its origins to this event, known as the Fourvière Pledge.
Full of enthusiasm, Father Marcellin was sent to serve as assistant priest at the parish of LaValla. One day in late October 1816, Marcellin was called to a distant village to attend a dying youth, Jean-Baptiste Montagne. It surprised Marcellin to discover that this seventeen-year-old boy knew nothing about his faith. He recognised that this young man's ignorance was a reflection of thousands of other young people.
In the simplicity of this encounter was the spark that led Marcellin to establish the Marist Brothers within the Society of Mary, a group of men dedicated to educating young people. St. Marcellin understood young people and their needs, proving himself to be a first-rate educator. His success lay in his simplicity in relating to his young followers and his unwavering confidence in them.
The Marist Brothers became a religious order dedicated to "making Jesus Christ known and loved". Initially, the Marist Brothers established a network of schools in small towns. These early Marist schools reflected the qualities of St. Marcellin himself: hard work, achievement, genuine love for people, and a strong sense of community spirit.
Marcellin died of cancer in 1840 and was canonised by Pope John Paul II in 1999.
Parramatta Marist continues to honour the legacy of St Marcellin.
