Saint Marcellin Champagnat is the founder of the Marist Brothers through which he trained many religion teachers and catechists. The essence of his educational method was love for the Virgin Mary.
Newsroom (06/06/2025, Gaudium Press) – Saint Marcellin was born in the French town of Marlhes on May 20, 1789, and was consecrated to the Virgin Mary by his mother. He entered the minor seminary despite never having attended school. Among his classmates was Saint John Mary Vianney, better known as the Curé of Ars.
He was ordained a priest in 1816. The following year, he felt inspired to found the Marist Brothers, through which he trained many religion teachers and catechists. The essence of his educational method—which forbade humiliating treatment and corporal punishment—was love for the Virgin Mary.
“Our Community belongs entirely to Our Lady, the Mother of God. Our activities must be aimed at making her loved, esteemed, and glorified. Let us teach our youth devotion to her, and in this way we will more easily lead them to Jesus Christ,” he told his religious brothers.
On June 6, 1840, at the age of 51, Saint Marcellin gave his soul to God, leaving behind a legacy that continues to bear fruit today. Pope Saint John Paul II, who canonized him in 1999, said the founder of the Marist Brothers “was sensitive to the spiritual and educational needs of his time, especially to religious ignorance and the abandonment experienced in particular by young people.”
Quotes from Saint Marcellin Champagnat
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“Frequent Communion is the great means to burn with love for Jesus, to make great progress in virtue, and to secure salvation.”
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“Religious life is essentially a life of prayer.”
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“We must not place our trust in men, but in God who is everything and who does everything.”
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“Can we fear failure when God is on our side and we work for Him?”
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“Providence cannot abandon us, because we work for It.”
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“One of the advantages of the presence of God is that it inspires great courage, great zeal for working toward our perfection.”
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“The divine presence is enough to bring order to a soul and grant it peace.”
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“Yes, only Mary is the cause of our prosperity. Without Mary, we are nothing, but with Mary, we have everything, for she is always with Jesus in her arms or in her heart.”
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“Mary’s ‘yes’ is a lesson and an example for all Christians, to make obedience to the Father’s will the path and the means of their own sanctification.”
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“Education is a work of love.”
Prayer to Saint Marcellin Champagnat
Saint Marcellin Champagnat, during your life you walked in the presence of God, filled with faith and deep filial trust in the protection of Mary. You were merciful to others, full of love and affection for the poor and the little ones—God’s favorites. For this reason, we turn to you with great confidence. Obtain for us the grace of the Lord… (here present your request). We ask this for the glory of God, our dear Father. Amen. (EPC)
Compiled by Gustavo Kralj
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