Almost 185 years of Marist presence in New Zealand

It was Marcellin Champagnat who sent three brothers to New Zealand 184 years ago. Br Michel Colombon was the first Marist brother to arrive, and he was followed by 13 others between 1838 and 1841, including Claude-Marie Bertrand, a second cousin of the Founder, and Euloge Chabany, martyred among the Maori in 1864. In that epoque, the brothers accompanied Bishop Pompallier and the Marist Fathers and worked alongside them to establish the Catholic faith amongst the Maori and settlers. Years later, a second wave of Marist Brothers arrived in 1876 when they established their first school in New Zealand. After that, the Brothers took Catholic education to broad areas across both the north and the south islands.

Marist Life and Mission

Currently, there are 53 Marist Brothers in 11 communities in New Zealand. Most Brothers have spent some years offshore in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Kiribati, and elsewhere – wherever they have been called to.

There are two laypeople & Brothers partnership groups who meet regularly in Kaikohe and Lower Hutt while a mixed community exists in Christchurch.

Marist Brothers’ commitment to education, which began in 1876, grew after World War II with the opening of secondary schools throughout the country. All Catholic Schools integrated with the state between 1979-1984. The Marist Brothers own four schools in Auckland including the Marist Alternative Education Centre, established in 1999 to cater for up to 20 teenagers struggling with mainstream education.

Annual formation programmes are offered to staff and senior student leaders. Future programmes are being developed to support the growth within our school’s network along with support for those ‘beyond the school gates’.

Summary

11 Marist Brothers Communities (53 Brothers): North Island – Kaikohe (1), Manly (1), Auckland (6), Lower Hutt (1), Palmerston North (1), South Island – Christchurch (1).

Marist Schools: 4 Order-owned Secondary Schools, 8 charism-based diocesan Secondary Schools and 8 charism-based Parish Primary Schools.

South Island – Diocesan

• Verdon College, Invercargill
• John Paul II High School, Greymouth
• Catholic Cathedral College, Christchurch

North Island – Diocesan

• St Peter’s College, Palmerston North
• St John’s College, Hamilton
• Campion College, Gisborne
• St Bernard’s College, Lower Hutt
• Chanel College, Masterton 

Owned Schools – North Island

• Marcellin College, Auckland
• St Paul’s College, Auckland
• Sacred Heart College, Auckland
• Marist Alternative Education Learning Centre, Auckland