Celebration of 35 years of activity of the Champagnat Movement
The Champagnat Movement of the Marist Family (CMMF) was officially created in 1985, through the publication of a circular by Brother Charles Howard, then Superior General of the Marist Institute. Currently, the MChFM has more than 4,000 lay Marists throughout the world, grouped in some 270 Fraternities. Each Fraternity is headed by a brother or a lay animator.
On the 14th November, UMBRASIL held a virtual meeting in Brazil to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the foundation of the Movement. The celebration was attended by the members of the Fraternities of the three Marist Provinces of the country.
During the meeting, representatives from each province gave their testimonies. The celebration also included the presentation of a commemorative video, prayers and two thematic panels. The first of these, entitled CMMF, Light in all our Homes, had the special presence of the Superior General, Brother Ernesto Sánchez and the second was given by the current Director of the Secretariat of Laity, Raúl Amaya.
Brother Ernesto presented some parts of the circular “Homes of Light – We care for life and we generate new life“, where he highlighted “the commitment to encourage each other in this process and in this effort, so that it becomes a common search and not only an individual one”. And he concluded with a question: How can the CMMF be a light and generate life for the Marist Mission, for the Church and for the world?
Raúl Amaya, Director of the Secretariat of Laity, addressed the topic of the internationality of the CMMF in the different Marist Provinces and Regions, which has 265 fraternities: “In Arco Norte there are 79, in South America there are 121, in Europe there are 46, in Africa there are 14 (Nigeria), and in Asia there are 5 (Philippines)”. Raúl highlighted the challenge of “continuing to take steps in the implementation of the new Project of Life in Fraternity, towards a greater lay growth, in interdependence and communion with the Marist Institute”.
The video can be accessed here commemorating the 35th anniversary of the CMMF.
In the world there are many ways of living the Marist lay vocation. Besides the CMMF, thousands of people follow the ideal of St. Marcellin Champagnat in their daily lives.