First Assembly of Marist Association of St Marcellin
The first gathering of the Marist Association of St Marcellin Champagnat was held in Australia from Aug. 20 – 23.
Sixty – four members of the Association gathered at the Hermitage, Mittagong, in a meeting that was very similar in its purpose and dynamic to a Brothers’ provincial chapter.
“Many delegates commented that this Assembly was one of the most powerful experiences of their lives,” said Brother Michael Green, the national director of Marist Schools Australia.
“They left Mittagong with a sense of awe of the God who was doing great things in their midst, and committed, like Mary, to set out for the hill country, as Marists together, to bring the Gospel alive in the hearts of young people through the education and care of them, and advocacy on their behalf,” he told the general house press office on Aug. 24.
Br Michael noted that “in a very prayerful, joyful and engaging manner, the delegates discussed the progress of the Association, set its priorities for the next three years, and nominated the eight members of the first council of the Australian Conference of the Association.”
The encounter had been preceded by regional meetings around the country, in which 550 other members fed into the process.
A major focus of the assembly was to receive the imperatives proposed by MIMA II and to imagine how the members of the association could be ‘mystics and prophets’ in their local Australian contexts, and in communion with one another as Marists.
During the next three years, once approved by the Holy See, the Marist Association (Australian Conference) will take over from the Marist Brothers (Australian Province) all responsibility (both canonical and civil) for Marist schools and ministries. It will also take full leadership for its own life and mission as a new entity of Marists.
Over 500 people have already joined, including more than a hundred Brothers as well as priests, sisters and a bishop.
“It was proposed during the Assembly that we should no longer be using the term “co-responsibility” but simply “responsibility” as Marists together,” said Br Michael.