Marist educational mission in France today

It all started from here, from this little village of La Valla. More than two hundred years have passed since the foundation, the world has evolved considerably, but Champagnat’s charism remains as relevant today as ever and its application has also taken many forms. In the country of its foundation, the Marist educational mission has remained mainly in the area of formal and school-based education and must be understood in the context of association with the State, the Congregation having only canonical authority over the schools, colleges and secondary schools of the Marist network. 

Marist establishments, like almost all Catholic Education, participate in the public service of education in the sense that the teachers are contractual agents of the State and that the private associations which independently manage each establishment receive subsidies (called lump sums) for the material running of the establishment.  

A dynamic and committed network that has undergone some recent developments

With the restructuring and the establishment of the Congregation in France, the network of Marist establishments has undergone notable changes over the last twenty years. Certain establishments have left the network and some have re-entered it, others still which had not been founded by the Marist Brothers have joined our network, proof of its dynamism and its popularity.

Today this network is united within an association called AMC, Association Marcellin Champagnat. This association, based on the principle of shared responsibility, brings together brothers and laypeople, and is responsible for animating and coordinating the network, which has 13 establishments spread throughout the country. These establishments accommodate more than 11,230 pupils and students from kindergarten to higher education. In addition, there are nearly 1,100 collaborators (all lay), including more than 800 teachers and educators.  Geographical diversity does not prevent the carrying out of common projects.

The AMC is also recognised as an Institute of Formation missioned by Catholic Teaching and as such it provides training in the Marist spirit or other modules in order to bring together professional commitment and charism.

Projects shared through a network…

Around the AMC’s Director General, who is responsible for supervision, all of the network’s heads of establishment have implemented a team-building approach by developing collective intelligence and thanks to the support of an external consultancy firm.

Obtaining ISO 9001 multi-site certification for the AMC and the establishments has made it possible to standardise and develop joint work. The themes of pastoral care, leadership and strategic planning are all subjects worked on together.

An association of young Marists has emerged in recent years to create links between the pupils and students of our establishments and to try to give a pastoral and vocational dimension to these links around the themes of service, solidarity and commitment.  

… taking advantage of the internationality of the Province and the continent-wide dynamic

Beyond the national network, many initiatives have been developed by the Mission Council of the Hermitage Province to promote interaction between the networks of apostolates in Catalonia, France, Greece, and Hungary and to develop a sense of belonging to our international province. Thus, every year for the past 15 years a meeting of the educational works of the province (called ROE) has been organised at Notre Dame de l’Hermitage, our shared home, which brings together the directors and those responsible for the different educational school and social realities of our four countries. Other themes such as formation, communication, solidarity or the protection of minors are also worked on together at the provincial level by setting up networks that  envision possible ways of working together in these different areas.

In the context of  the regionalisation desired by the Marist Institute and through the Province, the Marist France network takes its full part in the dynamics proposed at the continental level such as the development of the annual pastoral theme for example.

The challenges

There are two kinds of challenges that face the Marist network in France

At the national level, to continue to strengthen itself by assuring its institutional presence within the framework of the organisation of National Catholic Education and by developing local and national partnerships with new partners.

To continue the development of the sense of belonging to the Marist family as a global body by taking advantage of the Provincial, continental and Institute dynamics and to allow a greater clarity between mission and Marist life for the spiritual and charismatic growth of the people who live and carry the Marist mission today and for those who will inherit it tomorrow.