Marist Notebooks 39

The International Marist Patrimony Commission has just published Marist Notebooks number 39. The Editorial, signed by Brothers Antonio Ramalho, President of the Commission, and André Lanfrey, Coordinator of the publication, is reproduced here below.

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This issue of Marist Notebooks is marked by its treatment of two quite different events: one event related to our history and the other of international significance. This year we Marists celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of Marist Notebooks, the first edition of which appeared in June 1990. It is, then, a noteworthy year for those with a particular interest in our Marist tradition and who are engaged in keeping it alive and making it better known. The year 2020 also saw the passing of the founder and first editor of Marist Notebooks, Br Paul Sester. Our sadness is somewhat lightened by the knowledge that his legacy lives on.

Obviously, the second major event is the pandemic which has disrupted our normal preparation method for Marist Notebooks: the usual meeting of the Patrimony Commission in June in Rome was replaced by a videoconference in September, chaired by Br Antonio Ramalho and organised by Brs Angel Medina and Oscar. At that meeting we took the decision to continue publishing Marist Notebooks in four languages. The pandemic context prompted two articles (by Brs Patricio Pino and André Lanfrey) that touch on health issues and epidemic dangers that the Institute has had to confront in the course of its history.

But the inclusion of these articles concerning health, which explore some important things, is only the first focus of this issue. We also wanted to commemorate the thirty years of the journal in a diverse and creative way. First of all, there is a feature article by Francisco J. Flores Sanchez (Chile) in which he critiques the concept of Marist spiritual patrimony and proposes an alternative; then a note on Br Paul Sester (by Br André Lanfrey) that recalls his long career in the service of the Institute and more particularly his role as a pioneer in Marist scholarship. Also, we have included a note on Fr Bernard Bourtot SM (1940-2020), the author of two works on the history of relations between the Marist Fathers and Marist Brothers. Finally, an index to Marist Notebooks Nos. 1-38 offers researchers an overview of the authors, themes and articles treated in this journal between 1990 and 2020.

A third focus of this issue comprises two complementary contributions related to the history of the Institute: first, the second part of the ‘History of the Constitutions of the Marist Brothers until 1903’, by Br Antonio Martínez Estaún; then a contribution by Br André Lanfrey concerning an article on the Marist Brothers published in 1858 by the Catholic newspaper L’Univers, at the time when Br François was in Rome trying to obtain canonical recognition for the Institute. It was undoubtedly the first document to present the Institute to the general public but one which, in the short term, had the effect of disrupting the negotiations that Br François had in hand.

Finally, two unrelated texts. Angelo Ricordi’s article can be placed in the field of spirituality. In his focus on Br Nestor, he sheds light on a Superior who has been overlooked too often and to an important element in Marist spirituality: devotion to the Sacred Heart. Br Emilien Twagirayesu, in a more academic style, addresses a new subject for our journal: Marist higher education.

In short, we are not offering a set of readings for a time of crisis, but rather Marist research from fresh authors and subjects.

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