Marist Patrimony (1st- & 3rd years)

The animators of this 10-day programme (December 2012) for the first and third year Brothers in formation were Brothers Vincent de Paul Kouassi of the District of West Africa, Brother Pierre Joseph from Madagascar and Br Spiridion Ndanga of Central East Africa. The animators made good use of IT in their presentations. We participated so actively that signs of gratitude could be noticed in the facial expressions of the presenters.

Whereas in the minds of many the word Patrimony had meant “Champagnology”, we later on came to a clear understanding that the term included heritage, charism, origins, archives, ancestors, and customs. This means that Marist Patrimony it is more than the study of Champagnat only.

Through research on the letters of Champagnat to different persons, we discovered his true personality and saw that teaching was not the only dream of Champagnat. Our time together was shortened due to the travel arrangements of our animators.

Thanks to the programme, we came into more direct contact with the reality of the Institute and many words of gratitude were expressed to the leaders. ‘There are difficulties in leading a life of a good religious’ said Champagnat in his Spiritual Testament, ‘but grace makes all things easy’. It was a grace for us to have this opportunity to deepen our understanding of Marist Patrimony during the holidays. ‘Life is very short and eternity never ends’.

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Br Daniel Jariosse 1st-year student