NEW ZEALAND MAORI GROUP, PILGRIMS OF MARIST HISTORY
The mortal remains of Bishop Pompallier ? one of the first Marist Fathers and companion of Saint Marcellin Champagnat, will be transferred from Parist to New Zealand.
During 1- 4 January 2002 a group of 37 Maori people from New Zealand, led by the Bishop of Auckland, Patrick Dunn, visited Rome and our General house, lodging in the Villa EUR, as the first stage of a pilgrimage to Marist historic sites in Rome, Lyon and Paris. The main purpose of their coming to Europe was to take back to New Zealand the mortal remains of Bishop Pompallier, the founder of the Church in the South West Pacific. Cardinal Lustiger will formally present them with the Bishops relics at a Mass in Notre Dame on 9 January.
Over 164 years earlier, in January 1838, Bishop Pompallier, through the manual labour of our Brothers who had experience of building the Hermitage with Saint Marcellin, constructed the South Pacific headquarters of the new mission in the north of New Zealand. When the Bishop died in Paris during the Franco-Prussian war in 1870, he was buried at Pûteaux outside Paris. Since then it has been the dearly held wish of the Maori people that he would be brought back to rest finally among his people. They still celebrate with gratitude each January the gift of the Catholic faith brought to them by our own first Brothers and the Marist Fathers, under the leadership of Bishop Pompallier, and the birth of the Church in New Zealand and the South West Pacific.
At our generalate on 1 January, the visitors were welcomed by Brother Richard Dunleavy, secretary general, on behalf of Brother Seán and his Council, and a Mass of thanksgiving was celebrated in the Superiors chapel. The altar there is Saint Marcellins own altar from the first Hermitage chapel, and was consecrated by Bishop Pompallier in 1836 just before the first mission group left on their historic voyage to the South Pacific. During the first years of his association with the Society of Mary, Jean-Baptiste Pompallier had lived several years at the Hermitage helping Saint Marcellin in the formation of the first Brothers.
The visit to our Casa Generalizia was an occasion of deep emotion and joy for Bishop Pompalliers 10th successor, Bishop Dunn, and the group of Maori pilgrims, among whom were two Marist Brothers representing the Province of New Zealand.

INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF THE MOUNTAINS
The UN General Assembly has proclaimed 2002 the International Year of the Mountains (resolution 53/24 of 10 November 1998). This is an endeavour to ?ensure the well-being of mountain communities, promoting conservation and sustainable development in these zones; to enhance awareness of mountain ecosystems and their decisive importance in providing certain goods and essential services, in particular the provision of water and food resources, as well as the promotion and defense of the cultural heritage of mountain communities.?
These objectives could be included in the educational projects of our scholastic institutions.
The General Assembly also proclaimed 2002 the International Year of Ecological Tourism.

FOUNDATION OF THE MARIST INSTITUTE
On the 2nd of January, the 185th anniversary of the founding of the Marist Institute was celebrated. Saint Marcellin gathered two young men in a house at Lavalla and there began the germination of the Marist FMS project.
In many places where Marists are present, asseimblies, meeings and prayers were held in order to recall this historic event and to respond with creative fidelity to Champagnat?s charism.

RECENT NOMINATIONS?NEW BROTHERS PROVINCIAL
The General Council, after appropriate consultation, hass nominated the following Brothers as Provincials:
 Joseph Udeajah (Nigeria) for a second triennium,
 Samuel Holguín (Norte, Spain) until June 2003, restructuring date,
 Buenaventura Pérez (Bética, Spain), until June 2003, restructuring date,
 Manuel Jorques (Levante, España), until June 2003, restructuring date,
 Primitivo Mendoza (León, España), until June 2003, restructuring date,
 Xavier Barceló, (Cataluña, España), until June 2003, restructuring date.
 Jesús Pérez, (Chile) until August 2002, restructuring date.
Our readers may wish to consult the explanatory note below.

MASONGA, TANZANIA ? THE SIXTH GENERATION GRADUATES
Graduation usually signifies the crowning of effort, which in some cases is even greater given the innumerable obstacles to be overcome in obtaining the certificate of secondary education. A total of 35 students in Masonga, Tanzania, recently celebrated their graduation, of whom four were girls, and these usually encounter serious difficulties in studying at home. A Mass, the academic ceremony, and a simple meal in a family environment made up the celebration. For 80% of those graduating, it would be their last day of school life.

IN BRIEF
– Free gift subscriptions to Marist Bulletin can be offered to any who may be interested: www.champagnat.org
– The General House, situated as it is in Italy and thus within the European Union, is getting used the utilization of the Euro -?-, the new currency common to 16 countries.
– In (Pisa, Italy) a congress was held on ?Animating the Street: the Education of Faith in Informal Settings? from 27 to 29 December. Encountering the young right where they are.

EXPLANATORY NOTE ON ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS
Constitutions: Articles 125-128
125. Our Institute is divided into Provinces and Districts set up by the Brother Superior General and his Council.
126. The Province is an administrative unit composed of a number of houses whose personnel and material resources are sufficient to assure an autonomous existence. It is governed by a Provincial Superior.
127. The District is an administrative unit comprising a group of houses bound by common interests, but not having the requirements necessary to become a Province. It depends directly on the Superior General or on the Provincial Superior, and is governed by a District Superior.
128. In addition to its function as a structure of government, an administrative unit constitutes a broad community of life, of prayer, and of apostolic work. It brings the presence of the Institute into local Churches, and remains united to the Brother Superior General who links it to the universal Church.

Currently there exist in the Institute 41 Provinces and 10 Districts, of which 2 depend on the Superior General, and 8 on Provinces. The process of restructuring proposes to create new administrative units more consonant with the realities of the Institute in our day.

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