THE APOSTOLATE OF THE MARIST BROTHERS IN MALAWI

Start of the Marist Brothers? apostolate of schools in Malawi

The Brothers were invited to Malawi from Zimbabwe by the then Bishop of the Lilongwe Diocese, Bishop Fady, back in 1946. Since then, they have been working in schools and Teacher Training colleges. Mtendere mission station, now Mtendere secondary school on the Mtendere Campus, was the cradle of the Brothers in Malawi.

In 1949, they took over the responsibility of Saint John?s Teacher Training College at Likuni from the White Fathers. The Teachers? College was then transferred to Lilongwe and in 1975 the Marist Brothers handed over the College to the Diocese of Lilongwe. By that time, Likuni had become a secondary school.

Back in 1953, the White Fathers in the Diocese of Chipata, Eastern Province of Zambia, handed over Chassa Secondary School to the Marist Brothers. The Brothers are still administering this school on behalf of the Diocese.
At the request of the Monfort Fathers at Zomba Catholic Secondary School, the Marist Brothers took over the running of the school in 1954, and they are still managing this school on behalf of Zomba Diocese.
St. Charles Lwanga Secondary School in Balaka was the last centre to receive Brothers. The Montfort Fathers in the Mangochi Diocese invited the Brothers to work at Balaka.

As the Brothers became involved in the public sector, they also opened a house of formation at Mtendere back in 1949, a few years after their arrival in Malawi. The Juniorate has now become a private secondary school.

Religious dimension in our Marist schools today
The religious atmosphere is always present. Activities such as Young Christian Students (YCS) and other youth groups are doing good work. Prayer sessions are a common activity on specific days. Brothers and lay teachers are often found as monitors of these groups. Groups of a specific religious character, other than Catholic, often receive help from outside the school. A feast like Champagnat Day receives special attention from the Brothers. In short the schools never lack religious celebrations. This includes mass twice or three times a week for the Catholics and those who want to join.