Travellers in Hope – Something new for Marist patrimony

The book Travellers in Hope has just appeared in a Spanish edition. The book?s author is Brother Frederick McMahon of the Sydney Province.

The publication arouses double interest. For one thing, the book treats the material by means of an interesting perspective; that of presenting simultaneously the lives and actions of the founders and foundresses of the four Marist congregations. The book reveals the relationships among the found-ers and, weaving their stories together, offers an account of what occurred during the founding period of the congregations. In addition, the book highlights the person of Marcellin Champagnat as to the role he played in assisting the development of the Marist branches, a fact that lead Pope Benedict XV to call Marcellin ?co-founder of the Society of Mary.?

The book is not merely another entry in the Marist bibliography, but a work with unique character-istics. Written in a lively and engaging style, the book elicits the reader?s attention from the very start. The author relies on a chronological framework, while weaving into one account the mater-ials which concern the Marist pioneers, all the while keeping the historical events in relation with the nascent Society of Mary.

The book has three sections. The first reveals the principal concerns of those who had the leading roles, living as they did not far from one another and, in a certain sense, working together under the guidance of the Marist ideal. The second section highlights the personal history of the main characters. As each one followed a personal path, the communal spirit which existed originally became less clear, each group coming into greater individuated importance. The book?s third section sums up the history of the Society of Mary from 1845 to Colin?s death in l875.

The edition was sponsored by Brother Pedro Herreros, General Councillor charged with the formation of Brothers who study the patrimony of the Institute.