The Marist Saints
St Peter Chanel, S.M.
Protomartyr of the South Pacific
Peter Chanel was born in Cuet, France in 1803. He had a strong desire to serve God as a priest and was ordained in 1827. His first appointment was to the parish of Crozet. The people in the parish soon felt the sincerity and holiness by which they would remember him. In 1831, Peter Chanel joined the Society of Mary, which at that stage, was still awaiting ecclesiastical approval from Rome. As a Marist Father he was sent to the College of Belley, first as a spiritual director and then as rector. Today a statue of St Peter stands in the grounds of the College.
As soon as the Society of Mary had received approval and the Marists took vows, a group was sent to the South Pacific to undertake the task of spreading the gospel to the peoples of that part of the world. Peter volunteered to join the pioneering band. To do so would have required incredible courage and faith. The South Pacific was an area of the world that was just opening up to influence from Europe and it was a very different world from the one familiar to Peter and his companions. The first band of Marist missionaries departed from France on Christmas Eve in 1836. Death by plague had taken the life of one of the first Marist missionaries before Peter and his companion, 20 year old Br Marie Nizier, arrived on the tiny island of Futuna.
Peter worked with outstanding generosity and commitment among the inhabitants of Futuna for four years. He endured extreme difficulties and hardship because of his love of Jesus and Mary and his dedication to the people of the small Pacific island. The people of Futuna were so impressed by Peter's selflessness and love that they gave him the name, "the man with the good heart."
Because of fear and jealousy, the king took steps to get rid of the missionaries and he tried to starve them. Attempts by Fr Peter and Br Marie Nizier to grow vegetables were frustrated by raids on their garden by people who tried to stop them from having access to food. Finally, the king gave orders for the missionaries to be murdered.
Early in the morning of 28th April, 1841, Peter was awakened from sleep and clubbed to death. The blows split his skull. Peter became the first martyr of the fledgling Society of Mary and the one of the first martyrs of the Pacific region. He was only 38 years old when he died.
Only after his death could the true value of Peter's work be seen. Within two years the Society of Mary was again taking care of the people of Futuna and in a short time the whole island, including those who murdered Peter Chanel, became Christian.
On 12th June, 1954 Pope Pius XII declared St Peter Chanel, S.M. to be a saint of the Church of God. We celebrate St Peter's feast day on 28th April each year.
St Marcellin Champagnat, S.M.
Founder of the Little Brothers of Mary,
Co-Founder of the Marist Fathers and Brothers
Marcellin Champagnat was born at Marlhes, in France in 1789. He was born during the turbulent time of the French Revolution. His father held an important position in local politics and he introduced Marcellin to many practical skills. No doubt he also learnt to be open to the movements of his time.
In 1803 he was asked if he would like to be a priest. He thought about it and committed himself to the task with outstanding dedication, even from an early age. Despite his own lack of sound, formal education, he worked hard at his studies and from 1805 until 1813 attended several minor seminaries. He always valued the role of education and it is not surprising that providing a good education for children and the young became a very important passion in his life.
On 1st November, 1813 Marcellin and his companions entered the minor seminary of St Irenaeusin Lyon, France. It was there, over the next few years, that he met many of those who were inspired with the idea of founding a religious congregation dedicated to the work of Mary. During the academic year of 1815 - 1816 the "Marist aspirants" discussed their hopes and made their plans for the founding of the Society of Mary. They all shared the same vision, which they expressed in the symbol of a tree with several branches. They envisaged a congregation of three branches: priests, sisters, and a third order of lay people, all of whom would undertake the 'work of Mary.' At the suggestion and insistence of Marcellin ("We need brothers!"), an additional branch of teaching brothers was added. This was the special contribution of Marcellin to the congregation.
Following ordination in 1816, Marcellin was appointed to the parish of La Valla, there he began immediately the work of founding the "Little Brothers of Mary". With outstanding dedication and great personal charisma, he gathered a community around him and attended to the urgent need of providing Christian education to many of the young people of his region. Soon many others were attracted to his work and schools flourished throughout France and later, to places all over the world.
Marcellin also shared responsibility for the foundation of the priests' branch of the congregation. He worked tirelessly in the area of Lyon to promote the beginnings of the Society of Mary and, following formal ecclesiastical approval in 1836, took his vows along with the first Marists.
Marcellin died on 6th June, 1840 at the age of 51 years.
On the 18th April, 1999 Pope John Paul II proclaimed Marellin Joseph Benoit Champagnat, S.M. a saint of the Church of God. We celebrate St Marcellin's feast day on 6th June each year.
