This past summer, students and faculty took time to relax in the midst of their busy lives. Many went to the beach, the mountains, or relaxed on the couch. Principal Kevin Mullally and School President J.D. Childs, however, embarked on an eight-day journey in France where they dove into what it means to be Marist.
Led by Auxiliary Bishop Joel Konzen and a group of 25 Marists from around the world, Mullally and Childs started their pilgrimage in Lyon, France with day trips to places significant in Marist history.
The first location that they visited was the Basilica of Our Lady of Le Puy, which is where Father Jean-Claude Courveille, a priest in the early 19th century, visited three times to restore his sight. On his third visit, Mary appeared before him and told him to start a religious order in her name. After this vision, Fr. Courveille gathered a group of priests to start the Society of Mary.
In 1816, this group of priests signed a pledge in the shrine of Our Lady of Fourviere in Lyon, determined to “make the whole world Marist,” as described by Mullally. Childs and Mullally climbed the 500 steps to visit this shrine. They felt an instant connection to their Marist roots, and Bishop Konzen, former Marist principal, celebrated Mass there.
On a scroll in this shrine, all of the Marist priests that left Europe to go on mission and serve Mary in the 1800s and 1900s signed their names. These men knew that they were not returning to their homes ever again. This admirable commitment struck Mullally and Childs, reminding them that their work at our school is part of something larger – to spread the message of the Marists.
If one were to ask a student what it means to be Marist, they might answer having school spirit, being welcoming to all, or striving for excellence. The real meaning is, in fact, much simpler.
Childs described being Marist as “being concerned for the well-being of another,” like Mary was during her lifetime.
Childs and Mullally experienced this spirit of Mary on their pilgrimage, and they felt it most significantly when bonding with the others on the trip. A trip to France, however, is not necessary to feel a similar bond. As both Childs and Mullally learned while on pilgrimage, France was only the staring place.
The Marist community stretches across the globe, with each part of that community filled with people looking out for one another and all the people nearby they happen to meet.
On our Marist campus, thousands of miles away from the shrine in Lyon, the Marist concern for one another and for anyone they happen to meet thrives as strongly as it did so many centuries ago.
