FOUNDER OF THE INSTITUTE

Marcellin Champagnat, a Marist Priest, dreamed of a worldwide community of brothers wholeheartedly devoted to... making Jesus Christ known and loved among children and young people, especially the least favored. He embraced God’s call to found the Marist brothers, the religious congregation that continues to pursue his dream today. When seeing children and young people without schooling and knowledge of their faith, Marcellin would say, “We need brothers!” On January 2, 1817 he set in motion his plan for the Congregation of “the little brothers of Mary” with two young recruits. At a ceremony and Mass in St. Peter’s Square on April 18, 1999, Pope John Paul II declared that Marcellin is a Saint of the universal Church.