Jarnosse, France
 Jeanne-Marie
Chavoin,
then
Mother St Joseph
and nearing the end of her life,
ministered
in isolated parts of the countryside.
Eugénie
Gautier, 17
years old at the time,
understood
the Marist mission as :
"
a source of charity and
faith
bringing
a little warmth to
a famished people".
A
further dimension is the manner in which Jeanne-Marie approached her
ministry -
she
avoided drawing attention to herself and preferred the sisters to work in
way that was hidden and unknown.
She
strove in the words of St Paul
"to
be all things to all men".
This
entailed making connections,
making
people feel at home.
|
Marino, Italy
Above we see the Marist Sisters
involved in parish life - organising the First communion and participating
in a parish celebration (one is taking photos,
the other is part of the crowd.)
People within and beyond the parish
are appreciative of their presence. They are well known now, often
visiting those in need. Further, while one offers education in the faith,
and plans and orchestrates liturgies, the other is engaged in distributing
food and clothing to the poor and offering pastoral care to trafficked
women.
Truly between them, these two Marist
Sisters are gathering all kinds of people into God's love - as our
foundress did as she lived the Gospel in Mary's way. |
|
Fiji
- where
missionaries grow!
St
Peter Chanel, among others, took the faith to the islands of the Pacific.
The Marist Sisters of his time would have loved to have followed him.
However, it was to be many years later that the dream of their foundress
came true.
The
Marist Sisters went
from Europe to Oceania in 1892.
Since
then Marist Sisters from Fiji have been missioned to other developing
countries - Colombia, the Gambia, Mexico, the Philippines,
and very
soon to Papua New Guinea!
These sisters have become
Marists because of the efforts of missionaries who "left home and
family" to come to the Fiji Islands - now they in turn have answered
the call to live as missionaries in other lands.
|
 
 
 
 
|
| West Africa
-
 
At
the bedside of the sick or in the classroom in Sénégal,
or
visiting the house-bound in the Gambia,
our
sisters give and receive love and joy. |
And they love to dance!!
|
|
Aotearoa-New
Zealand
Our
foundress dreamt of sending
Marist
Sisters to Oceania.
It
was not to happen in her life time.
However,
within
35 years of her death,
our
sisters arrived in Fiji.
Since
then among the Marist Sisters
of Aotearoa-New Zealand
there
have been
Maori
and Pakeha New Zealanders, Tongans, Fijians and Samoans as well as those
of Australian, English and Irish backgrounds.
|
Our
foundress prayed that
we Marist Sisters would be united. These
days our congregation embraces many cultures. We
rejoice in the richness of our diversity and ask for the
continued blessing of being "one in heart and soul". Above:
Some of the Marist Sisters of Aotearoa-New Zealand |
Belo
Horizonte, Brazil
 17
January 2008 marks 30 years
since
the Marist Sisters arrived in Brazil.
Among
them is the very sister
who
led the pioneer group in 1978.
Imelda
has returned
to
assist with the formation of novices
Like
our foundress she is remaining
active
in mission for as long as she can.
Today
there are 16 Brazilian members of our congregation
and
several novices. |
Above:
Imelda
with current leader of Marist Sisters in Brazil and novices.
|
Western Sydney, Australia
More
than an English Class:
"Newcomers
to our shores, who are often isolated and lonely, are of special concern
to us. Rather than simply seeing us as teachers, they know that we are
interested in whatever is happening to them. They love to have us in their
homes and share meals. This is particularly true of many Muslims who
delight in a home visit. |
Mary’s
simple approach to people
is
our inspiration.
As
our Muslim friends have a great love of Mary, we feel she is drawing us
together, helping us to build bridges into the new multi-layered culture
that is developing in Australia."
|
Ottery-St-Mary, England
Our
foundress had a particular approach to her service of people - it was
quiet, even hidden.
Marist Sisters over
the years have tried
to do the same.
Recently
in Ottery a beautiful tribute was paid.
|
The commemorative
plaque
on the wall of the church
reads:
In
appreciation of the MARIST SISTERS who served
the parish and the town of Ottery St Mary with such love and devotion.
1940-2007
The official tribute
included the following observation:
"The Sisters
are a wonderful example of how we should all work for the Church - quietly
and unobtrusively - they don't make a fuss about what they do, they don't
tell anyone what they are doing - an example we should all try to
follow."
|
Dakar,
Senegal 
Today from
West African villages
in
Senegal
and the Gambia
young women are choosing
to join the Marist
Sisters
so as to live the Gospel in our times
as Mary did in hers. |
Our sisters care for
children,
They take
opportunities to support the powerless -
at left they are
marching in solidarity with the poor and hungry.
|
Slavutich, Ukraine
Built to house the survivors of the Chernobyl
disaster Slavutich is close to the Belarus border. Three
Marist Sisters (two from
England, one from New Zealand)
are becoming well-accepted by all. They are learning Russian and teaching
English.
|
Photo above: outside
their house which is a place of welcome for many visitors to the parish.
Photo left:
Mingling
after Mass in the newly renovated church - a parishioner
admires the result. |
| Rondônia,
Brazil
Today, three
Marist Sisters - two from Brazil and
one from Spain - paddle canoes and walk through the jungle to
minister to the indigenous people of this Amazon region.
|
At other times, the
people come to the Centre pictured above, which the Sisters have had built
at the edge of the town. Here the people can learn arts and crafts, health
and hygiene, nutrition and other basic life skills. |
Barcaldine, Australia
Today
two Australian Marist sisters
use a four-wheel drive vehicle to traverse a
vast section of Central Queensland.
|
They
attend
annual Agricultural Shows in various centres,
cluster
meetings for the
School
of
Distance
Education,
rodeos,
gymkhanas, camp drafts.
Why?
Because
this is the best way to meet "the locals" and
to
begin to share their lives.
Photo
above:
Checking the safety of proceeding on the journey...
Photo
left: Getting better at this changing of tyres!
|
