Newsletter 11: 23 August 2022
Dear Colleagues,
This weekend the Marist Association of Saint Marcellin Champagnat is holding its third National Assembly at Mary MacKillop Place North Sydney. Previous Assemblies were held at The Hermitage Mittagong in 2015 and at Sacred Heart College Adelaide in 2018. Each Assembly is an opportunity for Marists to carefully discern where we are called to be and what we are called to do in our discipleship of Jesus. The first Assembly had approximately 60 delegates during which the Association was really brought to life under the leadership of Provincial Brother Jeff Crowe FMS and Mr Joe McCarthy who were to be appointed the first Leader and Deputy Leader of the Association respectively. The second Assembly had almost 200 delegates and was a gathering characterised by realisation and maturation under the leadership of Brother Peter Carroll FMS and Mr Joe McCarthy once again. As we look to the third Assembly, it is worth recalling the statement of the Association, which prefaces the two key documents We Marists (2015) and As Marists (2019).
We Marists are a vital faith community,
an expression of Church
that embraces God’s mission
with Marian joy, hope, and audacity.
Our discipleship of Jesus Christ
and the priorities of all of our ministries
are inspired by the Gospel passion
and compassion
which fired Saint Marcellin.
We remain attentive
to the God of all life,
and we are committed
to nurturing our spirituality
through ongoing formation.
We draw on both
Marist tradition and imagination
to be game-changers for young people,
particularly those most on the peripheries.
We foster connectedness and communion
among ourselves as an Association,
with the Marist spiritual family around the world,
and with the wider Church of which we are part.
As we look to the third Assembly, the faith-based community we Marists know as the Marist Association, now has a Company to serve its aspirations. The Marist Association of Saint Marcellin Champagnat Ltd was formed in January 2022. The creation of this new Company is completely aligned to the spiritual intuitions and priorities of the Association. The very purpose of the Company as captured in the preamble to the Constitution emphasises this direct alignment in three simple statements.
The Marist Association is a faith-based community whose members identify as Marists, provide spiritual support for one another and desire to share responsibility for the vitality and integrity of Marist life and mission.
They take their inspiration from St Marcellin Champagnat as they continue the work that was begun by the Marist Brothers in Australia and take on new responsibilities.
The Company is formed to continue many of the works of the Trustees of the Marist Brothers and the Association and, in particular, to assume the governance, management and conduct of the Association and other apostolic work.
The 2022 Assembly occurs at a time of renewed reflection and hope for the Catholic Church in Australia. With the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia concluding just last month, the decrees of the Plenary will provide rich perspectives and insights. Certainly, the decree of the Plenary Council for Formation and Leadership for Mission and Ministry is reflected in our Marist intuitions and efforts with the ongoing development of the Marist Association. In part the decree enunciates
“The call for concrete action to address improvements in governance and leadership and formation for a wider range of ministries consistently emerged as an important priority of this Council’s deliberations.”
May Mary our Good Mother, Saint Marcellin, and Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop, be with us throughout these important days together as we discern our Marist future.
The broader Marist family is unique among spiritual communities in the Church in their shared foundations, historical development, and ongoing shared vision. On Sunday 21 August at the 12.00 midday Mass at Saint Patrick’s Church Hill Sydney, Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP announced that he had accepted the advice of the Marist Fathers that the Parish of Saint Patrick’s Church Hill cease to be entrusted to their care and ministry as of 31 December 2025. Archbishop Anthony expressed his gratitude for the unique and faithful ministry of the Marist Fathers since 1868, and for their willingness to guide the transition of the parish to new pastors over the coming years. Parish Priest Father Michael Whelan SM wrote to his Parishioners:
The Marists are conscious that this is a momentous decision – not just for the Marists, but for all those who continue to find spiritual nourishment at St Patrick’s.
This is an extraordinary moment. It invites us to what Pope Francis has called, a “synodal journey”. We must take time to listen together for what God is asking of us individually and as a community at this time.
The work and influence of the Marist Fathers at Church Hill in helping to establish the Marist Brothers in Australia has been well chronicled and much visited in this Sesquicentenary year. Let us keep the good Fathers in our prayers during this time of change and transition.