World Autism Awareness Day.

This weekend, we stop and reflect on the members of our College Community - students and their families, who live with Autism.  We stop and think about how the world is a little more complex for these people, but we must remember that we are all "made in the image and likeness of God".

And so in this complexity, let us give thanks for our individual differences and remember that we are all "God-like".

Autism is more common in boys than in girls, and no two people are the same; adding to the complexity of school lives.

Your sons, daughters and their families are in our thoughts and prayers this weekend, and always.

A legacy built on faith and courage

2022 marks 150 years of Marist Education in Australia. A time not only for gratitude and celebration as we reflect on this significant legacy, but also a time for planning how Marists can continue building a hope-filled future for Catholic education in Australia. 150 years is a long time but in fact, the Marists have actually been a presence in Australia for 185 years! Let’s look at our Marist history.

St Marcellin was a prolific letter writer. As the work of the Marist Institute began to grow in France in the 1820s and 30s, Marcellin regularly wrote to communities and to individual Brothers with updates, advice, and encouragement for their work. In a fascinating development in the 1830s, that was to have a lasting impact on Catholic education in Australia, a decision was made that the first place the Marists would travel beyond France to spread their mission of making Jesus Christ known and loved, was Oceania. For the Frenchmen who took on this mission, they were literally moving to the other side of the world. But it was not only geographical isolation with which they had to contend. The other side of the world was really another world - the culture, the language, the diet, the lifestyle and the spirituality were all quite different.

Marcellin himself was keen to be part of this original mission but was convinced by some of his colleagues that he could do more by continuing his role in France. As the first group headed off in 1837, Marcellin waited anxiously to hear from them. A letter he wrote on 25 November 1837 to Br Sylvestre at the La-Cote-St-Andre Brothers community in France tells us that he did indeed hear from them while they were on their journey. The letter states:

We have received a letter from our missionaries en route to Oceania. We will send you a  copy of it in a few days. Fr. Bret died during the crossing to Valparaiso; the others are all well and very happy in their vocation. They are very eager to reach their destination. Zeal for the salvation of the people of those islands is one of their most outstanding qualities. Let us pray, dear brothers, let us pray for their salvation and that of those who are entrusted to us.

Interestingly enough, less than a month later, Br Michel Colombon, in December 1837,  became the first Marist Brother to set foot on Australian soil. This was the start of a significant commitment by the Brothers to this part of the world. Between 1836 and 1858 thirty brothers came to Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, and the islands of Oceania to work as missionaries.

Then in 1872, four young Brothers,  Ludovic (French), Peter (Irish), Jarlath (Irish), and Augustine (Scottish), stepped off the boat in Sydney at Circular Quay, with the specific goal of establishing the first Marist school at “The Rocks”. The school opened on 8 April 1872 and the rest, as they say, is history.

The legacy left by these groundbreaking Marists is very significant. It is a legacy on which a whole network of schools has been built, which of course includes our wonderful college here at Mount Carmel.

As we continue to chart our course through very challenging times, where our faith and courage have never been more important, we can remember, with gratitude, the vision which began the Marist mission to Australia and the faith and courage of the people who made the vision a reality in their own very challenging times. It’s now over to us to reimagine the Marist mission of making Jesus Christ known and loved, in the way of Mary, into the future.