Marist Fathers

The Marist Fathers Australian Province, led by Fr Paul Cooney SM, hosted a meeting of thirty Major Superiors of the Marist Fathers from all over the world.

From the 9-15 November, in the inspiring surrounds of the Mary McKillop Conference Centre in North Sydney, these leaders looked at four main issues: international formation of Marist priests, renewal for Marist fathers, preparation for the next General Chapter in 2009 and Marist laity on a global level.

Representatives from all of the Marist branches were invited to the concluding liturgy at Villa Maria, Hunters Hill, to coincide with the feast of the death of Fr Jean-Claude Colin, the founder of the Society of Mary.

We then moved to the Parish Hall to catch up with old friends and share a delicious meal together.

In his after-dinner speech, Fr Jan Hulshof, Superior General, spoke of the growing and urgent need for Marist Laity to develop globally. An idea was put forward that, in 2009, when the Fathers have their General Chapter in Rome, there could be a simultaneous International gathering of lay Marist leaders from each area of the globe.

In the last few years, lay Marists have been organising themselves within their own countries creating new and varied structures which suit their specific situations. Fr Colin always spoke of the lay branch as a branch of many branches, meaning that there was to be no one formula for being a lay Marist. An international meeting of lay Marists would be an opportunity to share the varied ways of being Marist in our world and to possibly develop an international structure to facilitate community, share resources and plan for the future.

Maria Baden