• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • Marist
    • A Certain Way
    • Bearing Mary’s name
    • Doing Mary’s work
    • Marist Founder: J C Colin
    • Marist Places
    • Spirituality
    • Marist Family
  • Marist New Zealand
    • New Zealand Marist news
      • Get Marist News
    • Administration
      • Finance and administration
      • Marist Archives
      • NZ Marist History
      • NZ Marist Links
      • Privacy Policy
      • Renewal
    • Education and Youth
      • Gap Year
      • Logos
      • SMNZ Colleges’ Senate
      • Network of Marist Schools
      • School chaplaincy
      • SMNZ Colleges’ Senate
      • Youth House
    • “Foreign Lands”
      • Social Outreach
        • Abandoned and neglected
        • L’arche
        • Ministry to Seafarers
        • Not-for-profit facilitation
        • Police Chaplaincy
        • Wellintown
      • CathNews
      • Marist Internet Project
      • Music Ministry
      • RPD Unit
    • Marist Spirituality
      • In Every Way
      • Marist Messenger
      • Pa Maria
      • Spiritual Direction
    • Marist Laity
      • Marian Mothers
      • Marist Third Order
      • Mother of Good Hope
    • Missionary parishes
      • Homily Helps
      • John Rea: Healing ministry
    • Tangata Whenua
  • Marist World
    • International Marist news
    • Marist Americas
    • Marist Asia Pacific
      • Asia
      • Australia
      • New Zealand
      • Oceania
    • Mission Districts
      • Asia
        • Ranong
      • Brazil
    • Marist Europe
  • Marist Vocation
    • Who are the Marists
    • What Marists do
    • Life as a Marist
    • Train as a Marist
      • Good Shepherd College
      • Marist Seminary
      • Marist Novitiate
      • Pastoral Placement
    • Want to know more?
  • Contact us
    • Fr John Rea
    • Marist Archives
    • Marist Laity
    • Safeguarding minors
    • Society of Mary New Zealand
    • Vocations Enquiry

Society of Mary

Marist Fathers New Zealand: Life and spirit

  • jeffdranesmoa
  • everyway
  • mike-mahoney-wataraoa
  • laneyliere
  • kk-at-wairoa
  • arthurtoothillmarae
  • refugeekids
  • cerdon
  • christie baptism
  • reflection

Marist International

When the 12 seminarians signed the pledge to found the Society of mary in 1816, they did not clearly describe the activities of the Society. The promise simply stated that they would dedicate themselves “in every way” to the “salvation of souls.”

However, by the time Jean-Claude Colin came to write his letter to Pope Pius VII in 1822, outlining the plans for the Society, he had clarified the Society’s aims, which would be to see to care for the salvation of their own souls and of others “through missions to non-believers and believers alike, in any part of the world.

As well as being international in nature, this Marist mission was still to be a missionary experience even for those who stayed at home.

Jean-Claude Colin seems to never have professed a personal desire to go to the foreign missions, but his call to mission in “any part of the world” was explicitly part of the original plan.

Today the islands of the Pacific may conjure up fantasies of sunshine, palm trees, white beaches and blue lagoons; places for marvelous holidays, but for these 19th Century Frenchmen, the Islands of the Pacific had quite a different image.

These islands were, literally at the very end of the earth, and may navigators had brought back horrifying stories of their experience there.

At the time of the election of Jean-Claude Colin as Superior General of the Society of Mary, and the first professions of the first Marists, four priests packed their bags and prepared for departure to New Zealand and Oceania.

The four priests represented one quarter of the Marist priests in France.

Three brothers also traveled with Bishop Popmallier and the four priests.

The mission of Society of Mary has then always been both international and local and today is spread throughout the world and is in: Africa, Australia, Bouganville, Brasil, Canada, England, Fiji, France, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Spain, Thailand, Tonga, U.S.A., and Wallis and Futuna.

Primary Sidebar

Recently

  • Mike and Yvonne Moore thanked for involvement at St Bede’s College
  • Tim Duckworth assumes office of NZ Provincial
  • €20k needed to reopen Marist Camino pilgrim hostel
  • Abuse and Cover-Up; Gerald Arbuckle’s challenging new book
  • Marist Ranong secondary school reopens
  • LOGOS celebrates 20 years

Keep chatting



Search sm.org.nz

We’re about

Administration Asia Australia City centre church Communications Earthquake Education Foreign Lands Formation International International Mission Looking outwards Maori MAP Marist Marist Spirituality Media Mission Missionary Parishes New Evangelisation Oceania Ranong Rome Seminary Spirituality St Mary of the Angels Superior General The Future Vocations Youth

Copyright © 2022 · Society of Mary New Zealand ·