STORY - "A River Runs Through It "

When you first see the River Gier at the Hermitage, Saint-Chamond, France, you would be inclined to dismiss it as a stream. Even when you see the gushing spout which feeds it, seemingly from nowhere, you would describe it as clean, fast flowing and constant – but a stream.

Of course even a gushing stream is a novelty for many Australians, given the present situation.

However, moving deeper and higher into the terraced hills which surround Notre Dame L’Hermitage, our Australians might be surprised to see the height of the dam wall, over which tumbles water from an expansive lake fed by melting snow.

Similarly, the little towns of Marlhes, and La Valla, as charming as they are high in the Mt Pilat formations, might remind visitors of the question ‘What good can come from Nazareth?’

The longer your stay at L’Hermitage, the more you will understand the immense gift that this region, little known to most outside France, gave to the church and to the world, in the form of the Little Brothers of Mary, or Marist Brothers.

Beginning in Paris on Easter Sunday, a group of 28 pilgrims – all with a commitment to the mission of making Jesus known and loved – spent a month visiting places which figure in the Marist story and traditional sites of Christian pilgrimage.

While a report could focus on any number of places of beauty, architectural splendour, miracles and amazing achievements, many pilgrims agreed that the ten days spent at L’Hermitage, the cradle of the Marist project, were the heart of the pilgrimage. There was a movement from Paris, where the historical background of the founding of the Institute was set (founder Marcellin Champagnat was born in the year of revolution 1789) by Br Neville Solomon, to Rome, scene of the ceremony of canonisation of Marcellin Champagnat in 1999 and international headquarters of the Marist Brothers. Notre Dame (Our Lady) de L’Hermitage presided over this centrepiece of the pilgrimage, led by Br David Hall, Director of Marist Ministries, with Fr Kevin Tuitu of St Joseph’s College Hunters Hill, as Chaplain.

While L’Hermitage provides a convenient springboard for visiting the places associated with Marcellin Champagnat and the Marist Foundations, it is much more. The resident Brothers welcome pilgrims, individually and in groups, and invite them to join the community for Mass and the prayers of the church.

Those fortunate to be accommodated towards the rear of the main building - a significant part of which was constructed by Champagnat and the early Brothers – look over the gardens, the statue of Our Lady of Victories erected to mark the official approval of the Institute by the French Government in 1851 – and the River Gier. A stone inscribed “Inundations 1872, 1900” will resonate with many Hunter residents for it records the major flooding that occurred before the river was contained and even used to generate electricity.

You might ask – why build a house for up to 100 monks near a river likely to flood? The answer is that the land was flat and easy to cultivate, there was space for prayer and contemplation, central to the Marist way, it was not far from Pere Champagnat’s home of Le Rosey and parish of La Valla - and its proximity to the life giving river made the land affordable.

The days spent at L’Hermitage were an agreeable blend of lectures, prayer and Eucharist, fellowship, walks (including several kilometres to La Valla which gave the phrase ‘in the footsteps of Champagnat’ a new meaning) and rest, punctuated by bells on the quarter hour (not at night!) and French provincial cuisine. There was a rhythm to life at L’Hermitage which was very appealing, especially after the pace of Paris in the springtime.

The Life of Joseph Benedict Marcellin Champagnat written by Br Jean Baptist Furet (1856) says that while the home for the Brothers was being constructed, Pere Champagnat led the community at Mass “amongst the trees, where Marcellin had constructed a small chapel - the only noise was from the rustling leaves, the murmuring of the waters….and the song of the birds.” (p125, Bicentenary Edition 1989). We too celebrated Mass in the woods, not far from where the first Brothers rest in peace, including Br Ludovic, who brought the Marist Brothers to Australia. The remains of Pere Champagnat lay here too, until they were moved to a reliquary in the Chapel at L’Hermitage framed by stained glass panels telling the Marist story.

Part of L’Hermitage experience was hearing lecturers of the calibre of Br Alain Delorme FMS, Br Luis Sobrado FMS, Fr John Fuellenbach SVD, Br David Hall FMS and Fr Craig Larkin SM. The lectures were enriched by the reflections of so many who are part of the Marist mission in Australia and Papua New Guinea.

We also journeyed to Fourviere at Lyon, where Marcellin Champagnat and his fellow seminarians pledged themselves to a new way to Jesus through Mary; to Le Rosey, the home of the Champagnat family and site of a chapel built from funds contributed by Marist students worldwide, and to the place of the ‘Montagne Incident’. Young Jean-Baptist Montagne was dying, utterly ignorant of the love of God, and Pere Champagnat was called to anoint him. He gave him a ‘crash course’ in the Catechism, and determined to form Brothers who would teach the young to know and love God.

Today, over 4300 Marist Brothers work in 76 countries in a variety of ministries that have at their heart teaching the young to know and love God. They share their mission with over 40,000 lay people, and are educating close to 500,000 children and young people. As mentioned, Marcellin Champagnat was canonised by Pope John Paul II in 1999, and the pilgrims visited his statue in one of Michelangelo’s niches at the Vatican. Because the statue is located beyond St Peter’s Square, permission from the police and the Swiss Guards is required to see it. We were fortunate!

In Rome we visited the General House, international headquarters and home of Superior General Br Sean Sammon. Br Sean welcomed us and presented each individual with a gift, and introduced us to his Councillors. As well as enjoying Marist hospitality, there was time to visit some of the great sites of Rome, to taste Italian cuisine and to hear Pope Benedict XVI at a General Audience where the truly catholic nature of the church was evident.

To learn more about Champagnat’s way, please visit www.maristoz.edu.au

Tracey Edstein

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