Saint Marcellin Champagnat

Saint Marcellin Champagnat founded the Marist Brothers in 1817. Champagnat was born on the 20th May 1789 and was baptized the very next day on the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord. In October 1805 at the age of 17 years, he entered the seminary and spent eleven years of preparation before he was ordained as a priest on 22nd July 1816.

Champagnat’s story was one of trials and tribulations. He spent his childhood years in the turmoil of the French Revolution where he witnessed the atrocities of a civil war. As a seminarian, his studies were so poor that he was advised not to continue in his vocation. He was devastated but not conquered. With sheer determination, courage and an unrelenting faith in the Lord and the Blessed Virgin Mary, Champagnat finally succeeded in fulfilling his life-long desire to become a priest in 1816.

Champagnat’s approach to education was simple and yet powerful – “to educate children properly, we should love them and love them equally.” This has indeed been the guiding philosophy behind Marist education throughout the whole world since. Champagnat was firmly convinced that it was his calling and duty to found a congregation of teaching brothers; who would impart the virtues and values of the Catholic faith through the channel of secular education.

When Marcellin Champagnat died on 6th June 1840 at the age of 51 years old, there were 280 Marist Brothers in the south of France. The numbers grew to 1500 Brothers in 1856. Today, an estimated 2200 Marist Brothers and tens of thousands of lay people undertake the work of spreading the Marist education in 79 countries around the world. 

      圣马塞林•尚巴纳于1817年创立圣母昆仲会，他生于1789年5月20日，在耶稣升天日的第二天受洗；1805年10月，17岁的尚巴纳进入神学院，他在神学院学习了11年，于1816年7月22日正式成为神父。

      尚巴纳一生充满艰辛。他在法国大革命的战火纷飞中度过了童年时光，亲眼目睹了战争的残酷。在神学院学习期间，他的学业成绩很差，学院劝他退学，这对他而言是一个致命的打击，但他并没有因此放弃。凭着坚定的决心、非凡的勇气以及对天主和圣母的虔诚，尚巴纳最终完成学业，实现了他毕生的理想。1816年，他被任命为神父。

      尚巴纳的教育方法是简单有效的——他主张“用恰当的方法教育孩子、爱孩子，并且平等地对待他们。”这种教育主张至今依然是指导全世界圣母昆仲会教育机构的教育理念。尚巴纳坚信建立一个教育机构是他的使命和责任，这个机构通过世俗教育的渠道，将天主教的道德标准和价值观灌输给孩子们 。

1840年6月6日，马塞林•尚巴纳逝世，享年51岁。此时在法国南部，圣母昆仲会已经有280位神职人员；到了1856年，人数增加至1500人。时至今日，圣母昆仲会已经有约2200位神职人员和数以万计的工作人员在全世界79个国家从事着圣母昆仲会的教育工作。