Sub-Saharan Africa, 06 June, 2024 / 11:15 am (ACI Africa).
"All to Jesus through Mary, and all to Mary for Jesus.” - St. Marcellin Champagnat
Marcellin Champagnat was born on May 20, 1789, the year of the French Revolution, and died on June 6, 1840. He was a priest of the Society of Mary and the founder of the Little Brothers of Mary, a congregation of brothers devoted to the education of the young.
He was the ninth child of a very pious catholic family and develpoed a very deep devotion to Mary as a young boy, which he learned from an aunt who was a religious. He also had a great capacity for work, which he learned from his father.
Champagnat left school at the age of seven, and when, at the age of 14, he discovered through the help of a priest his own vocation to the priesthood, he had to begin to study again almost from scratch.
Aware of his limitations, and against the advice of those around him, he entered the minor seminary and struggled to learn the fundaments of schooling. However, never losing sight of the will of God for him, he struggled through these difficult years with his eyes fixed on the horizon of God’s call.
