[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 30 (Thursday, February 25, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E288]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO ST. MARCELLIN CHAMPAGNAT

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                        HON. ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 25, 1999

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to pay tribute to a great 
man of God, a visionary who founded the order of the Marist Brothers of 
the Schools and a Saint-to-be, Marcellin Champagnat.
  Born in France in 1789, Marcellin Champagnat acquired a deep and 
unshakeable faith in God and in the protection of Mary. Remembering his 
own educational deprivation as a child, Marcellin made a sincere 
commitment to catechize poor children and provide them with a basic 
education. During his time in the major seminary of the Archdiocese of 
Lyons, Marcellin spread his contagious fervor, forming the nucleus of 
what was to later become the Society of Mary, or Marist Fathers.
  As the Marist family continued to grow, the Marist Sisters, the 
Marist Missionary Sisters, and the Third Order of Mary were formed in 
addition to the Marist Fathers and Brothers. Today, there are over 
6,200 Marist Brothers worldwide doing God's work in 75 different 
countries and 14 states which continue to carry out educational 
ministries in the Marist tradition.
  On Sunday, April 18, as the Roman Catholic Church canonizes Marcellin 
Champagnat at a ceremony in St. Peter Basilica in Rome, the Cuban 
Maristas Alumnae Association, of my Congressional district will be 
preparing a mass at St. John Vianey Seminary and a reception at 
Christopher Columbus High School in my Congressional district to pay 
homage to Father Marcellin Champagnat.

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