St. Marcellin Champagnat who had originally trained to be a priest founded the Marist Brothers. His desire to have brothers to teach the rural children grew after his visit to the bedside of a sixteen-year-old, Jean Baptiste Montagne whom St. Marcellin discovered knew nothing of his faith. The first step to realising this occurred on October 26th, 1816 when St. Marcellin asked Jean Marie Granjon to be a brother. The formation of Brothers was St. Marcellin’s project and it grew because of his faith, dedication, simplicity, family spirit and striving to follow Jesus as Mary did. In time many Brothers went through formation, schools were founded and brothers were supplied for the missions of the Pacific Islands to bring young people to Jesus through Mary. However approval to serve in France was not approved until 1851 by the French government granting them approval to teach anywhere. Pope Pius IX officially approved the Institute of the Marist Brothers in 1863. Some of these Brothers found themselves sent for mission work in the Pacific.

FIRST MARIST MISSIONARIES
The first brothers to come to the Pacific came with the Marist Fathers on their first missionary journey. Though St. Marcellin was the first to volunteer to come to the Pacific, his health and his work in the founding of the Brothers prevented him from joining the group that left from Le Havre for the mission in Oceania under the leadership of Bishop Pompallier on Christmas Eve 1836. In 1837 a band of Marists, both Fathers and Champagnat’s Marist Brothers arrived in the Pacific. They began their work on Wallis and Futuna.

MARIST BROTHERS COME TO FIJI
In 1844 Fathers Roulleau sm and Breheret sm and Brother Annet fms arrived at Lakeba in Lau. Br. Annet died in 1848. He was the first Marist to be buried in Fiji. Brothers Paschase, Sorlin and Augustine arrived in 1851. Br. Sorlin worked for over fifty years in Fiji and is buried behind the old Loreto Mission on Ovalau. Brother Lucien Magnaudier worked in Rotuma from 1847 to 1853. These Brothers did not teach in schools but assisted the priests in their apostolic work as catechists and faithful to Champagnat’s charism, they were not afraid to work as farmers, carpenters and even boat builders. All of this helped the spread of the word throughout the mission areas of Fiji. True to Champagnat, they put their relationship with God before everything else.

EDUCATION
Marist Brothers’ schools began in Australia in 1872 and in New Zealand in 1876. On 27th August 1888, three Brothers, Harvey, Vincent and Alphonsus, arrived in Suva to begin a school for the children of Catholic Europeans. This was in response to Bishop Vidal’s request to Brother Theophane the Brother Superior General in France.

On 7th September 1888 they began their school in a house, just above the Lilac Theatre in Waimanu Road. In 1889 they moved to Suva Street. At first only European boys were admitted but by 1897 Bothers Columba and Claudius had begun a school for Indian boys and other races, known as the Indian School or the Cosmopolitan School, on the corner of Suva Street and Toorak Road. By 1936 this had developed into St Columba’s School.

SECONDARY EDUCATION
In 1912 Brothers Augustine, Alphonsus and Loyola began secondary classes in St Felix College, also on the Suva Street property. In 1936, after a considerable struggle with the civil authorities, who opposed secondary education for locally born children, the Brothers were allowed to reopen their secondary classes to all races. Thus the Marist Brothers’ High School had its beginnings in Suva Street. The High School was built at Bau Street during 1948, ready to begin the year there in 1949.

A SPECIAL YEAR FOR SUVA
1963 is noted for two significant developments in Marist primary education in Suva, both of them very much the work of Brother Raphael Penarroya. Saint Columba’s and Saint Felix College became overcrowded so it was decided to open a new primary school further out towards the areas where the population was spreading. Marist Bothers’ Primary School Vatuwaqa was opened under the leadership of Brother Sebastian Bendall (later, in 1982 it became co-educational and its name was changed to Marcellin Primary School). At Suva Street, St Columba’s and St Felix’s were combined into one school for all the boys regardless of race. It was named Marist Primary School Suva Street and Brother Raphael was the first Head Teacher.

RURAL EDUCATION IN FIJI
Soon after their arrival in Fiji, the brothers became involved in rural education. They were part of the Catholic Mission at Cawaci, teaching there from 1894 until the refounding of St John’s College in 1951. They were active in Naililili Mission, teaching there from 1899 until 1954. In 1962 the Brothers ended twenty years of work at Wairiki, on Taveuni also. From 1974 to 1984 the Brothers helped Napuka Junior Secondary School for ten years, to establish a very good reputation. Brothers helped St Bede’s College at Savarekareka to a good start in 1980, together with the Cluny Sisters, Sisters of Nazareth, Marist and SMSM Sisters and dedicated lay teachers.

TEACHER TRAINING
During their time at Cawaci on Ovalau, the Brothers ran a teacher training establishment called St Bede’s. Archbishop Mataca chose the same patron for the new school in Savarekareka, to continue the spirit of the first St. Bede’s. The work of teacher training at Corpus Christi College has been part of the Brothers’ work. A number of brothers including Brothers Bertrand, Paul Kelly, Montfort Hickey, John Blewman, Paulo Guibreteau, Fergus Garret, Douglas Dawick, Kees van Weert and Joseph McDermott (as Principal) have had full and part time involvement there.

WITH THE ARCHDIOCESE OF SUVA
There has generally been a spirit of cooperation between the Brothers, the Bishop and priests. Since 1971 four Brothers have held the position of Diocesan Director of Education. They are Brothers John Blewman, Joseph McDermott, Clement McGougan and Douglas Dawick whose combined time totals over twenty years. Cathedral Secondary School has also long association with the Brothers, beginning with Brother Victor in 1963. Brothers John and Majella have had terms as Principal there and others, including Brothers Fergus Garrett, Samuel Eathorn and Paul Lavelle, have made significant contributions towards the growth of that school, up to the present time. Brother John is still working there part time.

TRAINING OUR PACIFIC BROTHERS
In 1971 the training of Brothers from the Pacific Islands was begun at Lomary. There a novitiate has served the Brothers of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Samoa, Tonga, Kiribati and for a few years, India as well as Fiji. Having completed their Postulancy in their own lands, these young Brothers spend two years at Lomary. That is followed, after First Profession of vows, by three further years of religious and professional formation at the Marist Asia Pacific Centre in Manila in the Philippines.

REORGANISING
Every living body adapts to changes in time and place. Over the past few years the Institute of the Marist Brothers had followed a process of reorganising on a world-wide level. This has had its effect in the New Zealand Province of the Marist Brothers. Two Regions have been established, each with its own Regional Superior and Council. One is the New Zealand Region with headquarters in Auckland and the other, comprising Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa and Tonga is known as the Pacific Island Region and has its headquarters in Suva.

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