Born May 20, 1789, almost on the eve of the French Revolution, he dropped out of school at the age of eight, and was 15 when he began his formal education. He came from the fields, the dirt of the soil on his hands, the strength of the plow in his arms, the fire of a simple Christian faith in his heart, a heart that would know no bounds, and the power of a holy purpose in his will.
Once directed on the road to the priesthood by a providential meeting with a seminary professor, Champagnat never wavered. He studied with the determination and single mindedness that would later characterize him as a seminarian, priest, founder and educator. During his years at the seminary, he made friends with similar mold and joined with them and Jean-Claude Colin to co-found the society of Mary, also known as the Marist Fathers. Champagnat’s appeals to include teaching Brothers led the Marist Fathers to delegate this task to him.
Ordained July 22, 1816, the future founder became assistant pastor in LaValla, a small village in Southern France. One day, he was called to the bedside of a dying 17 year old youth named Jean Baptists Montagne and found him pathetically ignorant of the most elementary truths of the Faith. He did his best to explain these truths to the boy before he died, and was determined from that point on that such ignorance should not be found again. He contacted two young men from LaValla immediately, asking them to join him in the project of catechizing those ignorant of their faith. The two young men agreed, and on January 2, 1817, only six months after his arrival in LaValla, Champagnat moved them into a small house he himself had renovated, and the Marist Brothers were born. Three other men joined them a few weeks later. In time, under the prudent spiritual and educational guidance of Father Champagnat, they qualified to teach catechism to the children and adults of the parish. In November 1819, he assigned his first Brothers to the schools of LaValla and Marlhes, his birthplace. The young religious, trained by the dynamic curate in subject matter and methodology, soon earned an enviable reputation as teachers and pious men.
As other candidates presented themselves, Champagnat saw the need to expand the order’s limited facilities. He soon began an extensive building program. Poverty was a very tangible condition of their life in these early days, and he himself worked on the building with the Brothers. He was architect, contractor, and foreman. Besides meeting the challenge of his new career, he had to face considerable criticism from fellow priests, who repeatedly condemned him as a rash and foolish visionary. Ignoring this vocal opposition, he persisted in his plans, trusting completely in Divine Providence and in Our Lady, whom he called his “Good Mother” and “Ordinary Resource.” Belief in a dream, dedication to an ideal, faith and sacrifice were the building stones of the Hermitage, the first motherhouse of the Marist Brothers.
In 1824 the young priest requested permission to quit his parish work and devote fulltime to the apostolate of his infant congregation, which now numbered thirty members. Until the year before his death, he was superior, spiritual director, and school supervisor. Ill health, caused by his frequent travels, his endless hours of manual labor, and his asceticism eventually forced him to let go of these positions. Brother Francois was elected by the Brothers as their new superior.
Marcellin Champagnat died June 6, 1840, at the age of 51, leaving his Brothers a legacy of sanctity, apostolic spirit, and educational zeal of which they are justifiably proud. At the time of his death, there were 200 Brothers. Twenty years later, there were 2,000. Today, there are 4,500. He was beatified on May 29, 1955, and canonized on April 18, 1999.