Newsletter 11: 3 August 2021

Dear Colleagues,

In 2017, the XXII Marist General Chapter took place, which brought together brothers and people from all over the world to, among other things, guide the future of the Marist Institute. The motto that captures the feeling of what was lived and experienced is: "Journeying together as a global family". As a result, and to translate it into actions, the General Council promoted the idea of launching a Marist global network of schools in order to strengthen the Marist educational mission, among the 600 schools that have been established throughout 80 countries of the world in the past 200 years.

For two years, a team, appointed by the Marist General Council in Rome, sounded out the need to create the network proposed by the General Chapter and for this purpose a global consultation was held in which 15,956 members participated, comprising of principals, teachers, administrators, students, and families from 58 different countries. The Australian Marists were well represented in this consultation due to the high level of engagement by school communities throughout their network. Since this initial consultation, foundations for the further development of the project have been established to facilitate collaboration and participation by all peoples involved in the Marist educational task. On 26 August 2021 there is to be an online gathering involving representatives from each country and region, including, students, parents, teachers, principals, and Directors of Marist Education. Australian school communities will be represented by Assumption College Kilmore and Marist College Canberra.

The creation of the Marist Global Network of Schools will present many opportunities for thousands of teachers and students. Foremost will be the strengthening of relationships and understanding as brothers and sisters of the one human family, or in the words of Pope Francis “fraternity and social friendship”. Educationally, the Marist Global Network will provide a platform through which sharing can occur in relation to improving literacy, numeracy, leadership capacity and teacher efficacy. Spiritual formation experiences will also be able to be facilitated. We look forward to the development of this important project and the eventual participation of all 56 Australian Marist schools.