Fall 2016 03
School News
11
Athletic News
13
Alumni News
16
Alumni Spotlight
18 2017 Hall of Fame Inductees
20 2017 Time & Eternity Award Honorees
22
Class Notes
26
Advancement News
30
Ways to Give
31
Donor Report
2
39
In Thanks ...
On the Cover: Students on a mission trip to Colorado Springs, Colo., pose in the Garden of the Gods park (clockwise from top left), the original Brothers’ table built by St. Marcellin Champagnat in La Valla, France, students reenact the original Brothers taking their first pledge to start the Marist order, faculty members visit St. James Church in Lemont, Ill., during their annual retreat.
Marist High School 4200 West 115th Street Chicago, Illinois 60655 www.marist.net
T
he 2016-2017 school year marks a significant milestone for MaristChicago and Marist schools worldwide. During this year we will commemorate the founding of the Marist Brothers of the Schools and the beginning of Marist education on January 2, 1817. In July of 1816, the newly ordained Marcellin Champagnat was sent to a rural parish in the town of La Valla in the St. Chamond area of southeastern France. Marcellin encountered many issues needing his immediate attention not the least of which was the absence of schools in this area. This point was brought home to him on October 28, 1816 when he was called to the Montagne family home where sixteen year old Jean-Baptiste Montagne was dying of tuberculosis, an all too common disease in this impoverished part of France. While trying to hear young Jean-Baptiste’s confession, it became apparent to Marcellin that this young man had not had any religious or academic education. Like most young people in the area, this lack of education condemned him to a life of inter-generational poverty. After administering the last rites to Jean-Baptise, Marcellin left to make another home visit, promising to return immediately afterwards. By the time he did return to the Montagne home, Jean-Baptiste had died. Although he was just a young priest, Marcellin knew that the only way to make significant change was to create significant change. By January of 1817, Marcellin had recruited two young men to join him in his efforts to bring education to rural southeastern France. Marcellin’s first mission was to teach his two young recruits. They had no formal education up to that point, so Marcellin had to teach them to read and write and then how to teach what they had just learned. Perhaps that is why Marcellin and the early Brothers were such good teachers. They knew firsthand what it was like to struggle to learn. What is unique about Marcellin and his founding of the Marist Brothers is that he too suffered from a lack of education due to the ravages of the French Revolution. His schooling was sparse until his mid-teens, and even then he had to struggle to catch up and keep up. It is his own personal struggle that made him sensitive to the needs of young people like Jean-Baptiste Montagne who had no access to education. If you are reading this letter, you or your son or daughter, or your grandson or granddaughter or friend has been the inheritor of Marcellin’s legacy of Marist education. What began officially on January 2, 1817 continues today at MaristChicago and in Marist schools in 83 countries throughout the world. Your belief in Marist High School and your support of our efforts keeps Marcellin’s dream of “forming good Christians and good citizens” alive and well. More than ever, the world needs Catholic education where faith-based learning provides a foundation on which our students can build the rest of their lives. As we celebrate the 200th anniversary of the foundation of the Marist Brothers and of Marist education, all of us at Marist-Chicago are grateful for Marcellin’s vision, commitment, and tenacity. We are grateful too for your presence in the life of Marist High School. Marcellin’s dream is as valid today as it was in 1817, and your support of Marist continues to turn dreams into reality. Gratefully,
Brother Hank Hammer, fms President
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