The Marist family stretches far and wide across the world and we are fortunate to have made connections with other Marist groups in different countries. The Marist missionaries departed Lyons, France in 1836 on mission to Oceania and reached New Zealand shores in 1838. They navigated their way around different countries and sought to share the Gospel and Marist character with the people they met.
Since then, the Marists have established themselves in different places and advocated for a strong Marian presence in the church – this has united Marist churches, organisations and communities across the globe.
To date, The Logos Project have travelled near and far to different places connected to the Marist way, in countries in North, Central and South America, Europe, Asia and Oceania.
> In 2016, some of our staff travelled to Lyons, France for the bi-centenary celebration and joined Marists from different countries. Read more about their experience in this article.
> In 2018, four of our Connectors travelled to Brownsville, Texas to work in the Marist community there. They worked closely with Pa Tony —
> 2018 also saw one of our biggest international experiences begin with Connector, Laura McLellan, set off to Ranong, Thailand to teach in the school set up by the Marist Asia Foundation (established by Superior General of the Marist Fathers, John Larsen sm). Laura worked in Ranong for a year and is due to return mid 2019.
> Another one of our Connectors, Tayla Faaofo, joined Laura in the new year as a teacher. Tayla taught at the school for four months and returned to New Zealand in time to graduate with her Bachelor of Education.
> In January 2019, two more of our Connectors, Fiona Liava’a and Antonia Swann travelled to Guatemala for the International Gathering for Marist Youth called ‘Weaving Life’. They spent 10 days connecting with Marist Youth from all over the world and exploring the themes of ‘community’, ‘interiority’, ‘solidarity’ and ‘mission’.
All of these international experiences have not only enabled many of our community members to travel internationally, but they have provided spaces for them to connect to the Marist journey, and in turn, add their own chapters to the story.