A "Marvelous Heritage": Finding Hope in Marianist Flexibility

In doing my work in the editing of the English translation of Volume 3 of The General History of the Society of Mary by Fr. Antonio Gascón Aranda, SM, I found what was for me a new elaboration of a chapter of our story as the Marianist Family that may be of some encouragement as we reflect, perhaps with some anxiety as we move into a New Year, on the state of our Church, our country, or of Catholic education. The context is the consequences of the 1901 and 1903 French laws that legally suppressed religious congregations in France. For the Society of Mary, it meant 95 institutions in France and Tunisia served by the Society were forced to close, 1,500 brothers were sent into exile, and the Superior General had three months to leave the country. Fr. Joseph Hiss was elected in 1905 by the General Chapter as the new Superior General. In response to the crisis, Fr. Hiss writes his second Circular letter to the Society, which confirms the government’s harassment and its consequences and gives us a chance to show “our true mission.” I think his words have an echo for us today.

Far from being born to live in places of tranquility, we are born and equipped for struggle; we are not restricted to one kind of work, outside of which there is no salvation for us [referring to schools]; on the contrary, we are capable of modifying our action according to circumstances. This adaptability has appeared to us as a marvelous heritage, as a trait of genius of our Founder…. For, it was Mary—we cannot doubt it— who wished to endow her privileged family, as with a choice instrument, with that extraordinary suppleness in the forms and object of our apostolate which renders our action secure from the limitations of time and place…. We asked ourselves whether we were allowed to be timid or pusillanimous. Does anyone imagine that the work of Mary is finished…that the religious crisis, involving faith and morals in its destiny, for the proper solution of which Father Chaminade called us into action, has disappeared from the world? Far from being at an end, the role of the Society has hardly been outlined; we have but feebly drawn until now from the treasures at our disposal; the bygone period of our history was rather a period of preparation and of elaboration; an institution as novel as ours necessarily had to be above all solidly grounded.(1)

I found similar passages that moved me as I read Volumes 1 and 2 of The General History, both published in English by NACMS. Yes, there are reasons today to be worried about the state of things, but the Marianist story about our life is one of confidence and hope under grace, which is based on our history. How does our Marianist story, particularly the story of the Society of Mary, bring you confidence and hope amid our currently challenging times?

To deepen your understanding of how the vision for the Society of Mary adapted and flourished through turbulent times, we invite you to explore the work of Fr. Antonio Gascón Aranda, SM.

Discover the interconnection between the Society of Mary’s establishment and the ever-changing landscape of French society in Volume 1 of The General History of the Society of Mary. And to learn how the vision was completed and sustained amidst increased government control, read Volume 2, covering the influential Generalate of Fr. Joseph Simler, SM (1873-1905).

Published in the December 2025 NACMS Newsletter.