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In this episode of Sharing Our Marianist Stories, Guillermo Peña Contreras, nSM, (more commonly known as Memo) shares what attracted him to vowed religious life, how his experiences of aspirancy and novitiate shaped him, how his background in family law impacted his vocation and his experience of coming to the US from Mexico.

This episode of Sharing Our Marianist Stories features Chicago Joe Schuller, nSM as he anticipates professing first vows with the Society of Mary on Saturday, May 18, 2024. Chicago shares about what attracted him to vowed religious life, how his experiences of aspirancy and novitiate shaped him, and the role intentional community has in his call to be a brother.

Susan Buckley is a Lay Marianist living in Dublin, Ireland where the Marianist Family has had a presence since 1967. In this episode of Sharing Our Marianist Stories, Susan shares about her engagement in a virtual Lay Marianist Community with others in the United States and her experience at the 2023 International Lay Marianist Assembly in Madrid. She also sheds light on what it is like to be a Lay Marianist in Ireland amid the current context of the Catholic Church there.

In June 2024 Tom Mengler will conclude twelve years of serving as the President of St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas and Winston Erevelles will begin his tenure as the University’s President. This episode provides a brief inside look into their lives. They each share how they came to the Marianist Family, how the Charism has impacted their lives, how they have seen the Charism at work through their work and leadership at St. Mary’s and the significance of Marianist Universities amid Catholic Higher Education.

“A Mother’s Love” explores how the models of Mary (Mother of God), Elisabeth de Vincens de Lamourous (mother of Marie-Thérèse Charlotte de Lamourous), and Baroness Ursule de Peyronnencq (mother of Adèle de Batz de Trenquelléon) resonate with our lives today.

In this episode, Al Prendergast and Sr. Laura Leming, FMI share their historical and sociological research on the vow of stability and reflect on what this vow has meant in their lives. Their stories can significantly influence our understanding of how the Marianist Charism empowers us to remain committed to birthing Christ in our world today by sharing the Marianist Charism with others and standing firm amid life’s challenges.

Meghann Naveau and Nancy Woeste are Lay Marianists who share about their experiences of serving on the temporalities committee of the Dayton Marianist Family Council and how that engagement positioned them to help the Marianist Family respond to needs within the City of Dayton. Tune in and be inspired to think about how the Marianist Family is calling you to be a catalyst for solidarity and the common good in your local context.

Sr. Nicole Trahan, FMI professed first vows of June of 2008 and perpetual vows in 2013. She serves as the Vocation Director for the Daughters of Mary Immaculate amongst many other professional roles. In this episode of Sharing Our Marianist Stories, Sr. Nicole shares about her experience in Nairobi, Kenya as a participant in the Nazareth Program, a formation program for emerging formators within the Marianist Family.

Jon Watase and Laura Koonce are two staff members at Saint Louis School in Hawaii, a Marianist school serving boys in kindergarten through twelfth grade. In this episode of Sharing Our Marianist Stories they share about the impact of the agricultural program that Jon helped establish, how their lives have been impacted by the Marianist Family, and their experience of the 2023 Lay Marianist Assembly in St. Louis.

Ann Mueller has been connected to the Marianist Family since 1988 when she began working for the Society of Mary’s Province of St. Louis. In this episode of Sharing Our Marianist Stories, Ann gives an insider’s view of what it’s like to work for the Society of Mary.