Updates

A new faith-based health center run by the Marianist Sisters began in November 2025, in Tchébébé, Togo, to provide basic healthcare to people of all ages and social classes. We are pleased to share the initial steps and achievements of the Lorenza Longaretti Peripheral Care Unit (USP) in Tchébébé, Togo (center manager: Sr. Marie Adèle Awidaya, FMI). Opened on November 17, 2025, this non-profit, faith-based health center is run by the Marianist Sisters and is dedicated to prov

St. Francis de Sales School and Parish collaborated to implement reusable trays and flatware in the school’s lunchroom. In recent years, lunch at Cincinnati’s St. Francis de Sales School sent about 220 styrofoam trays to the dumpster. Hoping to “green” the lunchroom, St. Francis de Sales Parish Green Team set its sights on the disposable trays. We met with Principal Joanne Browarsky, and she agreed that the cost savings and environmental benefits of reusable trays were exciti

Central Catholic High School (CCHS) students and parents joined in a pilgrimage for Our Lady of Guadalupe. The school also undertook various service projects and food and supply drives for organizations such as VFWs, Project MEND, ADL, LovePurse, Catholic Charities, and more. Our Campus Ministry team here at Central Catholic has been exceptionally busy over the past two months! For the first time, Central Catholic joined other Catholic faithful in the Our Lady of Guadalupe Pi

We had a reflective conversation on February 12, 2026, focusing on various themes. A synopsis of the Conversation is shared below. Further, we have shared this year’s   Prayer and Reflection Guide  for the Annunciation of the Lord, March 25, 2026, the Patronal Feast of the Marianist Family. Our February 12, 2026, Conversation Series was attended by five Marianist Encounters Committee members: Sr. Leanne Jablonski, FMI, Bro. Steve O’Neil, SM, Tara Poling, Tony Garascia, and Ha

Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory’s annual Service Week, this year, united students, faculty, and the Board of Trustees in a transformative experience of reflection and hands-on volunteering across the local Broward County to actively embody their Catholic-Marianist mission of compassion, justice, and environmental stewardship. CMCP Service Week February 17-21, 2026, Each year, Service Week invites the Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory community to step beyond the cla

CCP High School's plant nursery continues to produce and distribute plants for restoration projects across the LA basin. The following are some of the initiatives undertaken by them, including some proposed plans and future opportunities. We donated 300 plants to an organization in Westlake that looks to convert their lawn and hillside into a native habitat. Students will help install plants on Saturday, February 21, 2026. We donated 600 plants to test plots for restoration p

Read Pope Leo XIV’s Lenten message  for 2026, which is a call for conversion and bringing God back into the center of our lives. This year, Pope Leo emphasizes a time of listening, fasting, and journeying together. Further, we have shared Lenten resources, including reflections, prayers, and calendars. Dear brothers and sisters,   Lent is a time in which the Church, guided by a sense of maternal care, invites us to place the mystery of God back in the center of our lives, in

Colegio San Jos é ’s faculty, staff, and students participated in community service in the local Rio Piedras community. They undertook trail cleaning, weeding, and replanting, and other activities. Colegio San José has made conscious efforts to strengthen its presence and engagement with the local Rio Piedras community. In line with this goal, Colegio San José has established a partnership with the Capetillo Garden located within this community.   Huerto Capetillo (Capetillo

Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory celebrated National Girls and Women in Sports Day by hosting a dynamic panel of alumni and current women sports leaders that translated the Marianist commitment to women in education into an inspiring dialogue on leadership, resilience, and the holistic development of young women. National Girls and Women in Sports Day offers more than a moment of recognition—it is a call to action. Within the Marianist Family’s Global Compact on Educatio

In the Marianist Encounters Newsletter, November 2025 - January 2026 issue, we honor Our Lady of Lourdes on her feast day, February 11, also the World Day of the Sick. This issue also provides updates from Marianist Institutions around the US and highlights the teachings of Pope Leo XIV, including the Apostolic Exhortation Dilexi Te and the Apostolic Letter, Drawing New Maps of Hope. The final section features extensive quotes from Blessed Adèle de Batz de Trenquelléon on pre

Our MFEP Conference 2024: Follow-up Conversations Series for Participants resulted in fruitful exchanges of experiences, ideas, and opportunities. Given below is a brief synopsis of the two days of Conversations on Jan 12 and Jan 20. Jan 12, 2026 Conversation We had a 45-minute conversation that included a welcome, prayer, introductions, and sharing. We had three Marianist Encounters Committee members, including our co-chair Sr. Leanne Jablonski, FMI, and   three MFEP Confere

Our Marianist Schools, Universities, Parishes, and Institutions in the US and internationally celebrated Marianist Heritage Week this January. Whether it is called Founders Week, Chaminade Week, Marianist Heritage Week, or—for some—Marianist Heritage Month, every January, Marianist institutions pause to celebrate the humble yet bold beginnings of the Society of Mary. Across schools, parishes, libraries, and ministries, the Marianist Family once again made visible a living cha

The seven commitments of the Global Compact on Education (GCE), the seven action areas of the Laudato Si' Action Platform (LSAP), and the Characteristics of Marianist Education (CMEs) form the bases for our five Marianist Encounters' goals . Pope Leo XIV wrote about the Global Compact on Education in his Apostolic Letter, Drawing New Maps of Hope, and added three priorities to its seven commitments. Promulgated by the Second Vatican Council in 1965 under Pope Paul VI, Graviss

Pope Leo XIV has announced 2026 as a special Jubilee Year to commemorate the eight hundredth anniversary of the death of Saint Francis of Assisi. The Franciscan Jubilee Year, running from January 10, 2026, to January 10, 2027, invites all believers and communities to adopt the simple and fraternal lifestyle of St. Francis of Assisi. Building on the momentum of the 2025 Ordinary Jubilee, this period focuses on spiritual renewal through peace, fraternity, and a profound respect

The Marianist Family Encounters Project (MFEP) is promoting the Marianist Family’s call to action on climate change. Marianist Social Justice Collaborative (MSJC) and Marianist Environmental Education Center (MEEC) released a joint statement that outlines four key areas, along with steps for contemplation, ongoing education, and action. Link: Marianist Family’s Call to Courageous Action on the Climate Crisis The Marianist Family is deeply concerned about the impacts of the cl

St. Mary’s University, San Antonio, TX, is offering a scholarship program to educate and train future STEM teachers with a focus on environmental themes. Please see the NSF Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program at St. Mary’s University.   St. Mary’s University was awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant in 2025 for the education of future STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) teachers. The Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program at St. Mary’s University is seeki

This Christmas season, Marianist Schools turned faith into action through works of charity and love. St. John Vianney in St. Louis, MO, combined fun and charity by hosting a pajama day bake sale and raised funds for a local children’s hospital. The class of 2031 at Colegio San José in Puerto Rico volunteered at the island’s only children’s hospital and shared their joy with the patients. Purcell Marian in Cincinnati, OH, hosted a coats-and-gloves drive for free concession tre

The Marianist Magnificat, December 2025, highlights Marianists' works of justice for the poor and marginalized in Lima, Peru, especially during this Christmas season. More than 30 years ago, Father Eduardo Arens, SM, began the incredible work of providing breakfast to many people living in shantytowns on the outskirts of Lima, Peru. These people are very poor and live in an area with harsh winters.   In the context of food insecurity in Peru, in 2025, the CLM youth of Lima co

St. Mary’s South Side Catholic High School, St. Louis, MO, and its Dragon LIFE group honored Our Lady of Guadalupe. The school also celebrated its Latino students, providing an opportunity for cultural learning and enrichment.  Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe December 12, 2025   Our Lady of Guadalupe’s feast day this year allowed us to have a guest speaker at St. Mary’s to share about Our Lady of Guadalupe. Niko Lignore, a friend of St. Mary South Side’s Campus Minister, came

Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory (CMCP), Hollywood, FL, English department, promoted Goal 4 of the Marianist Encounters through the Global Compact on Education’s commitment to finding new ways of understanding the economy, politics, growth, and progress that can truly stand at the service of the human person and the entire human family, within the context of an integral ecology. Many CMCP faculty members would ask me how they can incorporate the Goals of the Marianist Fa