Updates

Our Marianist Universities are actively expanding their community impact through an award-winning open-air gathering space at Chaminade University of Honolulu, a pioneering on-campus dual-credit program for high schoolers at St. Mary’s University, San Antonio, and a sustainable urban farm fostering multicultural connections connected with the University of Dayton. The newly completed Mystical Rose Oratory Pavilion at Chaminade University of Honolulu recently earned an Award o

Students in the forensic science lab at Chaminade University of Honolulu have uncovered all three ecclesiastical classes of relics of Hawaiian Saint Marianne Cope while examining soil from her original gravesite on Moloka‘i. A team of forensic science students at Chaminade University of Honolulu was tasked with analyzing soil from the original gravesite of Hawaiian Saint Marianne Cope. Through their examination, the students successfully recovered all three classes of relics.

At the University of Dayton, waste heat is now being converted into carbon-free electricity for the campus in a first-of-its-kind initiative. Through a landmark 15-year partnership with AES Ohio, Tallgrass, and Kanin Energy, the University of Dayton (UD) is now fulfilling 100% of its campus electricity needs with carbon-free power generated from industrial waste heat. Completed in early 2026, this first-of-its-kind initiative captures otherwise wasted thermal energy from a na

Managed by the Marianist Family of Valencia, Spain, on land granted by the Archdiocese, Casa de María is a missionary community that serves the neighborhood and city through social, educational, and celebratory activities rooted in the Marianist charism of solidarity, dialogue, and Christian development. Casa de María is an initiative of the Marianist Family of Valencia (most associates are members of the Marianist Lay Communities, and the Marianist religious community of the

Our Marianist Encounters team will present a workshop titled Marianist Family Encounters Project: The Journey Thus Far and the Path Ahead at the MLC-NA Assembly held in Louisville, KY. The workshop will highlight the ongoing initiatives of the Marianist Family Encounters Project (MFEP) across our Marianist ministries—schools, universities, retreat centers, organizations, and both lay and religious communities—since the project’s launch in 2022. Marianist Encounters advances t

FamilyOnline’s June 2026 issue offers a glimpse into the Marianist Province Assembly where the Society of Mary’s new Provincial Council, led by Brother Ed Violett, SM, was installed. The 2026 Marianist Province Assembly in Dayton, Ohio, gathered over 170 members of the Marianist Family under the theme “Embracing Our Roots, Forging Our Future” to explore how to carry the Marianist legacy forward while responding to the needs of a new generation. Throughout the four-day event,

Pope Leo XIV’s inaugural encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, defends human dignity and authentic relationships amid the challenges of an AI-dominated culture by framing human vulnerability as essential to depth and solidarity, and presents the Virgin Mary as the ultimate spiritual model for achieving genuine communion. Read Magnifica Humanitas, Link: Encyclical Letter of His Holiness Leo XIV Magnifica Humanitas (15 May 2026) and share your reflection on our Marianist Encounters’

Brother Tom Giardino, SM, received the Cathedral Latin School Alumni Association 2026 Merit Award as Man of the Year. This award recognizes an individual whose outstanding achievements in their field bring distinction to Cathedral Latin School. Bro. Tom Giardino’s lifelong dedication to the Marianist charism began at Cleveland's Cathedral Latin School, where the 1960 Salutatorian and student leader excelled in academics, journalism, and the school community. Following his d

Originating from the sodalities founded by Father Chaminade and Mother Adèle de Batz de Trenquelléon, the Marian Alliance (Alliance Mariale in French) is a contemporary Marianist branch comprising consecrated lay women who live independently in the world under private vows and who meet regularly to share their faith and support one another; the branch is currently seeking official recognition as a Secular Institute. In the June issue of Magnificat, the Marian Alliance (Allian

FamilyOnline’s May 2026 issue features several articles highlighting our Marianist Education and care for creation through environmental cleanups by our Marianist Schools, such as St. Mary's South Side Catholic High School and Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School. Inspired by the Marianist Family Encounters Project, students, faculty, and families from St. Mary’s South Side Catholic High School in St. Louis and Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School in Cleveland recently put its

Students and faculty from Villa Angela-St. Joseph, Cleveland, OH, joined the neighboring communities of Euclid and Collinwood for a collaborative Earth Day cleanup featuring educational environmental vendors, including Cuyahoga Waste Management and the Euclid Library. On Saturday, April 25, 2026, the City of Euclid and the Collinwood area of Cleveland joined forces to celebrate Earth Day by cleaning up the community. Members of the community went out to the parks, beaches, an

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

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

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

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