Updates

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

Twelfth-grade Social Justice students from Chaminade College Preparatory High School, CA, read the Laudato Si’ encyclical and created posters with quotes from the encyclical for three proposals: Team Sea, Save the Bees, and Solar Energy. I have my 12th-grade Social Justice students interact with Laudato Si, the encyclical, after watching a video about Saint Francis and his beautiful writings about how we are to care for creation. The groups interact with Laudato Si’ and

The I Go To College program, begun in 2023 at Chaminade University, has been successful in creating a positive experience for young fifth-graders to get a taste of life at a College and University, thus instilling the desire to study beyond school. During Spring 2025, Chaminade University of Honolulu, HI, hosted 200 fifth-grade students from the Catholic schools of Hawaii to experience college life. This experience was part of the “I Go To College” program. Marianist Brother

Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory (CMCP), Hollywood, FL, gathered for its second Annual Thanksgiving Prayer Service, giving thanks to God through the prayer service. At the end of the service, the CMCP Girls Volleyball team presented the proceeds from the 16th Annual Cares Volleyball Invitational, held on September 19 and 20, 2025, to Holy Cross Hospital in support of breast cancer research and care. Goal #3 of the Marianist Family Encounters Project states that we w

Chaminade College Preparatory (CCP) in CA raised funds this year to support campus upgrades that enhance student experiences. Watch the video below. Chaminade College Preparatory’s Native Plant Nursery initiative has grown over 1000 plants and plans to give away around 400 plants for conservation efforts. The school also plans to give an additional 500 plants in the coming year for various lawn-to-habitat projects. Watch a video about Chaminade College Preparatory , CA, cam