History
St Gregory's College, Campbelltown
Marist Brothers' community
In the wake of the social upheavals that troubled France after the French Revolution, Fr Marcellin Champagnt (1789-1830) was a young priest working in a small rural district near Lyon in southern France. One day, he visited a house where a young boy was dying. As Champagnat spoke with the boy, it became clear that the boy had not received a formal education, nor did he know anything about God. From that moment, Champagnat devoted his life to forming a group of Brothers whose purpose it would be to educate children, especially those from rural and disadvantaged areas, and to make Jesus known to young people. The vision of Fr Champagnat attracted many men to join the Marist Brothers and from the small beginnings in Lyon the vision and work of the Marist Brothers has spread to nearly 80 countries across the world.
In 1872, the Marist Brothers arrived in Australia. Four Brothers arrived and began the first Marist school in Australia at Harrington Street, Church Hill, Sydney. In the following decades, more Marist Brothers arrived and more schools opened both in the Sydney region and in the country areas of New South Wales.
The St Gregory's College, Campbelltown community of Marist Brothers was formed in 1923 as a result of the Marist Brothers accepting the invitation of Thomas Donovan to establish a training school to teach boys farming skills. The original concept of the project never eventuated despite the presence of the Marist Brothers' community. However, Donovan and the Brothers did agree to start a school, which became St Gregory's College, and it opened in 1926 .
Read more about the history by opening the Marist community at Campbelltown pdf.
This article is taken from, Good Christians and good citizens: An outline history of the Marist Brothers of the Province of Sydney school ministry 1872-2010 by Br Brian Etherington (pages 38-39).
Read more about the life and charism of the founder of the Marist Brothers by by opening Marcellin Champagnat pdf
