1 After 3 years of exile in Zaragoza, Spain, Father Chaminade returned to Bordeaux in the autumn of 1800, where he reunited the group of young men he had led earlier and on December 8th founded the Congregation (Congregation of Our Lady).
Congregation originally means "group" or "assembly," but Father Chaminade used it to mean "a gathering of Christians living in community as brothers and sisters." It is equivalent to what we now call the "Marianist Lay Community" (MLC).
2 The reason Father Chaminade devoted himself to the development of the Congregation was to deepen and nurture the faith of its members.
①As a result of the revolution, the traditional church system in France collapsed, and ignorance and indifference to religion became widespread. Under these circumstances, a non-Christian atmosphere dominated society, let alone the practice of faith. In order to remain loyal to the Catholic Church and to restore faith to his country, Father Chaminade carried out his priestly duties, even at the risk of his own life.
② In order to rebuild the church, they realized that instead of returning to the traditional church organization, they needed to "put new wine into new wineskins" (Matthew 9:17), meaning that a new era required new systems and new ways of spreading the gospel.
③ "To form a dynamic community alive with the Gospel" - this was the revelation he received at the pilgrimage site of "Our Lady of the Pillar." Just as the first Jerusalem community had a great impact on Jewish society and its surroundings, Father Chaminade also hoped that through the testimony of the Congregation, they would grow into "a holy people."
④ The Congregation aims to grow into a community that "continues to bear witness to the Gospel and the practice of the Gospel and continues to play a role." In other words, Father Chaminade emphasized the active role that lay people play in the Church. It was a missionary community of lay people that foresaw the "lay apostolate" advocated by the 2nd Vatican Council (1962-1965).
