This month, members of the Marist family from across the United States returned from the biennial Pilgrimage to L'Hermitage, a week-long experience that invites participants to encounter the places where the Marist story began. Open to Marist Brothers, Marist Young Professionals, Lay Marists, and Marists of Champagnat, the pilgrimage offers a unique opportunity to deepen one's understanding of the Marist charism while walking in the footsteps of St. Marcellin Champagnat.
Throughout the journey, pilgrims visited many of the most significant places in Marist history. They prayed at Fourvière in Lyon, where the original Marist promise was made in 1816, reflected in La Valla, where Marcellin gathered the first Brothers and began bringing his dream to life, and explored the places that continue to tell the story of the Marist vocation.
The group also spent time at Notre-Dame de L'Hermitage, the spiritual heart of the Marist Brothers, where Marcellin and the early Brothers built a home that continues to welcome Marists from around the world. Pilgrims walked the Champagnat Trail between La Valla and L'Hermitage, following the same path traveled by Marcellin himself while reflecting on their own journeys of faith and vocation.
The pilgrimage also included visits to Le Puy, where devotion to Mary helped shape the early Marist vision, and to the ecumenical community of Taizé, offering participants additional opportunities for prayer, silence, and encounter with Christians from around the world.
Held every other year, the Pilgrimage to L'Hermitage continues to provide members of the Marist family with a meaningful opportunity to reconnect with our origins, deepen relationships across vocations, and return home renewed in the spirit of St. Marcellin Champagnat and the shared call to make Jesus Christ known and loved.
