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Options for pilgrims…

...to the places of Marist origins

With the reintroduction of the Cause for Beatification of

Jean-Claude Colin, Founder of the Society of Mary, ‘Options

for Pilgrims to the places of Marist origins’ comes as a practi-

cal resource for pilgrims.

It comprises a number of separate sections, each available

in leaflet form, downloadable from

www.jeanclaudecolin.org

It is a companion to Fr Craig Larkin’s ‘Pilgrimage: a guide

book to the places of Marist origins’ .

Whilst places associated with other pioneer Marists are in-

cluded, there is an emphasis on those linked with Jean-

Claude Colin.

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The series…

1 The places

List of people and places

List, A to Z

Colin, Chanel, Chavoin, Champagnat, Courveille, Laity, other places of interest

2 Itinerary planning

3 How far, how long

4 Where to stay

5 Travel tips

6 The Bugey

7 Guide map

[Also in ‘Colin Places’, above]

Lyon: Fourvière - for centuries the ‘ancient chapel of the Virgin’ has been a place

where devout persons would seek the intercession of Mary on their future. The

twelve Marist aspirants naturally came here (Jul 23, 1816) to pledge their commit-

ment to a Society of Mary. The chapel now stands in the shadow of a large basilica

built later. It remains a place of prayer. Outside is a commanding view of the city

of Lyon. Immediately below is the cathedral of S. Jean where JCC was confirmed in

the area of ‘Vieux Lyon’ (old Lyon). A foundational place for the Society of Mary.

Essential visiting for pilgrims of all Marist branches.

Lyon: Laity Tower - where the first meeting of Marist Laity was held. It is two

mins’ walk from the Fourvie re chapel and can be seen from outside the wall of

what is now the seminary of S. Ire ne e and from the gate of the property. If you are

lucky a passing seminarian or professor may allow you into the grounds. Im-

portant to visit for Marist Laity interest - and very close to Fourvie re anyway.

Other places of interest

Within easy driving distance to the north of Lyon are Ars (St John Vianney was a

Marist Tertiary), Taize (near Cluny) and (north-west) Paray-le-Monial (site of Sa-

cred Heart apparition to St Margaret Mary Alacoque). Further north is Nevers

(incorrupt body of St Bernadette Soubirous).

Marist Laity

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Jean-Claude COLIN

Alix - second minor seminary of JCC

Annecy - visited by JCC who prayed in church of Notre Dame de Liesse

Barbery - birthplace of Jean-Claude Colin

Belley - college—first Marist residence; base for Bugey missions; bishop’s

house frequently visited by JCC; La Capucinie re—Marist residence; scene

of first professions; cathedral— JCC was a canon here

Bugey mountains - first Marist missions

Cerdon - first parish of JCC; constitutions begun

La Neylière - retirement of JCC; he died and is buried here

Lyon - Fourvie re—pledge to form SM; Puylata (nr Fourvie re) first gen-

eralate in Lyon; Laity Tower (nr Fourvie re) first Marist Laity meeting; Ste

Foy-le s-Lyon—built in JCC’s lifetime

Marseille - visited by JCC en route to Rome

Paris - visited by JCC in early years

St Bonnet le Troncy - boyhood days

St Jodard - first minor seminary of JCC

Verrières-en-Forez - third minor seminary of JCC

People and Places

Le Puy - scenic medieval and pilgrim city at the south-western limit of Marist

places; a traditional starting point for the ‘camino’ to Santiago de Compostela; it is

dominated by the giant statue of Notre Dame de France and the chapel of S.

Michel, each standing on a massive ‘puy’ (volcanic plug). Several accommodation

options for pilgrims with a variety of hotels and hostels. Worthy of visiting in its

own right. Lots of steps and stairs.

Le Puy: cathedral (Notre Dame du Puy) - standing beneath the statue of N.D. de

France, site of miraculous healing of Jean-Claude Courveille (1809) and later an

inspiration to form the Society of Mary (1812); sanctuary has Black Madonna and

Child statue and circle of lamps, originally the source of healing oil for pilgrims

(incl Jean-Claude Courveille). Once in Le Puy, essential visiting.

Usson - Birthplace of Jean-Claude Courveille (1787).

( Jean-Claude Courveille was also associated with Marist places in Lyon and at

L’Hermitage )

Courveille

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Jeanne-Marie CHAVOIN

Belley /Bon Repos - first ’mother house’ of Marist Sisters; JMC buried

here

Cerdon - first Marist Sisters’ community

Coutouvre - birthplace of JMC

Jarnosse - convent built here; place of JMC’s death

Pradines - place of retreat for JMC

Marcellin CHAMPAGNAT

La Valla - first parish of MC; first Marist Brothers’ school

L’Hermitage (nr St Chamond) - built by MC and early Brothers

Marhles/Le Rosey - birthplace of MC

Jean-Claude COURVEILLE

Le Puy en Velay - healing and experience of call by Blessed Virgin Mary

Usson-en-Forez - birthplace of J-C Courveille

Peter CHANEL

Amberieu - first parish appointment as curate

Belley - college ministry; profession; links with Marist Sisters

Bourg en Bresse/Brou - seminary studies & ordination of PC

Cras - early education

Crozet - first appointment as parish priest

Cuet/La Potière - birthplace of PC

Montrevel - baptism of PC

Meximieux - minor seminary of PC

Le Rosey (Rozey) - MC was born in this hamlet (1789); the house is still stand-

ing; windows in the chapel depict events in MC’s life

Marhles - site of the original parish church and place of baptism of MC; present

church built 1889; site of one of the first Marist Brothers’ school, existing still

La Valla - village in Pilat mountains, place of MC’s parish appointment soon after

ordination; site of first community/school of Marist Brothers; original community

setting, with adjacent modern facilities

St Chamond: L’ Hermitage - close to La Valla and first major centre of Marist

Brothers (1824); MC died here (1840) and his relics are in the chapel; extensive,

modern conference facilities; accommodation options for pilgrims, esp with Mar-

ist Brothers’ interest.

All places are essential visiting for interest in Champagnat and the Marist Broth-

ers.

Champagnat

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Alix - The second minor seminary attended by Jean-Claude Colin

Amberieu - Peter Chanel’s first parish appointment (as assistant priest) after

ordination

Annecy - Visited by Jean-Claude Colin who prayed in the church of Notre

Dame de Liesse

Barbery - Birthplace of Jean-Claude Colin

Belley - College—first Marist residence and second base for Bugey missions |

Bishop’s house frequently visited by Jean-Claude Colin | La Capucinie re—

Marist residence and scene of first professions | Cathedral— Jean-Claude Colin

was a canon here | Bon Repos—’mother house’ of Marist Sisters; Jean-Marie

Chavoin is buried here

Bourg en Bresse/Brou - Seminary and ordination of Peter Chanel

Bugey mountains - Scene of pioneer Marist missions in twenty-seven towns

& villages

Cerdon - First parish of Jean-Claude Colin | Writing of SM constitutions begun

here | First base for Bugey missions | First Marist Sisters’ community

Coutouvre - Birthplace of Jeanne-Marie Chavoin

Cras - Early education of Peter Chanel

Crozet - First appointment as parish priest of Peter Chanel

Cuet - Birthplace of Peter Chanel (La Potie re hamlet)

A to Z

Coutouvre - birthplace of JMC (1786); family home is very close to the parish

church (see stained window with JMC and others from the village); house now

owned by friendly family; consult JMC Centre, Belley, re possibility of visiting;

short drives to Jarnosse and Pradines, below.

Jarnosse - JMC built a convent here (1855); building still standing; JMC died

here (1858) and was first buried here.

Pradines - Benedictine monastery where JMC and other Sisters came for retreat

and prayer.

Cerdon - Sisters first lived in the presbytery, before moving to their own commu-

nity residence ; visit may be possible through the JMC Centre, Belley. Also parish

church, with contemporary Marist display including Sisters’ place in Cerdon.

Belley: Bon Repos - Final burial place of JMC (behind panels at rear of the chap-

el); former ’mother house’ of Marist Sisters, now a retirement centre, with small

community of active Sisters; ’Centre J-M Chavoin’ with its historical displays and

staff may afford assistance in visiting nearby Marist places (in Belley, and

throughout the Bugey, to Cerdon; also to Chanel places).

Chavoin

L’Hermitage (Notre Dame de l’Hermitage) - Built by Marcellin Champagnat and early Marist Brothers | Marcellin Champagnat died here and his relics are here

Jarnosse - Convent built here by Jeanne-Marie Chavoin | Jeanne-Marie Chav-oin died here

La Neylière - Place of retreat and retirement for Jean-Claude Colin | Jean-Claude Colin died and is buried here

La Potière - Hamlet where Peter Chanel was born, near the village of Cuet

La Valla - First parish of Marcellin Champagnat | First Marist Brothers’ school

Le Puy en Velay - Healing of Jean-Claude Courveille and experience of call by Blessed Virgin Mary

Lyon - Fourvie re—pledge to form SM | Puylata (near Fourvie re) first SM gen-eralate in Lyon | Laity Tower (near Fourvie re) - first Marist Laity meeting | Ste Foy-le s-Lyon—residence, scholasticate and novitiate built in Jean-Claude Colin’s lifetime

Marhles—Le Rosey - Birthplace of Marcellin Champagnat

Marseille - Visited by Jean-Claude Colin en route to Rome

Meximieux - Place of minor seminary attended by Peter Chanel and staffed by some early Marists

Montrevel - Parish, near Cuet, where Peter Chanel was baptised

Paris - Visited by Jean-Claude Colin in early years

Pradines - Place of retreat for Jean-Marie Chavoin

St Bonnet le Troncy— Boyhood home of Jean-Claude Colin

St Jodard - The first minor seminary attended by Jean-Claude Colin

Usson-en-Forez - Birthplace of Jean-Claude Courveille

Verrières-en-Forez - The third minor seminary attended by Jean-Claude Colin

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La Potière - hamlet birthplace of Peter Chanel

Cuet - village close to La Potie re; some relics in parish church; adjacent museum;

the well outside the church dates from Peter Chanel’s time

Montrevel - place of baptism of Peter Chanel, short distance from Cuet

Cras - place of early schooling of Peter Chanel; also first Communion and first

Mass in parish church — see the plaque near the side chapel altar commemorat-

ing this event

Meximieux - Peter Chanel was a student the minor seminary here

Brou - part of the city of Bourg and place of seminary studies and ordination of

Peter Chanel

Amberieu - where Peter Chanel was first appointed after ordination, to the west

of the Bugey mountains

Crozet - in the Jura mountains, not far from Geneva, where Peter Chanel was par-

ish priest, before joining the Marists

Belley - Peter Chanel was at different times rector and spiritual director of the

minor seminary here

Chanel

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Barbery - The hamlet where Jean-Claude Colin was born (Aug 07, 1790) in the

Beaujolais region of central France, north-west of Lyon. A memorial cross and

plaque mark the place of the Colin home in the picturesque countryside, with the

adjacent forest where M. Colin would hide the parish priest during the Revolution

and where the young Colin would retire for quiet and seclusion. Take a walk into

the forest from the track behind the Colin site. Essential visiting for JCC pilgrims.

St Bonnet-le-Troncy - 5 mins’ drive from Barbery; the village where JCC spent

much of his boyhood. The Colin Museum (his uncle’s former house) is well worth

a visit; it is a few metres from the parish church (rebuilt in 1821).

St Jodard, Alix & Verrières-en-Forez - sites of three minor seminaries/

secondary schools for JCC. Little remains today of significant buildings, so visits

are optional unless there is special interest.

Lyon - second city of France (older than Paris); diocese of Marist beginnings and

central to all Marist places; several accommodation options for pilgrims, esp in Ste

-Foy-le s-Lyon area.

Lyon: (S Irénée - a Metro railway station situated between the Sao ne and Rho ne

rivers in central Lyon now stands on the site of the major seminary of St Irenaeus

once attended by JCC and other Marist pioneers.

So nothing to see there. The present seminary of S. Ire ne e is opposite the shrine

of Fourvie re and has in its grounds the original ‘Laity Tower’, see below)

Colin

Belley: cathedral/bishop’s house - site of many meetings (and some confron-

tations) between JCC and Bishop Raymond Devie (buried inside the cathedral in

side area); JCC (reluctantly) became a canon of the cathedral.

Belley: La Capucinière - Second residence for the early Marists; now a school

facility, although the chapel still used for religious purposes; original steps exist

on which the Marists knelt for the first professions and election of JCC as superior

-general (Sep 24, 1836)

Belley: cemetery - 5 min’s drive on the outskirts of the town; some early Mar-

ists (priests, brothers and sisters) are buried there

Bugey - part of the ‘massif’ dividing France and Switzerland and site of the first

Marist missions in twenty-seven of its parishes (1825-1829); most churches are

locked, but key locations may possibly be available from J-M Chavoin Centre at

Bon Repos; for reflective visiting better to chose just a few and spend time at

each; an exhaustive visit would take several days. Essential visiting for a sense of

early Marist missions; picturesque mountain scenery; in winter some roads may

be cut by snow.

La Neylière - in the countryside near the village of Pomeys and less than an

hour’s drive from Lyon; place of retirement, and eventual death (Nov 15, 1875) of

JCC; JCC’s bedroom and study are special points of interest; also historical dis-

plays on JCC, early years and Oceania missions. An accommodation option for

pilgrims, with various room choices for individuals or groups.

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Lyon: Fourvière - for centuries the ‘ancient chapel of the Virgin’ has been a

place where devout persons would seek the intercession of Mary on their future.

The twelve Marist aspirants naturally came here (Jul 23, 1816) to pledge their

commitment to a Society of Mary. The chapel now stands in the shadow of a large

basilica built later. It remains a place of prayer. Outside is a commanding view of

the city of Lyon. Immediately below is the cathedral of S. Jean where JCC was con-

firmed in the area of ‘Vieux Lyon’ (old Lyon). A foundational place for the Society

of Mary. Essential visiting for pilgrims of all Marist branches.

Lyon: Laity Tower - where the first meeting of Marist Laity was held. It is two

mins’ walk from the Fourvie re chapel and can be seen from outside the wall of

what is now the seminary of S. Ire ne e and from the gate of the property. If you are

lucky a passing seminarian or professor may allow you into the grounds. Im-

portant to visit for Marist Laity interest - and very close to Fourvie re anyway.

Lyon: Puylata - situated on one of the roads leading up to Fourvie re, this was

the first generalate of the Society of Mary when JCC moved from Lyon in 1839. It

is now a secondary school. Access is through knowing someone on the staff. The

rooms of early Marists are now used for school purposes. JCC’s room/s are no

longer identifiable. An outside view maybe the best to hope for.

Lyon: Ste Foy - still a Marist residence in the area of Ste-Foy-le s-Lyon, to the

immediate south of Lyon central. It was built in JCC’s lifetime and visited many

times by him for chapters, meetings and visits to the scholastics who studied

there. Some active Marists and a retirement community live there, though little

English is spoken. An accommodation option for pilgrims. The No. 8 bus (from

Lyon Perrache station) stops at the main entrance. Security on the front gate

means prior contact with the community (en français). The chapel has special

memories and once held the remains of St Peter Chanel.

Cerdon - Nestling in the congruence of three valleys at the northern end of the

Bugey mountains, it is a picturesque town (famous for the bubbly pink wine-

producing grapes of its vineyards) and the first parish appointment of JCC (Aug

1816 to mid-1825) as assistant to older brother, Pierre.

Cerdon: presbytery - home for JCC (1816-1825); JCC began work on SM consti-

tutions here; rebuilt by the Colin brothers in 1822.

A community of the Dominican Sisters of the Eucharist now live in the presbytery;

check with them re daily 9 am Mass in their chapel, and Sunday Mass in the

church. (Also Marist Sisters’ first community residence, see below, Chavoin plac-

es.) Essential visiting for JCC pilgrims.

Cerdon: church - 15th century church of St John the Baptist; stands next to the

presbytery; Colin brothers heard confessions in the Lady Chapel; original statue of

Our Lady is on the left at the back of the church; clock tower destroyed in the Rev-

olution, rebuilt in 1844; church extended in 1863.

Cerdon: La Coria - track leads from Cerdon to the village Merignat; site of JCC’s

experience of the Blessed Virgin (1823) on his way to Belley to visit the bishop.

Belley - historic town at the southern edge of the Bugey mountains; places of

Marist interest, below, are within easy walking distance of each other (except

cemetery). Several accommodation options for pilgrims. Essential visiting for JCC

pilgrims.

Belley: college - first residence of the pioneer Marist missionaries; later JCC ap-

pointed as rector and eventually staffed by Marists; now ‘College Lamartine’, Cath-

olic secondary school; access only with permission of school staff; original chapel;

statue of St Peter Chanel in main courtyard with statue of BV Mary erected by JCC

in 1833.