Society of Mary is an international catholic religious congregation founded in 1817 in Bordeaux by Guillaume-Joseph Chaminade (1761-1850).
Chaminade bought the Château de Saint-Hippolyte in 1826 and turned it into a school. Thereupon, education became the priority of the Marianists.
With a presence in around thirty countries, the Society of Mary today has a thousand monks, including 70 in France. The Marianists are devoted to the Virgin Mary. Their mission is more particularly oriented towards religious education and the multiplication of Christian communities. The Marianists are highly committed to dispensing catholic teaching, but not exclusively. They are also open to anything that allows them to work in teaching the faith. To this end, they have set up the Marianist Foundation.
The Marianist Foundation was set up by the Marianist Congregation, the owners of the property, to act through education, for the personal development of women and men, young and old alike, to achieve autonomy and freedom, to become responsible and actively engaged in the development of their country.
Bringing joy and hope to all the places it is present, the Marianist Foundation acts in order to:
The Marianist Foundation affirms the fundamental role of education in the development process of a country. Marianist in inspiration, it promotes education that takes into account all aspects of the individual. It considers their real needs and history in order to help them become actors responsible for the development of their country.
To this end, it draws on the expertise it has acquired in the field of education, and promotes and networks all of the skills necessary for the execution of the projects.
