In September 1828, in a carriage that was going from Saint-Étienne to Saint-Chamond, two priests rubbed elbows with three young people wearing religious dress. Struck by these young people's modesty, one of the priests asked his confrere who these religious were. «They are,» replied the other priest, «Brothers who teach children in the country.»—«What are they called?» «The Little Brothers of Mary.»—«Who founded the community?»—«It's hard to tell. Some young people got together, wrote a rule in keeping with their aim, and an assistant priest took them under his wing. God blessed their community and made it thrive beyond all human expectations.» The priest who spoke so modestly, concealing his name and his role, was their founder, Father Marcellin Champagnat.
The ninth of ten children, Marcellin was born on May 20, 1789 in Rosey, a little hamlet in the commune of Marlhes in the department of the Loire, France. Marlhes was a farming village far from any major roads. The faith there had remained intact, maintained by the zeal of fervent priests. Nonetheless, news of the Revolution reached Marlhes, and the new ideas had their effect. Jean-Baptiste Champagnat, Marcellin's father, who had received some education, was made colonel in the canton's National Guard. This function led him to preside over the service that replaced Sunday Mass, held once every ten days in Marlhes' church, now transformed into a temple to the goddess Reason. He nonetheless took his sister, a nun, into his home, and allowed his wife and children to attend Masses celebrated in secret by priests who remained faithful to the Church despite the new laws, hidden in the area. His wife, although shyer than him, did not lack personality.
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