Italy

The Marist community has been present in Castiglion Fiorentino (Arezzo - Tuscany) since 1909. They established a minor seminary connected to the Shrine of Our Lady of Grace of Rivaio, which dates back to the 1600s. The school was closed in 1976. In 1964 the Rivaio Shrine became a parish in its own right. Today the community serves both the parish of Rivaio and several other parishes in the area in collaboration with a strong team of lay faithful. Some of them form a local group of Marist Laity, sharing in the spirituality of the Society of Mary.

Situated in a picturesque location on a hill between Turin and Moncalieri, Villa Santa Maria was bought by the Marists in 1906 as a second novitiate after the expulsion of the religious from France. From 1922 to 1924 it was also the provisional headquarters of the General Administration of the Society while awaiting transfer to Rome. In the following years, Villa Santa Maria has been a university hostel, a Marist novitiate and community for  Italian Marists in training. Today the community consists of retired and active Marists, some of whom are involved in local parishes, chaplaincies and other pastoral activities. It offers hospitality to spirituality groups and individuals. The adjoining building houses a social cooperative (Il Ricino) founded by the Marists and lay people, which accommodates and supports a community of single mothers and their children.

On 14 August 1924, the Marists entered Pratola Peligna (Abruzzo) to take charge of the Shrine and parish of Santa Maria della Libera. Despite the poverty which people faced, Marists succeeded in revitalising the Christian life there, both pilgrims to the shrine and the local population. Today, the community is dedicated to the service of the parish and shrine. One member of the community serves as chaplain to the nearby Sulmona prison.

In preparation for the Holy Year 1950, the Marists undertook two large building projects on the outskirts of Rome, the school of St John the Evangelist and the parish church dedicated to St Francesca Cabrini. The school was closed in 2017 and the Marymount Foundation continues to run an educational project there. Today the third and fourth floors of the same building accommodates the Marist international formation house, the Casa di Maria. The parish of St Francesca Cabrini inaugurated in 1959,  was one of the first parishes in Rome to welcome the new ecclesial movement, the Neocatechumenal Way in 1969.

The Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in Corso Francia (Turin) was inaugurated on 22 October 1911. The apse of the Romanesque style church is fashioned in the form of the grotto of Lourdes containing stones from the original Massabielle rock of Lourdes shrine. The Marist community serves the shrine uninterruptedly to this day. It offers sacramental services, spiritual accompaniment, and, in collaboration with a team of lay faithful supports and welcomes homeless people and others in need.