To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the death of our founder, Father Jean Claude Colin a Marist team has organised a pilgrimage in the footsteps of Father Colin to the Marist Places of Origin from 10 to 15 November 2025. The pilgrims reside at La Neylière and visit every day a significant place for our common Marist History.
Odile de Villenaut reports day by day from the pilgrimage:
30 pilgrims gathered for the week and and started their journey in the morning from La Neyliere to St Bonnet de Troncy by bus. We are 2 from the USA, 2 Australians, 2 Mexicans, 2 Irish, 2 Italians, 2 Canadians, 2 Africans and 16 French, priests and lay Marists from Lyon, Paris and Toulon.
This first day was dedicated to visiting Fr Colin’s birthplace, where he spent his youth. Fr Larry Duffy shared his first reflection in front of the cross in Barbery where the house of Fr Colin once stood.
We met the descendants of Pierre Colin who still live around the area or in St Bonnet de Troncy. Then we went on to the church in St Bonnet de Troncy for the second reflection. We were warmly welcomed by some of the parishioners with tea, coffee and cakes. In the town hall we all shared – Marists, the Parish priest and Colin’s family – a drink of the famous “Beaujolay” wine which is made in this region.
We also visited the place where the Jean-Claude Colin museum used to be, in the house where he grew up. The residents of the town were sad when the museum had to close. We celebrated mass at 3pm in the church. Sr Teri O’Brien and Fr Jean-Marie Bloqueau joined us as local guides.
In his homily Fr Larry noted: “We are pilgrims gathered in this church on a Marist pilgrimage, to the very place where Jean-Claude Colin was born and spent his youth. A pilgrimage is not static, it is a movement. In the Bible the pilgrim moves, he goes to the temple… A spiritual conversation is the way to evangelise today to give hope to the world and to people. Our Christian heritage and that of Fr Colin’s are helping us to attract people towards God in the Way of Mary.”
N.B: Fr Larry’s reflections and homily will be shortly available in French and in English on this site.
