History: The District of Brasil traces its origins to a meeting of the Council of the Society in Wellington in 1980 (CS 80). At this meeting it was decided that the Society of Mary would begin a new form of mission experience, known as implantation. The idea was that the Society of Mary would offer its charism to a particular local Church in the hope that, with local vocations, the Society of Mary would become established where it had not previously existed. Two countries were chosen for this new experience The Philippines and Brasil.

The first four Marist, including Michael Mahoney of the New Zealand Province arrived in São Paulo just before Christmas in 1981.

The Purpose: We are called to bring to birth the Society of Mary in Brasil, the largest Catholic country in the world. For that reason all our current works were chosen with this goal in mind and each of them expresses something of Marist values that we desire to model to young Brasilians interested in being Marists.

Curitiba: Curitiba is a city of 1.8 million people in southern Brasil. In this city we work in the area of Campus ministry at the Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná. Not only does this ministry express our commitment to education, but as the University belongs to the Marist Brothers, we also wish to model working together with other branches of the Marist Family.

Curitiba also has our House of Initial Formation. Currently there are 10 students at different stages of formation. Paddy O’Neil coordinates activities in Curitiba.

Colombo: Not far from Curitiba Barry Malone is the Novice Master at the International Latin American Novitiate. This Novitiate serves the Districts of Brasil and Peru-Venezuela, as well as the Province of Mexico. Currently there are four novices in training.

São Paulo: São Paulo is one of the largest cities in the world with 17 million people and more and more people flooding in daily. At Campo Limpo the Marists assumed a parish 15 years ago. In reality it was a “parish” only on paper at that time. We have taken up the challenge to build up the Church where it did not previously exist and now the community is fully autonomous. In fact in the area originally given to the Marist there are now three parishes due to the ongoing internal migration of Brasil. At the end of this year we plan to devolve to the Diocese one of these parishes and progressively do the same with the other two. We see our task as Marists to build up and then move on to more needy areas. As missionaries we cannot become too comfortable.

Belo Horizonte: In this city we have a House for Ministry. We wanted to show our young people that Marists don’t just work in parishes, but that we serve the Church in other ways too. Paul Mahony, an Australian Marist, works in two of the many prisons that ring the city. He also coordinates Prison Ministry for the Archdiocese. Other ministries, developed from the house, include work with young people at risk, spiritual direction and retreat work. Given the shortage of priests the community helps out at diocesan parishes during the weekend.

Bahia: This is the rural mission so dear to the heart of our Founder, Fr. Colin. In an area noted for its poverty and drought we have a team of three priests, including Michael Mahoney and our first Brasilian Marist priest, José Roberto Furtuoso, six parishes in a radius of 120 km. The team also actively participates in the formation of the laity within the Diocese of Caetité by giving courses and coordinating at a diocesan level Youth Ministry, Family Ministry and Catechetical formation.

Our team in Brasil is truly an international one with Marist priests from New Zealand, Australia, Canada, The United States, Mexico, The Congo, Germany and Italy.

After 20 years of ministry all the indications are that, with the help of the Holy Spirit, the Society of Mary will not only come to birth in Brasil but will flourish here.