Marist Fathers
This page will provide information on the Marist Fathers
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The Marist Fathers
Chanel College |
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Fr. Jean-Claude Colin, founder of the Marist Fathers |
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The Marists had been in Coolock since they established Chanel College in 1954,but in 1993 they were invited by the Archbishop to run the parish. They brought a spirit of renewal, which can be seen in their ambitious building programme. Their first task was to re-roof the church, which although only twenty years old was suffering from damp. As part of the project, a beautiful baptistery was added which incorporated stained glass from the old church (see this illustrated at the top of chapter 8).
The Marists also rebuilt the priests house: it is now not only a comfortable presbytery, but it includes an oratory and a number of meeting rooms. More ambitious still was the decision to convert the old church into a parish centre. A 'Hall Committee' was formed and with the help of imaginative architects (Paul Arnold) the cold and damp disused church was converted into a facility of which the parishioners are justifiably very proud. It contains not only meeting rooms and offices, but a magnificent assembly room/hall, which is used for a variety of parish and community activities.