Sharing Our Marianist Stories

In June 2024 Tom Mengler will conclude twelve years of serving as the President of St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas and Winston Erevelles will begin his tenure as the University’s President. This episode provides a brief inside look into their lives. They each share how they came to the Marianist Family, how the Charism has impacted their lives, how they have seen the Charism at work through their work and leadership at St. Mary’s and the significance of Marianist Universities amid Catholic Higher Education.

Resources mentioned in this episode include:

Al Prendergast has been a Lay Marianist since he took the vow of stability in 1970. Sr. Laura Leming, FMI made first vows as a Marianist Sister in 1978 and, later, also took the vow of stability. They each participated in MSP 2.0 in 2019-2020 which focused on the topic of “Marianist Stability: Rooted Presence.” In this episode, Al and Sr. Laura share their historical and sociological research on the vow of stability and reflect on what this vow has meant in their lives. Their stories can significantly influence our understanding of how the Marianist Charism empowers us to remain committed to birthing Christ in our world today by sharing the Marianist Charism with others and standing firm amid life’s challenges.

Meghann Naveau and Nancy Woeste are Lay Marianists serving on the Dayton Marianist Family Council and have been part of the Queen of Apostles Community (or QAC) which transitioned from a non-territorial Marianist parish to a Lay Community on January 1, 2024. They share about their experiences of serving on the temporalities committee of the Dayton Marianist Family Council and how that engagement positioned them to help the Marianist Family respond to needs within the City of Dayton. They also share about the impact the Marianist Family has had on their lives and some upcoming steps for the Dayton Marianist Family to enhance their engagement in solidarity initiatives in the Dayton area. Tune in and be inspired to think about how the Marianist Family is calling you to be a catalyst for solidarity and the common good in your local context.

Sr. Nicole Trahan, FMI professed first vows of June of 2008 and serves as the Vocation Director for the Daughters of Mary Immaculate amongst many other professional roles. In this episode of Sharing Our Marianist Stories, Sr. Nicole shares about her experience in Nairobi, Kenya as a participant in the Nazareth Program, a formation program for emerging formators within the Marianist Family. After giving a brief framework of the program itself, Sr. Nicole describes the dynamic of community that developed amongst the program’s participants, how that sense of community was impacted by the diversity within the group, and how this experience fuels her ministry and her hopes for the Marianist Family.

Laura Koonce and Jon Watase are two staff members at Saint Louis School in Hawaii, a Marianist school serving boys in kindergarten through twelfth grade. In this episode of Sharing Our Marianist Stories they share about the impact of the agricultural program that Jon helped establish, how their lives have been impacted by the Marianist Family, and their experience of the 2023 Lay Marianist Assembly in St. Louis. Their insights about 'Āina-Based Learning in relation with the agricultural program at Saint Louis School are substantive reminders of the responsibility we all have to be good stewards of the Earth.