b'I standing ovation, he says, just a littlen 1797, during the turmoil of the French Revolution andin fear for his life, Blessed William Joseph Chaminade sheepishly. He noted that the Americanfled his native France and took refuge in the Spanish students were treated like celebritiescity of Zaragoza. There he prayed before the statue of at the Spanish school.Our Lady of the Pillar in a soaring Baroque cathedral The Moeller students also enjoyed theof the same name. And there he conceived of a plan to privilege of walking in Chaminades owncreate what we know now as the Marianist Family. footsteps during a visit to the Basilica ofIn the 200-plus years since, Zaragoza has maintained Our Lady of the Pillar. Jack and Fergusa special significance for the Marianist Family. And the were impressed with the basilicas dra-ties among members of the global Marianist Family matic architecture and with the pilgrimsare affirmed today in ways that likely would surprise who were there to venerate the statueand please Father Chaminade.of Our Lady of the Pillar.The statue isnt very big, says Fergus,Family ties but there was a long line of people thereOne such tie is between Archbishop Moeller High to kiss the pillar. The basilicas famedSchool, a Marianist-sponsored high school in Cincinnati, statue of Our Lady is about 15 inchesand Colegio Santa Mara del Pilar, a Marianist school tall and perches on a column of jasper. According to The Basilica of Our Lady of thein Zaragozaone of 17 Marianist schools in Spain tradition, the icon was given to St. James by Mary in an Pillar, Zaragoza, Spain, whereand among the nearly 100 Marianist-sponsored apparition not long after Jesus death and Resurrection. Father Chaminade prayed anddiscerned his lifes work andschools worldwide. mission. (For a photo of theEach year since 2004, the schools have conducted Repaying the welcome statue of Our Lady of the Pillar,an exchange program, sending Cincinnati students In September, a contingent of students from Zaragoza see page 26.)to Zaragoza in January and hosting students from will arrive in Cincinnati to reconnect with their AmericanZaragoza the following September.peers and experience life at a typical American CatholicThe exchange, which lasts about five weeks, offers high school.students a chance to hone their skills in Spanish or Both Jack and Fergus are eager to show their SpanishEnglish, respectively, experience a different culture friends life in the United States and how Archbishopand see Father Chaminades legacy in a new light. Moeller High expresses Marianist Family Spirit. The students live with host families; a Moeller boy Moeller is all about brotherhood. Were alwaysresides with the family of the student who will stay here for one another. I want these guys (the Spanishwith his family a few months later.students) to feel that, too,and I want to make surethey have fun, Fergus says.A standing ovation Joaquin will be welcomed here, says Jack, namingThe Moeller students stay in Zaragoza coincided the Spanish student with whom he lived. His familywith the schools observance of Chaminade Day, was so welcoming to me. Im looking forward to which commemorates the death of Father Chaminade repaying that.on Jan. 22, 1850. Marianist schools around the globe Rob Vitolo is a Spanish teacher at Moeller and thecelebrate their founder on or around this day with programs American coordinator. The Marianist aspectMasses and special activities. of this program gives these kids an instant connection.The Marianist Family spirit of the observances is, I think its a really universal thing, Rob says. All theperhaps not surprisingly, fairly universal. There were students who participate in the exchange grow in theirfood and games outsidelots of activities, says Jack language skills, but they also learn how to be globalStethem, one of four Moeller students who participated citizenshow to connect across cultures.in the exchange this year. The little kids made treats More than 200 years on, it seems likely that Fatherfor everyone. It was very sweet. Chaminade would be pleased at the connections andFellow Moeller traveler, Fergus Black, had the budding friendships across the Marianist Family.special Chaminade Day honor of saying a prayer inSpanish for a group of nearly 300 students. I got a Carol Dexter is a freelance writer from Columbia, Illinois.To learn more about Our Lady of the Pillar, visit this page from the North American Center for Marianist Studies: nacms.org/resources/our-lady-pillar-patroness.marianist.com/donate 15'