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CENTENARY OF THE The Marianist Province of Austria was established exactly one hundred years ago. A number of Marianist schools had been founded in Germany and in Austria beginning in 1850. Those establishments had been part of the Province of Alsace until 1906. After the persecution of religious orders in France, the General Chapter of 1905 decided to suppress the Province of Alsace. Foundations in the French-speaking areas were joined to the Province of Franche-Contée; those in the German-speaking regions became the Province of Austria. The Holy See approved of that division by a Decree of January 23, 1906. The city of Freistadt became the seat of the Provincial Administration, and the new building in Greisinghof became the location of the novitiate. At the time of its foundation, the Province numbered 116 members, of whom ten were scholastics and six novices; they were distributed among seven communities in Austria and three in Germany. With the passage of time, the Province experienced positive moments, and also very tragic ones because of two world wars. In those wars many religious were drafted. Of these, 14 died in the first World War, and 18 in the second (among these was Jacob Gapp, who had served in the first and was executed in the second). In the period between the wars, the Province experienced great development, with some 200 religious in 1938. In that year, after the annexation of Austria by Hitler’s Germany, all the works of the Province had to be closed. During the second World War many of the religious were associated with Marianist works in other countries: Turkey, China, Spain, Italy, Hungary, the United States. After the war, the Province was re-organized and most of its schools were re-opened. They flourished during that period in Graz, Vienna, Linz, Greisinghof, Freistadt, and Salsburg in Austria, and in Fulda and Kassel in Germany. The number of religious rose above 100, but with the passing years vocations became ever more sparse. The General Chapter which approved the new Rule of Life in 1981 was held in Linz. In 1998, the Province became the Region of Austria-Germany. Presently there are 24 religious, in four communities in Fulda, Freistadt, Greisinghof, and Vienna. The three large schools still directed by these religious (Vienna with 800 students; Freistadt, with 300; Fulda, Germany, with 1200) continue to highlight the spirit of Marianist education, not only in the academic programs but also in organizing specialized programs on the world of labor and on dialogue. Recently a special series of lectures was organized to study methods of outreach to the Muslims attending Catholic schools. PM (Presenza Marianista) unites itself to all those who, on the occasion of this centennial, extend to our Brothers most sincere best wishes that they may continue for a long time to come the precious and devoted service to their country.
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