Tarmac Online

By: Blake Lou Weaver ’27

For five decades, the Marianists of Long Island have been working tirelessly to form the minds, hearts, and souls of the young people who enter their schools. Their work has been fruitful, as generations upon generations of Long Islanders have been shaped by their tireless commitment and dedication. On August 18, 1976, the Province of Meribah was established to serve the Catholic community of Long Island, and as the Province celebrates its 50th anniversary, it remains just as committed to its mission and purpose as it was a half century ago.

The Society of Mary was founded by Blessed William Joseph Chaminade in 1817, with the mission of bringing Christianity back to France following the French Revolution, a time when religion—especially Catholicism—was targeted and suppressed. Fr. Chaminade believed the key to bringing Catholicism back to France was to educate the youth and raise them up in the Catholic tradition. This belief led Fr. Chaminade to found the Society of Mary, to provide the education and faith formation that he believed was needed.

Marianists began to arrive in the United States in the 1840s to serve the rising population of German speaking immigrants in the Midwest. By the early 1900s, the presence of the Marianists had grown significantly in the United States, and in 1915 they operated several Catholic schools in the Diocese of Brooklyn, including Most Holy Trinity High School in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

As the Catholic population in New York began to grow in the late 1920s, Bro. Alexander Ott, SM, Principal of Most Holy Trinity High School, searched for a location to build a new school in the “countryside” of Nassau County, anticipating the eastward expansion of the Catholic community. Bro. Alexander would go on to purchase a 5.37 acre plot of land on the south side of Jericho Turnpike, and on September 15, 1930, Chaminade High School opened its doors to 145 students. Over the next few decades, this small school built for a growing Catholic population would go on to become one of the most recognizable and respected names in the world of education.

In 1962, Pope St. John XXIII convened the Second Vatican Council to determine how the Church should face the changes of the modern world. Vatican Il challenged all religious organizations to reconsider the vision and goals of their founders and recommit themselves to those founding missions.

Within the New York Province of the Society of Mary, which the Marianists of Chaminade belonged to at this time, this mandate from the Second Vatican Council led to many internal differences.

These differences were ultimately resolved with the establishment of the Province of Meribah on August 18, 1976. The new Province included the Brothers of the Chaminade-Mineola Community and ministered within the Diocese of Rockville Centre. The establishment of the Province of Meribah allowed the Marianists of Long Island to “reaffirm our life mission and rededicate ourselves to education as our primary work,” said Bro. Joseph Bellizi, S.M. ’78, who has served for three years as Provincial of the Province of Meribah, overseeing all of the Brothers and works of the Province. 

The Province gets its name from the Meribah Retreat House in Muttontown, New York, purchased by the Brothers in 1970 for further spiritual formation. The retreat center is named after the place in the desert where the thirsty and tired Israelites challenged God’s faithfulness (Numbers 20), leading Moses to strike the rock with his staff and make living water rush out to refresh and reassure the Israelites.

Bro. Thomas Cleary, S.M. ’81, President of Chaminade High School and former Provincial of the Province, said that when he thinks about the fifty years of the Province, he is most struck by “how much we have grown as an educational force in this diocese.” Since its founding in 1976, the Province has taken responsibility for three new schools and four additional retreat centers. The first additional school to be added to the works of the Province was Kellenberg Memorial High School in 1987, after Bishop John McGann entrusted the Province to rename and revitalize the former Maria Regina Diocesan High School/St. Agnes Cathedral High School. Just one year later, the Bro. Joseph C. Fox Latin School was opened to offer a Marianist education to middle-school students. Then, in 2004, the pastor of St. Martha’s Parish in Uniondale, New York, invited the Marianists to assume the administration of a small Catholic elementary school. Since August 18 of that year, St. Martin de Porres School has offered a Marianist education to children from a variety of cultural backgrounds.

“The faith formation work of the Province has not just tripled, but quadrupled and more so in these fifty years, which is astounding,” said Bro. Tom.

“What I am most proud of is the continuing mission of faith formation for young people on Long Island, which has grown considerably since our foundation as a Province,” said Bro. Stephen Balletta, S.M. ’74, who has served as Vocations Minister for the Province since 2010 and made his first profession of vows in June of 1976, just two months before the Province was founded. “We’ve grown from Chaminade, which is approximately 1,700 students, to Kellenberg, which is approximately 2,700 students, and now to St. Martin de Porres, which is about 450 students. So we really expanded our impact on the number of young people whose lives we’re touching. I am very proud of that.” 

“I am also very proud of the way the Province has reached out to offer a quality Marianist education to people of lower-income brackets, and therefore more diverse racial and ethnic groups,” Bro. Stephen added. He pointed to St. Martin de Porres as the “first example” of this type of effort by the Province, but also mentioned several other initiatives to offer a Marianist education to those who otherwise might not have been able to receive one.

On Saturday, August 15, the entire Province gathered at Kellenberg Memorial High School for the Golden Jubilee Mass and a celebration. Joining the Marianists were the Sisters of Life, Little Sisters of the Poor, Dominican Friars, and Franciscan Brothers from St. Anthony’s High School. “A great deal of planning and thought went into the Golden Jubilee Mass and celebration,” said Fr. Daniel Griffin, a Provincial Assistant For Religious Life and Chaplain of Kellenberg Memorial. “I was truly touched to see so many people gathered at Kellenberg Memorial for this special occasion.”

The Mass was celebrated by the Bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, John Barres, alongside Auxiliary Bishop Andrzej Zglejszewski and eleven other priests. “What began in faith has grown through faith,” explained Bishop Barres in his closing remarks. “Across five decades, the Marianists have persevered in the mission of Catholic education and formation, helping generations of young people encounter Jesus Christ and Our Lady, know the truths of the Catholic Faith, and discover their baptismal call to holiness and mission.” He added, “The apostolic fruits of these fifty years have flowed forth like the waters at Meribah and can be seen in generations of Long Island families formed by the Marianist charism.”

On any given school day, almost 5,000 students from all across Long Island, and even beyond, enter into a Marianist school to receive a high-quality education and an even higher quality formation in their faith.

When asked about what might be responsible for the considerable growth of the Province throughout the past half century, Bro. Tom answered, “I believe we earned—not without a lot of sweat and toil—but we earned a reputation for providing excellent Catholic education in a faith-filled environment. To have our three schools flourishing today, despite challenges, is a sign that our works and our efforts are noticed.”

In order to continue its growth and impact, Bro. Tom emphasized that the Province must continue to “keep our eye on the purpose and mission of our schools, and that is the formation of young men and women, faith formation, and providing quality education, so that they are the future leaders of tomorrow…If we lose sight of that mission, then we go adrift.”

Just as it was fifty years ago, the Province remains committed to dedicating itself even further to continuing the mission and purpose envisioned by Blessed Chaminade. Since their founding, the Marianists of Meribah have not only met that expectation, but surpassed it handedly. They have ensured that each and every single one of their beloved students leaves their schools prepared intellectually to tackle the challenges of the modern world. Even more importantly, the members of the Province have cultivated in their students a deep devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and provided them with a vibrant faith in Jesus Christ and his Church. 

Over the past five decades, the Province of Meribah has contributed much to the education and faith formation of young Catholics on Long Island. We can only imagine what blessings the next half century will bring.