The Marist Brothers is an international Religious Institute of the Catholic Church founded by a French Priest, St Marcellin Champagnat, in 1817. Members of the Institute give themselves to following Christ as Mary did, through the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. This religious commitment is lived in community and expressed in service, especially to the young. The mission given by St Marcellin to his followers was to “make Jesus Christ known and loved”. This has been achieved over the last two hundred years by educating, forming and caring for young people. Schools have been a favoured arena for the Brothers' apostolic work. Currently there are approximately 3500 Brothers working in 82 countries on five continents. The Brothers share their mission and spirituality directly with more than 40,000 lay people, and together educate close to 500,000 children and young people.