Marie de Nazareth
To Jesus, through Mary
In 1797, blessed William Joseph Chaminade, a priest from Bordeaux was constrained to flee in terror after the outbreak of the french revolution. He was forced to immigrate to Zaragoza, Spain where he lived for three years. He forged his Marian-apostolic convictions near the shrine of Our Lady of the Pillar and was inspired to found a family of religious and laity dedicated to Mary.
In 1800 father Chaminade returned to Bordeaux and started to form congregations of men and women, directed towards the service of others, aimed at the re-christianization of France.
Two others religious institutes came from these first communities :