A Pilgrim of Hope: Jubilee Year a Time for Reflection, Renewal, and Rejoicing, Writes Mereoni, Principal of Marist Champagnat Institute, Fiji

As a Catholic and Marist educator in Fiji, being a “Pilgrim of Hope” during this Jubilee year carries profound significance. For me, this is a time set aside for reflection, renewal and rejoicing, where the journey takes on special meaning. This is also a time where I reflect on my relationship with God and with others., while recognising the grace and challenges that come with being part of the Catholic faith.

Mereoni Matanitobua

As a Marist Educator, this pilgrimage year is about embracing the values that underpin the Marist mission, particularly humility, simplicity and the love of Mary. In that realm, with the Marist pillar emphasising the ‘Presence of Mary’, it calls me to be present to the needs of my special and inclusive students of Marist Champagnat Institute, to walk alongside them and to encourage them to face their challenges with confidence.

Today, as I sit under the mango trees in school, while my students do their duties, I see the many faces in one body. Faces that reflect hope, resilience, curiosity, solidarity, and service - values that are at the heart of the Marist charism.

A class in session.

As their Principal, I am privileged to witness this unfolding journey and to support them as they grow in faith, knowledge, and the profound hope that is central to their identity as young Catholics and Marists. Their faces remind me that my work is not just about educating minds, but about nurturing hearts full of hope, ready to take on the world with faith and love.

For some students, the journey of hope is not without struggle. They come into MCI with their own brokenness and in their first year, the school allows them to heal at their own pace & space. There are challenges - personal, family, or societal - that they must face. But I sit here and see the courage in their faces as they rise above these difficulties.

Mereoni with the students of MCI.

They embody the spirit of the “pilgrim” by continuing their journey despite setbacks, trusting in God’s guidance, and believing in the transformative power of hope. Their faces show strength, not because their paths are easy, but because they have the courage to walk them with faith and trust in the future. This creates an urge in me to fan this flame of hope; that drug battle, non-communicable diseases, climate crisis, social media influence, truancy, family break-up & separation etc. will not drastically affect my students’ lives nor they be quickly influenced by these social ills.

The Marist mission, rooted in the example of Marcellin Champagnat, invites us to be hopeful, not just for ourselves, but for the world. The faces of my students are filled with the joy of being part of something bigger than their individual journeys. I pray that my service here at Marist Champagnat Institute will transform hurt into hope. With hope as our companion, I also pray that my students find belonging and solidarity in their vulnerability.

Mereoni is a member of the Fiji Champagnat Lay Marists.

Written by Mereoni Matanitobua, Principal of MCI