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| Image: Official portrait of Marcellin Champagnat |
His family were peasants living near Lyons, France and he was born in the same year the French Revolution started. He was poor and illiterate because of the collapse of education, however, a visiting priest encouraged him to become a priest. At the age of sixteen, he entered the seminary but he struggled academically. This inspired him to help others combat illiteracy and spiritual poverty due to the violence and chaos the French Revolution created. In 1816 he was ordained and he bought a house the next year, opened a school, and recruited some peasants to help him in the new community. They were devoted to Our Lady and helped young people have a proper Christian education. He organised the school year according to the farming seasons and made the fees affordable to the poor. His congregation became the Little Brothers of Mary, now known as The Marist Brothers. They are dedicated to the education of the neglected youth. By the time Marcellin died, his order had 48 establishments with 278 Brothers in France. Today, 5100 Brothers are located in over 80 countries.
