Fifty years ago, a young Br Michael Green, FMS, stepped into his first classroom, embarking on a journey that would leave an indelible mark on Marist education across Australia. Today, he stands as a towering figure - a respected scholar, beloved educator, creative thinker and cherished spiritual leader - whose influence reaches far beyond those early classroom walls.
As Br Michael celebrates his Golden Jubilee as a Marist Brother this year, his journey from a rookie teacher to the inaugural National Director of Marist Schools Australia reflects a lifetime of dedication to the Marist mission and its intellectual rigour.
He has been a pivotal figure in shaping Marist education and spirituality, not just at home but also internationally. Since 2004, Br Michael has been a member of the International Commission for Marist Spiritual Patrimony and has consistently organised formation programs across Africa, Europe and elsewhere. His scholarly work, including influential books on Marist history and education such as History of the Institute Volume 3 (2016) and Marist Education: Creative Fidelity to its Sources (2021), has been instrumental in demystifying Marist literature and making its wisdom more accessible to everyone.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Star Post, Br Michael reflects on his half-century journey as a Marist Brother while offering a nuanced analysis of the evolving landscape of Catholic education in an increasingly secular world. His unique perspective, shaped by years on the Provincial Council and other international committees, provides invaluable insight as Australia navigates complex questions about faith in the public sphere.
Br Michael’s reflections also challenge us and especially other educators, to reconsider the interplay of spirituality, pedagogy, and social responsibility in the digital age. His observations not only honour the Marist legacy but also chart a course for its continued relevance and impact in the 21st century.
Excerpts from the interview, part 1:
Your decision to join the Marist Brothers was undoubtedly a pivotal moment in your life. Can you take us back to that time and describe what led you to this calling?
My journey with the Marist Brothers began when I was about seven years old, attending what was then called Marist Brothers High School in Mosman for my primary education. After three years there, I moved on to St Joseph’s College, Hunters Hill (Joeys) which was an all-boarding school at the time.
I vividly remember my interview with Br Charles Howard (the first Australian Superior General) then Br Elias, the headmaster. As a 10-year-old, I was both nervous and excited to be in the headmaster’s office. Br Elias was familiar to me through my cousins, which made the experience a bit less daunting. I recall seeing the plans for a new teaching wing, and new senior accommodation block that was set to be constructed in 1966 and opened in 1967, my first year at the College. This development was significant, marking the first major project at the college in some years, and we were all very proud of it.
I think the key factor in me becoming a Brother myself was the Brothers who taught me. Almost all my teachers were Marist Brothers, and they were wonderful men - active, enthusiastic, excellent teachers, and very good at relating to young people. They had a range of personalities, but I thought, “I can see myself as one of them,” and I was attracted to that life.
"Almost all my teachers were Marist Brothers, and they were wonderful men - active, enthusiastic, excellent teachers, and very good at relating to young people."
I believe this is a common reason for anyone choosing a particular path in life. It’s often modelled for you. These days, young people might see it on TV or elsewhere and be drawn to a particular career or way of life. That was the case for me.
How did your family react to your decision to join the Marist Brothers, given that it’s such a lifelong commitment to a religious order?
My family wasn’t especially religious. They were wonderful people, and my mother had a deep faith, but joining a religious order wasn’t their first choice or expectation for their son. It came as a surprise to them. I wouldn’t say it was a disappointment, but it certainly wasn’t their preference. But I was given the freedom to test my own intuitions, and it meant some adjustment for them, of course.
Your journey as a Marist Brother spans decades. Please walk us through the evolution of your role within the order. How has the nature of your work - from teaching to your extensive travels - changed over the years, and what has remained constant?
It’s been my great privilege, especially over the last 25 years, to have had the opportunity to visit our Brothers and other Marists in numerous countries around the world. I have become heavily involved in writing, researching, and presenting on our history, spirituality, and approach to education.
Additionally, I have held various leadership roles, which have allowed me to travel to more than thirty of the countries where we are based. Thanks to these experiences, I have had contact with Brothers and other Marists from across the globe through different programs and courses.
I feel quite connected to our international community and the global Marist family.
However, in the first 25 years of my time as a Brother, I was entirely based in schools in Australia.
I began my teaching career in rural New South Wales, in the city of Maitland in the Hunter Valley. I then returned to Sydney to complete my university studies and was subsequently posted back to my old school, St Joseph’s for eight years. After that, I moved to Canberra, where I served as Dean of Studies and Deputy Head, and then back to Sydney as Principal at Parramatta Marist High School.
While at Parramatta, I completed my doctorate and was elected to our Provincial Council. I was then asked to become the Councillor-in-charge of our ministries, which are mainly our schools. For three or four years, I was based at the Provincial house, overseeing the educational, social welfare and solidarity ministries in the Sydney Province.
After a period of midlife renewal in 2001 in Italy and then an extended period in Israel and Palestine, I returned as Principal of our school in Cairns, St Augustine’s College, where I would have happily stayed for the rest of my life. It was a wonderful place and an excellent school!
"I walked into my first classroom 49 years ago."
However, I was invited to become the foundational National Director of Marist Schools Australia as we brought all our schools together under one banner. It was decided, with the support of Provincial leadership, that I should set up the national office in Melbourne. This involved bringing together schools associated with the Melbourne and Sydney Provinces. I helped to coalesce this new group while based in Melbourne for eight years. After that position, I served as rector of Aquinas College, a university residential college in Adelaide. So, I have lived and worked in five states and territories around Australia.
I walked into my first classroom 49 years ago, and I am still teaching in various ways. I have loved every appointment and have been sad to have had to leave each of them.
Having dedicated nearly half a century to education, how would you characterise the transformation of education since you first stepped into a classroom? In your opinion, what are the most pressing challenges facing both faith-based and secular schools today?
The biggest change, I think, is that we have experienced a digital revolution. The means for advancing teaching and learning have changed enormously as a result and continue to evolve. Having said that and speaking from my current position working with secondary school students once again, I can confidently say that kids are still kids. Marist education pivots on forming personal relationships with young people that are affirming and conducive to their growth.
I believe there’s a lot more that hasn’t changed than what has. Yes, young people are growing up in a different context in many ways. It’s more secular and pluralistic. There’s perhaps more confusion for them and a greater suspicion about meta-narratives, whether that’s Christianity, democracy, or various social structures. Much of this is more fluid and less credible than it was 50 years ago.
"Marist education pivots on forming personal relationships with young people that are affirming and conducive to their growth."
The position of church and religion has changed enormously - its role, influence, and credibility. So, they’re growing up in a different landscape in that regard. The digital revolution I mentioned has also changed all the influences on which they are exposed.
Despite all these changes, I still find that kids are fundamentally the same.
I think that as Marist educators we can relate to them as easily and readily as we could 50 years ago; at least that’s my personal experience. The core of who they are and what they need hasn’t changed, even if the world around them has.
A related question. Your doctoral research distilled Marist charismatic culture into a number of constitutive elements, including: a spirit of family, simplicity, love of work, God consciousness, presence and good example, fondness for those most in need, and daring and confidence in autonomous enterprise. In today’s hyper-connected world, marked by the pervasive influence of social media, AI, and increasing mental health concerns among youth, how do you envision these timeless Marist principles helping young people navigate these unique contemporary challenges?
As you mentioned, my doctoral research - completed over a quarter-century ago in 1997 - identified several characteristics consistent among Marist schools. The first and most prominent characteristic that emerged was what I termed a “maternal instinct for nurture.” My research used a grounded methodology, allowing terms and concepts to emerge from the survey and interview process rather than imposing predetermined criteria.
This sense of nurturance, akin to maternal care, remains one of the most significant gifts we can offer young people as they navigate childhood and adolescence. Our style is not to erect barriers or set up hoops for them to jump through on their own. Instead, it offers support in a way that empowers them to grow into the people they can be. This basic instinct in Marist educators is crucial, impactful, and very helpful for young people.
Another important Marist characteristic is that educators immerse themselves in the lives of young people. From this perspective, we work with them to nurture and help them. While the challenges might have changed, this method for addressing those challenges hasn’t.
A young person who has developed a sense of self-worth, feels deeply loved, and has a heightened sense of critical awareness, good judgment, and connectedness with others will be well-equipped to face whatever challenges come their way. I like to describe our approach as helping young people develop both the reason and the means to be people of faith, hope, and love.
"Our style is not to erect barriers or set up hoops for them to jump through on their own. Instead, it offers support in a way that empowers them to grow into the people they can be."
In essence, while the digital landscape and societal pressures have evolved, the core Marist values and approach to nurturing young people remain relevant and powerful in helping them navigate contemporary challenges.
How has your philosophy of leadership evolved through the decades? In an era of rapid social change and shifting spiritual landscapes, what do you consider to be the indispensable qualities for effective spiritual leadership?
This is my 33rd year in a senior leadership role of some kind. I don’t know that my philosophy of leadership has evolved over that time so much as it has deepened, and my appreciation of the significance of the spiritual dimension of overall leadership has also grown. Certainly, there are professional elements to leadership in Catholic education - you need to be a pedagogical leader, a cultural and community leader, an administrative leader, and a strategic leader. All these aspects are essential. However, for a person to have integrity and effectiveness as a senior leader of a Christian community, they need to have both a level of comfort and sufficient expertise as a spiritual leader.
When it comes to spiritual leadership, I think the first two things are to recognise its significance and to be genuine in it. Being a spiritual leader through and in all the other aspects of leadership is the key. It is not a tack-on, not something that can be offloaded to someone else.
To be genuine, and in turn to be credible, means being in touch with one’s own spiritual and interior life. In our Christian context, it means having a sense of being a Christian disciple. In our Marist context, it involves having knowledge, love, and a sense of belonging to our Marist community, along with a sense of co-responsibility for taking this forward.
A spiritual leader also needs to be able to recognise the spiritual needs of a community and, through both their specialist knowledge and experience, be able to address these needs. The reason I embarked on my doctorate was because, as a Principal, I realised that, while most teachers in our school were not Brothers, we still claimed to be a Marist school. At that time, we weren’t talking about Marist educators or teachers as Marists, but it seemed to me that’s what we needed to discuss.
"A spiritual leader also needs to be able to recognise the spiritual needs of a community and, through both their specialist knowledge and experience, be able to address these needs."
For that to happen, we needed to offer good formation, professional and personal development support, and a sense of belonging to people attracted to the Marist way. We wanted them not only to be attracted to it but to understand it, articulate it, and feel co-responsible for it. In the three decades since, I have only become more and more convinced of this.
Back then (in the 90s, when I was first doing my doctoral research), we had very little on which to draw except, of course, the lived experience of people. These days, we have a wealth of documents, resources, specialist teams, and the whole structure around the Marist Association. When I was doing my research, my opening question to teachers, students, and parents was simply, “Tell me about your school.” This approach allowed me to understand how the Marist charism was being lived and understood in our schools.
From that question, I built up what seemed to be a consistent set of characteristics, as well as identified some areas that weren’t as strong as I thought they might be. Pretty soon after that, we developed our first education document, followed by a spirituality document, and we formed a team to help people with all of that. That was a significant step 30 years ago. Today, I think we’re in a very promising place in having a wide embrace of Marist educators who have both capacity and confidence to exercise spiritual leadership and broader leadership of Marist life and mission. The Marist Association is the new space in which that is happening.
In the three decades since you took on a leadership role, the landscape of Catholic education has undergone seismic shifts. Looking at the Marist presence in Australia today, what do you see as the most pressing challenges facing the Brothers’ Province, the Marist Association and local school leadership?
There are some related but distinct sets of challenges and opportunities here. First, there are challenges and opportunities for the Brothers themselves and who they can be. However, this can’t be separated from what we now see as a much larger Marist landscape.
The great possibility we have now is sourced from how we have conceived the Marist Association. The Marist Association, of which the Brothers are members but not in charge, is crucial. Their role is different from being in charge.
The Brothers can offer spiritual and communal leaven, and model a way of service, which is essentially who they should be as religious. The essence of religious life in the church is not to be in charge administratively; their “authority” – if that is the best word and I think it is – is a spiritual or gospel authority rather than a governing or administrative one. The Marist Association represents our Marist future in this country, and I believe internationally as well.
We have developed a new way of being with the Association, which has an interdependent relationship with the Brothers’ Province. It’s not a subsidiary or an auxiliary arm; it’s its own entity, and the Brothers participate in it. Marists from different backgrounds - Brothers, laypeople, priests, single, married, old, young - all come together in this new space.
The secret of the whole thing is that it’s a new space. It’s not just a tweaked version or a new branch of the Marist Brothers. It’s a new space where people gather around the mission.
One of the biggest challenges is ensuring the continuous rejuvenation of the Association. We need to recruit younger people who are attracted to the Marist way and feel a sense of belonging to the Marist family as members of the Association.
We need good structures, and while we have some, we still need canonical recognition.
We also need leaders who, though not Brothers, will step up with a sense of responsibility for both the integrity and vitality of this Association. This includes developing formation programs, encouraging scholarship, and continually evolving and rearticulating the Marist way as the Marist leaders of the future.
"We also need leaders who, though not Brothers, will step up with a sense of responsibility for both the integrity and vitality of this Association."
The Religious Discrimination Act has recently resurfaced in national discourse. As a leader in Marist education, how do you view this proposed legislation? More specifically, how do you envision Marist schools navigating the complex intersection of faith-based values and contemporary social issues, such as gender identity and sexual orientation, while maintaining both their religious ethos and a commitment to inclusivity?
There are several responses I could make to that.
First, inclusivity has always been a feature of our Marist schools, right from the time of Marcellin Champagnat. We have always welcomed students from diverse backgrounds. In 19th century France, this inclusion extended to accepting both Protestant and Catholic students, and both poorer and richer students in the same classrooms, both of which weren’t universally accepted at the time. Today, we’re talking about a much wider range of diversity, but our intuition towards inclusion remains important.
"Inclusivity has always been a feature of our Marist schools, right from the time of Marcellin Champagnat."
Second, regardless of religious, ethnic background, sexual orientation, or any other points of distinction, our fundamental aim is to offer young people a comprehensive, rigorous, and empowering education. We want to help them grow into the individuals they can and should be. This applies not only to our students but also to our teachers.
I believe it’s critically important that we encourage dialogue, mutual understanding, and respect among people. Ignorance is one of the great sources of prejudice, suspicion, and hostility. At the heart of Marcellin’s project was liberation from the prison of ignorance.
Having said all that, the essence of the Marist project is still fundamentally Christian. For it to have integrity, it needs to be led and animated by people who have a sense of Christian discipleship in the Marist way. This can and should be done not in a discriminatory way, but in a way that values difference.
We are Christians in the Marist way, and that’s our approach to education. It’s not just a professional endeavour; it reflects who we are spiritually. It’s part of our personal identity. In a good, inclusive society, there isn’t a dissipation of identity or complete relativism. People should be able to develop who they are, and that’s who we are. It’s only from that base that they can enter genuinely into dialogue with diversity.
I think this aspect needs to continue to be developed, with people maintaining a deep sense, conviction, and fidelity to who we are as Marists.
I can see it panning out effectively because it already does in our schools. School leaders and school boards are currently dealing with these issues in an informed, empathetic, critically aware, and inclusive way.
"In a good, inclusive society, there isn’t a dissipation of identity or complete relativism. People should be able to develop who they are, and that’s who we are."
If you look at other countries where the Marists are present, such as Pakistan or Malaysia, where there is a tiny minority of Christians, our schools are enormously successful and respected, despite great cultural and religious diversity. It works.
I am very confident that this approach can be successful. I don’t see it necessarily playing out in an antagonistic or hostile way. However, this depends on people having a basic attitude of mutual respect, a willingness to learn, and an appreciation for the inherent goodness in every human being, followed by open dialogue.
Pope Francis’s leadership is a real mark of this approach, as he consistently encourages dialogue.
Read part two.
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