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La Neylière
La Neyliere website
 La Neylière was bought in 1850 by Fr Colin when he was superior general. The money (Francs 48,000) came from Fr J-F Viennot, a former lawyer. It was the Founder’s intention that the house be a Eucharistic Retreat for the members of the Society. The second superior general, Fr Favre did not favour this intention and the idea was not pursued. Fr Colin came to La Neylière in 1854 after his resignation.
But Fr Colin was a great traveller, constantly on the move in search of a new place to settle. The short text above the original tomb at La Neylière was somewhat misleading. It read: Here lies the body of the Venerable Jean Claude Colin, who lived in this house for 21 years. Indeed from 1854 to 1875 Fr Colin did spend the greater part of the year at La Neylière, but it would be stretching one’s pious imagination to think that he was there for 21 continuous years of solitary retreat.
However, while he was “based” at La Neylière, one of his major tasks was to complete the writing of the Constitutions, and this caused him great difficulty. There was also the “Maitrepierre Controversy” over the foundation of the Society. While this episode caused. conflict and rumour, it also resulted in the collecting of a great deal of valuable information on the beginnings of the Society.
For over 50 years La Neylière was the novitiate of the Marist Fathers and Brothers, where some hundreds made their vows. Marist Fathers and Brothers throughout the world regard La Neylière as the house of Fr Colin, the guardian of his tomb, and the enshrinement of his spiritual message - of welcome, faith, prayer, and service of others ‘after the manner of Mary’. It is now a house of retreats and spiritual gatherings. It may be worth noting that the Cure of Ars was expecting to retire there. He had made many references during his life-time to Fr Colin and the Society of Mary.
The Oceania Museum recalls the extraordinary interest and maternal tenderness Fr Colin felt for the area and for the men he sent to Oceania. In his time as general, Fr Colin sent nearly a quarter of his men - often the best men he had - to the missions of Oceania. The deep feeling the Founder had for these men expressed itself in the very emotional moments when they came to depart. It reached a point where steps had to be taken to shelter him from these final farewells which tore his heart. The letters he received from missionaries impressed him so much that he could not restrain his tears and sobs when reading them.
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a time to pray........ |
a time to think of Mary..... |
a time to ponder...... |
Fr Colin had called Cerdon his Bethlehem and Belley his Nazareth. But neither of these places seemed to him to compare with the solitude he loved to find at La Neylière. This was his place of contemplation and reflection. He had longed for this place to be set up. As early as 1842 he had mentioned the place to his confreres. He wanted a place where the Fathers and Brothers could come and pause, refresh themselves and prepare themselves for the next battle of the apostolate. Superiors, he suggested, could also send there any members of their communities who were exposed to dangers. All who came to this place could find peace, strength, and encouragement for the future.
Two other notable Marists are associated with La Neylière:
  Jean Jeantin
When the Chapter of 1866 commissioned Fr Colin to write the definitive Constitutions, Fr Jean Jeantin was also appointed to assist the Founder with this work. From 1868 to 1870 he worked closely with Fr Colin at La Neylière, and became his constant companion and spokesman. After the Founder’s death he was appointed the official biographer and wrote the eight volume, Le Très Révérend Père Colin, Fondateur et Premier Supérieur de la Société de Marie.
Georges David
Like Jeantin, David acted as secretary and lived closely with Fr Colin at La Neylière in the latter years of the Founder’s life (1868-1870). Fr Colin is reputed to have called him “the perfect Marist” and even “the most Marist of Marists” (OM 3, p.971).
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