Marist House in Fitzroy provides a safe, stable and supportive environment to tertiary students who are seeking an holistic and formative residential experience while they study in Melbourne. Hosted by a community of Marist Brothers, students are immersed in community, hospitality and ministry. For former Catholic College/Catherine McAuley students, Sam Kane and Harrison Jenner, their time at Marist House Fitzroy was an invaluable foundational experience.

Bendigo Music teacher, Harrison Jenner, lived at Marist House for three years while studying for a double degree in Music and Teaching at Australian Catholic University. He says his experience at Marist House was invaluable. Harrison knew he wanted to teach, and the requirement to volunteer in community laid a strong foundation for his teaching career. What he hadn’t expected was that he would grow so much as a person. “Five years ago, I wouldn’t have considered myself a Marist and now I certainly do,” he said.

Harrison said the Marist Programme is not for everybody, but he certainly would recommend it to people who want to be part of a community, who are seeking purpose and want to explore intentional living. “I would recommend Marist House for people who can benefit from the experience, who are willing to contribute to community and to live by Marist values,” he said.

Student residents at Marist House are expected to take turns cooking an evening meal, be in the House for a weekly ‘community night’, which consists of prayer and a shared meal, and volunteer in the outside community.

Sam Kane was in the inaugural cohort of students at Marist House. He heard about the opening of Marist House in an incidental conversation with his former school principal, Darren McGregor.

“Staying at Marist House affords young people the ability to study away from home, explore Melbourne, volunteer, and work a part-time job – all while knowing there is a safe supportive environment to go home to at the end of the day,” said Sam.

Sam spent two years at Marist House before returning to Bendigo during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said all his cohort at Marist House were students from regional Victoria, who had attended a Marist or Catholic school. Sam studied at Melbourne University attending lectures with hundreds of other students, so he enjoyed the more family-like environment of Marist House to go home to. “I think even at a residential college I could have felt overwhelmed,” said Sam.

For both Sam and Harrison, one of the most fulfilling aspects of living at Marist House was the required volunteer work.

Harrison chose to volunteer with Marist Youth Ministry. “I gave some music lessons, and I was often in charge of the music side of things. If there was a function, Taizé prayer, or a Mass I would organise the music, often inviting others to assist. It gave me a lot of confidence.”

Sam chose to volunteer at St Mary’s House of Welcome, an open access centre which provides basic essential services to homeless people. “I would go down there every fortnight and help with breakfast and sometimes I’d help with other things,” said Sam. “Br Frank also helped out there so I wasn’t too daunted; I found it very eye-opening and rewarding,” said Sam.

Sam says his fellow student residents all discovered that they enjoyed their volunteer work. “Others in the house volunteered at Orange Sky, or Vinnies. We could choose what we wanted to do and it was flexible with our study and other commitments and we were given time to settle in to our new environment and university before we started volunteering. “Volunteering isn’t an onerous task. Actually everyone I know really found it to be a good experience; we were all keen to contribute and give back,” said Sam.

For Sam, living at Marist House, seeing the way the Marist Brothers lived and worked and volunteering helped him to learn about social justice, not-for-profit organisations and their political and economic context more broadly.

Harrison said young people should be open to residential programs such as Marist House and not be intimidated by the intentional aspect of the lifestyle or that it is hosted by a religious community. “You need some sort of background in faith, but you don’t have to be devout in any respect; you simply need to be willing to actively engage with others and have moral standing,” he said.

“Treat it like a university share house with very particular expectations of you and with Marist Brothers as mentors to help you get the most out of your university journey,” suggested Harrison.

Both Sam and Harrison enjoyed the company of the three Marist Brothers who live in the house. “They were great mentors to me and they were always very calm and respectful,” said Harrison.

Sam added that he bonded easily with the Brothers; “They are great conversationalists and are very funny,” he said.

Every student is expected to cook meals according to an allocated roster. “Initially we start cooking with someone and over time, as we got better at cooking, we were cooking by ourselves. My most popular dish was South Korean fried chicken, everyone loved it but there was always a big clean up after that one,” he joked.

Both young men are now living and working in Bendigo. They believe the friendships formed at Marist House will last a lifetime. “A great network of friendship has been forged over the 5-6 years since Marist House has been open to students,” said Sam.

Marist House is in three terrace houses in Nicholson Street, Fitzroy close to major universities and tertiary education institutions. There is capacity for up to ten students, male and female, to be accommodated, but usually the number of students is between six and nine. “The Brothers avoid operating at full capacity because they like to keep rooms for international guests who visit from time to time,” explained Harrison.

Sam marvels at the serendipity of that fleeting discussion he had with Darren McGregor which led him on such a rich and rewarding path, “I am so grateful we had that conversation!” he laughs.

Download the pdf Marist House Brochure (1.92 MB) .

Go to the Marist House website.