Towards the beginning of May, 1824, Father Cholleton, Vicar General, came to bless the foundation stone of the new building; and such were the bareness and poverty of the House, that nothing could be found to give him for dinner. The Brother cook went up to Father Champagnat and asked: "What am I to do, Father, for I have absolutely nothing to give Father Cholleton." Reflecting for a moment, he replied: "Go and tell Mr Basson, that the Vicar General and I are going to dine with him." That Mr Basson, who was rich and a great friend of the Brothers, welcomed them with pleasure. Moreover, this was not the only time that Father Champagnat called on him for such a service. He did so each time he found himself in a similar quandary.
To house the Brothers, Marcellin rented an old house on the left bank of the Gier, facing the one under construction. The Brothers slept in an old garret so narrow that they were crowded on top of one another. Their food was of the simplest and most frugal variety. Bread, cheese, a few vegetables sent along occasionally by generous people from Saint-Chamond, very exceptionally a piece of pork, and invariably plain water for drink: that was their style of life. 'Father Champagnat shared the conditions of food and housing, often accepting even the worst, for himself. For example, as no space could be found in the house for his bed, he was forced to put it on a kind of balcony, exposed to the onslaught of the wind and sheltered from rain only by the eaves. That's where he slept throughout the summer, and in winter he retired to the stable. The Brothers and their Founder underwent great hardship for almost a year, while they lived in that house, which was in a sad state of repair.
Right through the time of construction, the Brothers rose at four o'clock in the morning. Father Champagnat himself gave the rising signal and, when necessary, lit the lamps in the garret. Having risen, the Community gathered amongst the trees, where Marcellin had constructed a small chapel in honour of the Blessed Virgin. A chest of drawers served as both vestment press and altar; for bell-tower, there was an oak-tree on whose branches the bell was hung. Only the celebrant, the servers and the principal Brothers could fit in; the others remained outside. All prayed there, before an image of the Mother of God. Such was their fervour that they seemed oblivious of all else, and the only noise was from the rustling leaves, the murmuring of the waters a little way off and the song of the birds.
Each morning, the Community went to the chapel, said morning prayers, made a half-hour's meditation and assisted at Holy Mass. -After lunch, they went there again to make a visit to the Blessed Virgin and in the evening, they closed the day by a recitation of the rosary. Many a time, travellers along the road which skirted the mountain opposite, came to a stop, looked this way and that, wondering where those voices were coming from, singing as one and with such vigour. It was the Brothers, hidden amongst the trees and kneeling before the little altar on which the spotless Lamb was sacrificed, to the accompaniment of hymns of praise to Jesus and Mary.
Mass over, each went off to his work, giving it all his energies, in silence. On the hour, a Brother appointed to do so, rang a little bell. Then work was interrupted, each recollected himself, and together they recited the Gloria Patri, the Ave Maria and the invocation to Jesus, Mary and Joseph. No need to say that Father Champagnat was always first to work; he arranged everything, assigned the tasks, and maintained a general supervision. None of this prevented him, according to the opinion of the workers themselves, from accomplishing more stonework than the most skilled of them. As we have already indicated, the Brothers were excluded from that work, but the masons did allow Marcellin to do it, because he was a master of the trade. Often, he could be seen still building and working alone during the short siesta taken by workers, and again in the evening when the others were gone. At night, he said his Office, made out his accounts, marked the workmen's time sheets, listed the materials supplied that day, and planned the next day's work. It is clear, then, that he had very little time for rest.
It is worth pointing out that no Brother or other workman employed by Marcellin, was ever in an accident. This should be seen as a particular protection of God for the Community, especially as Father Champagnat spent his whole life building and always involved the Brothers in this kind of work. Quite often, serious accidents threatened the Community, but divine Providence, through Mary's intercession, always halted or averted the harmful effects. Let us take a few examples.
A workman, building at a great height on the side of the house next to the river, fell, and was headed for giant stones below, where he would have been dashed to pieces. On his way down, with the scaffolding materials, he was lucky enough to brush against a big tree and seize one of its branches, on which he hung till help came. Re wasn't harmed, not even scratched. The protection of God is even more evident from the fact that the wood of the tree was brittle and the branch so weak that it couldn't normally support such a weight.
A young Brother, attending the masons on the third storey of the building, was walking on a rotten plank which gave way under him, causing him to fall. As he dropped, he called on Our Lady's help and remained hanging by one hand, his entire body below the scaffolding. His situation was so dangerous, that the first workman to come to his rescue didn't dare approach him or touch him. A second, more fearless and generous, rushed forward, grasped the Brother's hand and pulled him back. The only harm he suffered was an extreme fright.
Ten or so of the strongest Brothers were carrying up stones to the second storey. One of them, having reached the top of the ladder with an enormous chunk on his shoulders began to feel faint under the weight of the heavy burden. His strength failed and the stone fell capsizing the Brother following, who was knocked to the bottom of the ladder. A slight movement of the head on his part, even though he was unaware of any problem, meant that he was simply grazed instead of having his head shattered. Father Champagnat, a witness of the incident from up above the ladder, considered his death as a foregone conclusion and gave him absolution. Yet he was not harmed, only so frightened that he ran around in the field as though out of his mind. All the Brothers present shared his fright, as did Father Champagnat, who immediately had prayers of thanks said for the protection God had just shown the Brother. Next day, he again offered Mass for the same intention.
Although overburdened with work, Father Champagnat always found time, bath at night and on Sundays, to give the Brothers instruction and spiritual formation. During that summer, he thoroughly instructed them on the religious vocation, on the end of the Institute and on zeal for the Christian education of children. Sustained and invigorated by these instructions, the Brothers displayed admirable piety, modesty, devotedness and energetic effort during the entire time of the construction. The workmen were unstilted in their admiration for the spirit of sacrifice, of humility and of charity that prevailed amongst the Brothers; so much so, that their admiration was given clear public expression. The good example of the Brothers was not lost on the workmen themselves who, having admired them, did their best to imitate them. Hence, they, too, soon became silent, modest, reserved in their speech and full of consideration and kindness towards one another.
However, with the approach of All Saints, thought had to be given to sending the Brothers back to the schools. Father Champagnat preached them an eight-day Retreat, suggesting to each the resolutions befitting his needs, his defects, his character and his responsibilities; each one was to head his list of resolutions with the constant recall of the presence of God.
Two new schools were opened during that year. The one at Charlieu was requested by the Archbishop. The parish priest, Father Térel and Mr Guinot, the mayor, paid the initial expenses and proved to be lasting protectors and benefactors of the Brothers. The children were found to be in great ignorance and a prey to all vices that normally accompany it. For some time, their task was a difficult and thankless one, but their zeal, devotedness and patience triumphed completely in the end and that school became one of the most flourishing in the Society.
The second school founded at this time, was that of Chavanay. The parish priest, Father Gaucher, presented himself in person to request Brothers, and accepted responsibility for some of the initial expenses of the foundation. The people of Chavanay were most enthusiastic about having the Brothers. A delegation of leading men was sent to the Hermitage to accompany them to their residence, and the school, with the total backing of the people, was attended from the start by all the children of the parish.
About the feast of All Saints in 1824, Father Champagnat was released from his duties of curate at La Valla. Up till then, on Saturday evenings during the construction, he went up to La Valla to hear confessions and to say Mass on Sunday. Now that he was free from all commitment outside his project, he gave himself exclusively to the service and welfare of the Community.
Winter was passed on work inside the house. As he usually did, Father Champagnat led the workers, the carpenters, the plasterers, etc; The work went ahead at such a pace, that in the summer of 1825, the community was able to take up residence in the new house. The chapel , too, was completed and readied for divine service. Father Dervieux, parish priest of Saint-Chamond was delegated by the Archbishop to bless it, which he did on the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin. That holy priest, whose feelings towards Father Champagnat and his Congregation had changed, presented a set of candlesticks for the chapel and they were used at the blessing.
