Starting out

From 1805 go 1814, Marcellin started training to become a priest as Verrieres. At one time, he was tempted to leave religious life, but conquered it. He then attended major training in Lyon for his spiritual and theological formation as a priest.

Here the idea for the Society of Mary was made and promoted by a group of seminarians, including Marcellin. From the beginning, he announced the organisation should include teaching brothers to work in isolated areas with uneducated children without the opportunity to learn about Jesus.

After his ordination as a priest on July 2^nd 1816, Marcellin's first place was at La Valla-en-Gier as parish priest. There he was distressed that the people in the village were so isolated and cut off they hardly knew anything about the rest of the world. There was also little happening to teach children about the Catholic faith. The teachers were poorly paid and not respected.