The British and French, who settled in the New Hebrides in the 19th century, agreed in 1906 to an Anglo-French Condominium, which administered the islands until independence in 1980.

The Brothers from the Province of the Hermitage in France went to Vanuatu in 1978 and this district joined with the District of Melanesia (a part of the Sydney and Melbourne Provinces) in 2004.

Marists are engaged in two major ministries in Vanuatu.

At Lololima, just outside the capital city, Port Vila, young men are formed to make decisions about religious life or work in their home parishes. A community of Brothers from France and Australia are the teachers and formators.

At Santo in the north of the country St Michel High School is a major secondary school for the area. A Brothers community works with a lay staff and a community of Marist Missionary Sisters in this school.

MAPS has assisted the Marist Bureau of Solidarity (based in Rome) in the administration of a number of micro-project grants which have been used for a community development projects in the country.

 

Captain James Cook named the main island (after the Latin name for Scotland) after landing on the northern coast in 1774. The first missionaries, the Marist Brothers arrived in the 1840s. The French took possession of the island in 1853.

Brothers from France have been working there since that time and it was from here that the mission in Vanuatu was set up. Presently the Brothers are involved in a Technical College, Colleège Ste Marie, preparing student at tradespeople to work in this developing country.

Some students from Vanuatu receive Marist scholarships to take the opportunity for higher education in New Caledonia.

Since 2004 New Caledonia has been a part of the new District of Melanesia which is part of the Sydney and Melbourne Provinces of the Brothers.