Last chance to help Chavagnes ...

Dear friends,

From Chavagnes International College, the international Catholic boarding school for boys, these lines come to wish you Christmas blessings and God's peace in 2026.

We are a unique school, with daily Mass, strong Catholic teaching, the transmission of our western Christian culture and values, and a happy and lively comunity drawn from all over the world, including boys from France, Italy, Spain, Germany, the UK, Ireland, Sierra Leone and Portugal as well as countries currently facing wartime instability, such as Lebanon and Ukraine.

Today is the last day of 2025, and if you feel able to help us with the challenges we have to face in 2026 in our Catholic apostolate for youth, then today is the last day of the 2025 tax year. For many taxpayers, especially in France, it is important to make tax-deductible donations on or before 31st December. That's today! Will you help us before the year is out? We are asking you, because we really need your help, however modest, to continue our fight for authentic Catholic education.

For French taxpayers, a donation of 1000 or 100 euros will only cost you 340 or 34 euros. Why pay tax, when you can help with the work of Catholic education at Chavagnes instead? We urgently need help to finance building works that have been ordered by the authorities. Your support is crucial for us as we prepare for 2026.

The link below will take you to our donation page, with special options for French, UK and US donors. Please consider supporting us.

You'll also find below two Christmas gifts for you: one from our boys, singing Silent Night, Holy Night. The other is an interview with me in French, showing the life of the College and also the building works in progress. Please take the time to watch it. The soundtrack is our boys singing a pre-Reformation Catholic setting of the Ave Maria by Robert Parsons. You'll love it.

On behalf of the whole Chavagnes community, thank you for anything you can do at this time.

God bless you in 2026.

Sincerely in Christ, Ferdi McDermott, Headmaster

P.S. We must raise €100,000 urgently if we are to continue the required works and keep providing a safe and prayerful home for boys in need. Please consider making a tax-deductible gift before Christmas. Every contribution makes a real difference.

LINKS FOR DONATIONS/LIENS POUR VOS DONS ...

🇺🇸 DONATE IN THE USA (tax-deductible) Emunio Foundation

🇬🇧 GIVE IN THE UK (tax-efficient) Catholic Boys Educational Trust

🇫🇷 Soutenez nos projets de rénovation : reçu fiscal dons aux œuvres ouvrant droit à une déduction de 66 % sur votre impôt sur le revenu.

Les Amis du Carillon de Chavagnes, Association 1901.

🇫🇷 GIVE DIRECTLY TO THE COLLEGE (France & international)

without tax receipt (sans reçu fiscal)

https://jepaieenligne.systempay.fr/COLLEGE_INTER_CHAVAGNES

Download our Prospectus

Two special films for you:

Silent Night,

plus a very recent interview with me (en Français) about the school ...

What we do at Chavagnes

At Chavagnes International College, we give boys a solid Catholic education in a safe, prayerful, and joyful boarding community. We teach them to think clearly, to work hard, to love beauty, and to grow in virtue. Through rigorous academics, daily prayer, sport, music, and shared community life, we help boys become the men God calls them to be — balanced, generous, and courageous.

For more information, visit our website : www.chavagnes.org

Why we do it ...

We do this work because the world hungers for men of integrity, service, and faith. Chavagnes helps boys become those men. Our alumni are now serving across the professions — in law, the military, public life, education, farming, and industry — but also, year after year, answering God’s call in a more radical way.

For 23 years, at least one boy or teacher has entered seminary or religious life annually. This year again brings new vocations and ordinations. These are the lasting fruits that inspire us to persevere.

Our teachers and the resident priests see their work not merely as employment but as a genuine vocation. They give their lives to forming boys in truth, charity and perseverance, often far beyond the classroom.

Why people help us ...

People support Chavagnes because they see the lasting fruit of a place that changes lives. Many of our alumni say that they owe their conversion, their perseverance in the faith, or even their sense of purpose and identity to their years here. Grateful parents often continue supporting us long after their sons have left, recognising that we were their partners in raising boys who have grown in wisdom, discipline, and virtue. Several former students and parents of former students give a small amount every month or an annual gift.

Others — including friends with grown children, or none of their own — discover our mission and feel called to join it. They see in Chavagnes a beacon of Catholic hope for the next generation. One elderly friend, Madame Tenet (pictured), recently attended Mass in our Chapel despite severe difficulty in walking. Shortly afterwards she gave us a cheque for €20,000, writing simply that she “had not long left in this world” and wished to help the next generation “to persevere in the faith.”

In the last few weeks, Madame Tenet passed away, and a Mass was offered for her in the College Chapel. We will continue to remember her kindness, and we pray that the Lord may welcome her into His heavenly Kingdom and grant her eternal rest.

If you want to help us, with a donation, or by remembering us in your will, or in some other way, please do get in touch with us: support@chavagnes.org

Please also tell others about our College. We are always keen to recruit new pupils from families who support our mission and ethos.