St. John Baptist de la Salle -Image: Catholic Online
(EWTN) Born in Rhemis France, John was the eldest son of an aristocratic family, he inherited the rank and fortune of his parents which set a gulf between him and the teeming masses of the poor.
At the age of 16 when John was pursing a course in classical studies the the College des Bons Enfants, he became a Canon of the Rheims and seemed to be marked out for a successful career in the Church. John subsequently studied at Saint Sulpice and the Sorbonne for the Priesthood and was ordained at the age of twenty seven according to Franciscan Media and now, Fr. John now seemed assured of a life of dignified ease and a high position in the Church but God had other plans for him.
During a chance meeting with M. Nyle of Raven a French educator, in charge of the house of the poor in France Rouen, where he also oversaw the education of young boys, Fr. John became interested in establishing charity schools and this led him to take charge of the teachers that he brought into his home to train them.
Little-by-little Fr. John became further involved in the work until he began to realize that everything pointed to his being the chosen instrument for Providence for the creation of a system of Christian education for the poor.
As Fr. John made the will of God the guiding principle of his life, he decided to give himself up completely to this task, resigning his position as Canon and giving away his fortune to be in order to be on the same footing as the teachers (schoolmasters) that lived with him. — In so doing, this aroused the anger of Fr. John’s relatives but this in no way made him alter his resolution.
In 1684 Fr. John transformed his group of schoolmasters into a religious community under the name of ‘Brothers of the Christian Schools’ and this was the origin of the Order which continues to this day and is spread worldwide.
After opening schools in a number of neighboring towns, Fr. John went to Paris to takeover the school in the Parish of St. Sulpice and there he established his headquarters. In the Capitol of France, Fr. John’s work spread rapidly and before long, the ‘Brothers of the Christian Schools’ were teaching over 1,100 pupils.
In Paris Fr. John founded another training college with a charity school annexed and organized a Sunday Academy (or Constitution School) for youths already employed.
The remainder of Fr. John’s life was closely entwined with the ‘Brothers of the Christian Schools’ (today known as the De La Salle Brothers) the religious community of men that Fr. John founded which grew rapidly and is successful and committed to helping young people, working in 80 countries.
Fr. John lived until the age of 68 and passed away on Good Friday in France Rouen and was Canonized in 1900 by Pope Leo XIII
Tweet