Walking with the Saints l Feast of St. John Baptist of La Salle, Patron Saint of All teachers l April 7
Walking with the Saints l Feast of St. John Baptist of La
Salle, Patron Saint of All teachers l April 7
Today we shall bring to you the story of the “Patron Saint of Teachers.” He was a French priest and the founder of
the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. This Institute run schools and is now very popular in the field of education in many countries. St. John Baptist De La Salle. He is referred to as De La Salle or La Salle, and his company is called the Christian Brothers or LaSallian. Our saint was born in Reims, France to a noble and wealthy family on April 30, 1651. His parents, being devout Catholics, offered him and his brothers to the service of God, so he was tonsured at the age of eleven, in a ceremony common during that time. When he was sixteen, he was named canon of the Reims Cathedral and the following year he received the minor Orders. He pursued higher studies and after completing his classical, literary and philosophical studies, he entered the Seminary of Saint-Sulpice on October 18, 1670. In 1672, he became a subdeacon and on April 9, 1678 at age 26, he was ordained a priest. Two years later, he received a
doctorate in theology. De La Salle dedicated his life to the education of poor children in France. He first worked to help the teachers who lacked training, purpose, and leadership. In 1680, he invited a group of them to take
their meals in his home, taught them good manners and inspired them in their work. Then, he invited them to live in his home, a move that disturbed and scandalized his relatives and friends. When his home was lost in a lawsuit, he rented a house and brought the teachers with him. He resigned his work in the parish and devoted his full attention to the training of teachers and establishing
schools. Afterwards, he founded a religious institute, the Institute of the Brothers of Christian Schools, the first among religious groups consisting only of Brothers and no priests. This enterprise was opposed by many ecclesiastical authorities and even by educational establishments. Nevertheless, he pursued his plan, with the purpose of educating the “children of artisans and the poor,” while teaching them about the Catholic faith. The Institute was soon recognized by the Church.
In 1685, he founded in Reims, France the first normal school, a school whose goal is to train teachers.
De La Salle took up the cause of educating the
poor seriously. By the time of his death, the Christian Brothers have founded schools in 22 cities in France. He also contributed much to the entire field of education through his writings and new teaching methodology. The LaSallian tradition believed that all God’s children, particularly the young, have an inherent dignity, being created in the image of God and education is the means
of developing this dignity for the sake of the students and of society. They believe that “… not only is God so good as to have created us, but desires all of us to come to the knowledge of the truth.” This, in fact is the vision and
achievement of John Baptist De La Salle. In 1719, due to vigorous labor, De La Salle got sick and died at Saint Yon,
Rouen, France, three weeks before his 68th birthday. It was on a Good Friday. Pope Leo XIII canonized him on May 24, 1900. On May 15,1950, Pope Pius XII proclaimed him Patron Saint of All Teachers. His feast day is April 7, the day of his death. In 2021 the International LaSallian Mission Web site stated that the LaSallian Order consists of about 3,000 Brothers, who help in running over 1,100 education centers in 80 countries with more than a million students, together with 90,000 teachers and lay associates.
Virtue: piety, humility, courage, charity, perseverance, integrity, generosity and excellence
Prayer: Pray, St. John Baptist De La Salle, that today’s youth may cherish the knowledge about God including virtues and moral discipline.”
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