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 Saint John Baptist de la Salle 300th Anniversary of Death Scott 1718 (2019) April 7 is celebrated as the feast day of Saint Jean-Baptiste de La Salle. He was a French priest, educational reformer, and founder of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, and is recognized as the patron saint for teachers of youth. He dedicated much of his life to the education of poor children in France and, in doing so, instituted many educational practices that continue to this day. Jean-Baptiste de La Salle was born on April 30, 1651, into a wealthy family in Reims, France. His mother was Nicolle Moet de Brouillet, whose family operated a successful winery business (she was a relative of Claude Moët, founder of famous Moët & Chandon vintners). Due to his family standing, he would go on to receive an excellent education and, at an early age, devote himself to a religious life. Due to the death of his parents in 1671 and 1672, the completion of his education was delayed, but he would go on to finally be ordained a deacon in 1676. He completed his theological studies and was ordained to the priesthood at the age of 26 in 1678, and he subsequently received a doctorate in theology two years later. John Baptiste de la Salle was the founder of the Congregation of Christian Brothers, which established schools first in France and then around the world. He first established a school for girls and later began schools for boys, especially working to train teachers to be effective in their work with innovative approaches to teaching children from artisan and poorer families. De la Salle eventually established the Institute of the Brothers of Christian Schools. This organization did not include priests, but was a religious institute of laymen that was an innovation for the times. Formation of a consecrated institute met with opposition from ecclesiastical authorities but the success of the schools in bringing education to those who would not ordinarily have an opportunity proved to be a successful movement. Today, there are over a million students in 1,500 Lasallian institutions in 82 countries.  Statue of Saint John-Baptiste de la Salle Paris, France Photo by Peter Potrowl From Wikimedia Commons, used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license John Baptiste de La Salle was canonized in 1900 by Pope Leo XIII, and was proclaimed the "Patron Saint of all those who work in the field of Catholic Education" by Pope Pius XII in 1950. Many schools are named after La Salle, including La Salle University in Philadelphia. Artist Chiara Principe designed the stamp shown above, which was issued in 2019 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the death of Saint John Baptiste de la Salle on April 7, 1719. REFERENCES: |
