St. John Baptist de la Salle

St. John Baptist de la Salle (1651-1719) was born in Rheims, France, to a noble family. He was pious and smart, and his parents took great care over his moral and intellectual training. He entered seminary and was ordained at the age of twenty-seven. In St. John Baptist's era, only the noble and wealthy classes had access to a good education. His work among the poor led him to establish a home and school for rough and illiterate orphaned boys. The institution was successful and soon a second was established. St. John Baptist then dedicated his life to the cause of education, giving his wealth to the poor and resigning his respectable position as canon at Rheims. He recruited and trained men to teach in free schools he founded for the poor, which grew into a brotherhood of young men who were attracted to a life of service in teaching and catechesis. This became the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, or Christian Brothers. They took vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, but not Holy Orders. The Christian Brothers expanded, and in many parts of France parish priests sent young men to be trained by St. John Baptist to serve as schoolmasters in their villages. Although he was initially opposed in his innovative work, both inside and outside the Church, St. John Baptist's foundations and methods soon became the standard for education in France and spread internationally. St. John Baptist de la Salle is the patron of schoolteachers. His feast day is April 7th.