John Baptist de La Salle

John Baptist de La Salle was a French priest and educational reformer who dedicated his life to the education of poor and marginalized children. He was born into a wealthy and noble family in Reims, France, on April 30, 1651. He received a classical education and became a canon of the Reims Cathedral at the age of 16. He studied theology at the Sorbonne and the Seminary of Saint-Sulpice in Paris and was ordained a priest on April 9, 1678. He also obtained a doctorate in theology two years later. In 1679, he met Adrian Nyel, a layman who was opening free schools for poor boys in Reims. De La Salle decided to help him and became involved with a group of untrained and illiterate teachers who were running these schools. He invited them to live in his family home and provided them with food, lodging, and training. He also gave up his canonry, his wealth, and his social status to devote himself fully to this new ministry. He founded the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, also known as the De La Salle Brothers or Lasallians, a religious congregation of laymen who took vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience and dedicated themselves to teaching. De La Salle and his Brothers faced many challenges and oppositions from the ecclesiastical authorities, who resisted the creation of a new form of religious life that was not clerical; from the civil authorities, who feared that the free schools would undermine their control over education; and from the established schools, who resented his innovative methods and his insistence on gratuity for all students. Despite these difficulties, De La Salle and his Brothers succeeded in creating a network of quality schools throughout France that featured instruction in the vernacular language, students grouped according to ability and achievement, integration of religious instruction with secular subjects, well-prepared teachers with a sense of vocation and mission, and the involvement of parents. De La Salle also pioneered in programs for training lay teachers, Sunday courses for working young men, technical schools, secondary schools for modern languages, arts, and sciences, and one of the first institutions in France for the care of delinquents. De La Salle was a man of deep faith and prayer who saw God's hand in everything. He was guided by the motto "God Alone" and encouraged his Brothers to practice interior silence, humility, gentleness, zeal, and fidelity. He also wrote many spiritual and pedagogical works that influenced generations of educators. He died on April 7, 1719, at Saint Yon near Rouen. He was beatified by Pope Leo XIII in 1888 and canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1900. He was declared the patron saint of all teachers by Pope Pius XII in 1950. His feast day is celebrated on April 7 by the Catholic Church and on May 15 by Lasallian institutions. His legacy continues to inspire millions of students and educators around the world who follow his vision of providing a human and Christian education to all.