Saint of the Day: St. John Baptist de la Salle

Priest and Founder of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (1651-1719)

His life

+ John Baptist was born into a wealthy family in Rheims, France, and received the clerical tonsure when he was only eleven years-old. He was named a canon of the cathedral at the age of 15. (Cathedral canons were diocesan priests who had the responsibility of singing the Divine Office each day in the cathedral.)

+ After his ordination to the priesthood in 1678, John Baptist completed a doctorate in theology but had no defined area of ministry. He lived a life of comfort as a cathedral canon.

+ A chance invitation led to John Baptist being named as administrator of a free school for poor boys. As the school grew, he was inspired to establish an order of teaching brothers to educate the boys. This led to the foundation a new religious community: the Brothers of the Christian Schools.

+ John Baptist saw his brothers as “ambassadors of Christ to the young” and his instructions and manuals for the teachers, especially his Conduct of Christian Schools, made him a leader in the field of education.

+ John Baptist de la Salle died on Good Friday, April 7, 1719. Canonized as a saint in 1900, he is honored as the patron saint of teachers.

Spiritual Bonus

Over the years, several members of the De la Salle Christian Brothers have been honored as saints and blesseds. Among those being considered for beatification is Brother James (“Santiago”) Miller. Born in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, in 1944, he was serving as a missionary in Guatemala when he was murdered there in 1982. To learn more about Brother James and the cause for his beatification, visit: www.lasalle.org/en/who-are-we/lasallian-holiness/br-santiago-miller/.

For prayer and reflection

“Often remind yourself that you are in the presence of God.”—Saint John Baptist de la Salle

Vocations

To learn more about the De la Salle Christian Brothers, visit: www.brothersvocation.org

Prayer

O God, who chose Saint John Baptist de la Salle

to educate young Christians,

raise up, we pray, teachers in your Church

ready to devote themselves wholeheartedly

to the human and Christian formation of the young.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God, for ever and ever.. Amen.

(from The Roman Missal)

Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.