THE FOUNDER
St. John Baptist de La Salle
Founder of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, Patron of Christian Teachers.
John Baptist de La Salle was born into a world very different from our own. He was the first son of wealthy parents living in France over 300 years ago. Born at Reims, John Baptist de La Salle received the tonsure at age eleven and was named Canon of the Reims Cathedral at sixteen. Though he had to assume the administration of family affairs after his parents died, he completed his theological studies and was ordained a priest on April 9, 1678.Two years later he received a doctorate in theology. Meanwhile he became tentatively involved with a group of rough and barely literate young men in order to establish schools for poor boys.
LASALLIAN IDENTITY AND SPIRITUALITY
The word ‘spirituality’ itself was coined in French only in the course of the early 17th century to distinguish some of the very divergent paths followed by devout Christian men and women as they lived out the Gospel. When expressions such as ‘Jesuit spirituality’, ‘Carmelite spirituality’ or ‘Franciscan spirituality’ are employed, the adjective gives a certain individuality to the noun ‘spirituality’, yet there seems to be nevertheless a broadly common understanding of the word ‘spirituality’ itself.
LASALLIAN ASSOCIATION AND MISSION
Secretariat for Association and Mission: working for a hopeful future
Because it is your duty to teach your disciples every day to know God, to explain to them the truths of the Gospel, and to train them in their practice, you must be entirely filled with God and burning with love for his holy law, so that your words may have their proper effect on your disciples. Preach by your example, and practice before their eyes what you wish to convince them to believe and to do. (Med 100. 2).
Since our foundation, association for the educational service of the poor has always been a challenging memory. Recently, this was more evident during the reflections of the delegates for AIMEL 2013 and the 45th General Chapter. These two events recognized the lived experience of the Institute in the area of association in recent years and the impact of association in the way we serve the poor through education. At the organizational level, we want to stress this connection between Association and Mission by having a single Secretariat to animate what, until the last General Chapter, was entrusted to two different Secretariats.
LASALLIAN FORMATION
Every call for renewal includes a desire for personal renewal and, therefore, it is related to formation. (Michel Sauvage)
The Secretariat for Formation is oriented to the needs of formation for the mission of all Lasallians. It tries to respond from a global perspective to the specific formation of the different target groups: vocation ministry, initial and continuing formation of the Brothers and the Sisters, retired Brothers, young Lasallians, volunteers, educators, leaders, administrative personnel, Signum Fidei, etc. The members of the Secretariat, Brothers and Partners, find diverse ways of listening to the needs from the grassroots and from those responsible at the District and Regional levels. They discern together the needs, foster effective responses and adapt their internal organization or structure to better respond to these needs. In accordance with the 2013 International Assembly, the members of the Secretariat want to become an international clearinghouse for Lasallian formation.
LASALLIAN REGIONS AND DISTRICTS
Where We Are
The Brothers of the Christian Schools – La Salle (or De La Salle Brothers) assisted by more than 100.000 lay colleagues, teach over 1.000.000 students in 80 countries.
THE DE LA SALLE BROTHERS
The Brother is a man who has answered God’s call and has given himself completely to Our Lord by the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. He has decided to make that commitment in order to put all his powers at the educational service of children and young people. That is why he is called a “religious educator”.
