Mary's Castle Library

 THE CATHOLIC FEAST | 07 APRIL | SAINT JONH BAPTIST DE LA SALLE | Priest

 

BORN: 30 April 1651 at Rheims, France

DIED: 7 April 1719 at Saint-Yon, Rouen, France of natural causes

BEATIFIED: 19 February 1888 by Pope Leo XIII

CANONIZED: 24 May 1900 by Pope Leo XIII

PATRONAGE: Educators, school principals, teachers (proclaimed on 15 May 1950 by Pope Pius XII)

                

HIS LIFE PROFILE

Saint John Baptist de La Salle was born to a wealthy family in northern France at a time when education was reserved for the rich. He was ordained a priest in 1678, and got involved in teaching almost by chance.

 

He was uncomfortable around poor people, but he came to see that providing a high-quality education for poor children was his mission from God.

 

At first he just recruited teachers for poor children and helped to train them.

Later he formed a community of teachers, the Brothers of the Christian Schools (also known as Christian Brothers), and gave away his wealth to live with them.

 

Saint John Baptist de La Salle integrated prayer and the Gospels into all aspects of school life, and encouraged his students to live in God's presence.

 

Every half-hour a bell would ring and someone would announce, "Let us remember that we are in the holy presence of God."

 

He taught his followers to look for God's purpose in their lives and to see every event through the eyes of faith. He saw teaching and every act of service as a way to pray.

 

As Saint John Baptist de La Salle experimented with effective techniques, he introduced methods like classroom teaching and individual reports about students' progress that are considered common practice today. He was canonized in 1900, and named the patron saint of school teachers in 1950.

 

LESSON

Saint John Baptist de La Salle's influence can be seen all over today. Many schools and teachers claim Saint John Baptist de La Salle as their primary motivation.

He was compassionate, intelligent and faithful.

He cared for the poor and taught people to learn to discern God's presence in every act and moment of life.

How can we more readily adopt his worldview?

The answer is in our hands as we can learn a lot from him.....

 

PRAYER

Dear God, please help me see my life through the eyes of Saint John Baptist de La Salle and to serve You through the poor and the needy. Amen.

 

SAINT JONH BAPTIST DE LA SALLE,

PRAY FOR US. AMEN!