It’s 17th-century France. Two men—one a priest, the other a layperson—happen upon one another at the door to the Motherhouse of the Sisters of the Child Jesus. In March 1679, they had different objectives.

That chance encounter, between John Baptist de La Salle and Adrian Nyel, ultimately birthed the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and the beginning of a movement.

Born into a life of privilege in Reims, France, de La Salle’s pedigree—a canon in the Reims cathedral, a classical education, theological studies at the Sorbonne—suggested he was on a trajectory toward becoming a high ecclesiastical figure like an archbishop.

His parents died during his formative years, leaving him in charge of their estate, and as guardian of his four brothers and two sisters. With an ardent interest in priesthood, he continued his seminary study at the University of Reims. De La Salle helped Nyel open schools for boys from impoverished and working class backgrounds without expectation of any further involvement. Progressively, de La Salle became more involved in the conduct of these parish schools and in supporting teachers hired by Nyel.

In the Memoir on the Beginnings, de La ­Salle tells us: “God, who guides all things with wisdom and serenity, whose way it is not to force the inclinations of person, willed to commit me entirely to the development of the schools. God did this in an imperceptible way and over a long period of time, so that one commitment led to another in a way that I did not foresee in the beginning.”

At the time of de La ­Salle’s death in 1719, there were only about 100 Brothers. He did not know whether his fledgling society would survive. It did not have civil or church approval. Three-hundred years after his passing into eternal life, the Lasallian network encompasses 3,500 De La ­Salle Christian Brothers, and more than 90,000 other Lasallian educators who conduct more than 1,000 schools, universities and centers of education serving more than one million students in 80 countries on six continents.

Living Lasallian in the 21st century

The ability of the Institute and the Lasallian movement to withstand crisis, opposition, and uncertainty across three centuries is nothing short of extraordinary. In 2019, the Tercentenary of Saint La ­Salle’s death, a world exists that is starkly different from the one he left behind. Yet, the Lasallian charism and mission is vital and vibrant, lived across a diversity of ethnicities, cultures, religions and geographies. Recognizing the significance of Saint La ­Salle’s legacy to the church and the world, Pope Francis declared the Tercentenary a Lasallian Jubilee Year. 

“The Lasallian Jubilee Year is a moment to celebrate the deep sense of accomplishment, pride, and hope that the legacy of St. John Baptist de La ­Salle and his first Brothers bequeathed to us,” said Brother Ernest Miller, FSC, D.Min., M.A. ’95, La ­Salle University’s Vice President for Mission. “At the same time, the Jubilee Year is also a moment to engage in communal discernment and continue the prophetic work of tikkun olam, of repairing the world, through the unique heritage of Lasallian education.”

The Lasallian heritage is marked by educational adaptation. The first Lasallian institutions, the Christian and Gratuitous Schools, provided a quality, practical education to address the specific needs and realistic options for the students entrusted to their care. That included teaching navigation and seamanship on the seacoast.

Today, the Institute and the wider Lasallian world are steadfast in their preferential option for educating the young and adults who are impoverished and marginalized in society. While the number of Brothers has decreased since the Institute’s peak in 1966 of nearly 17,000 men, one of the most noticeable changes of the Lasallian heritage as a whole is the inclusion of women. More than 56 percent of all Lasallian educators are women, a trend that continues to build, both locally and worldwide. 

Here in Philadelphia, women at La ­Salle University hold the seats of President, deans of all three schools, and other leadership positions, including in the executive cabinet and the University at large. La ­Salle is the true embodiment of this evolution. For context, just 50 years ago, La ­Salle educated only men. Today, women account for more than half of student enrollment.

Core values

La ­Salle University remains committed to the ideals embodied in the unique Lasallian heritage. The University strives to live up to the ideals set by Saint La ­Salle through its mission and core values. One of those values, teaching and learning, is an unwavering pillar. Every year faculty, staff, and Christian Brothers work tirelessly to develop new initiatives, programs, and scholarships that provide the unique Lasallian learning experience. 

The University’s De La ­Salle Institute for Advanced Teaching and Learning affords educators a chance to strengthen their teaching abilities through faculty development, high-impact student academic development, and an understanding of the balance students require between their academic and co-curricular pursuits. From instructional design to community-engaged learning, Lasallian pedagogy is fostering the next generation of education providers—and education leaders.

The University earned national media attention in 2016 as a higher education leader when it confronted the national trend of soaring tuition costs by reducing tuition rates by 29 percent to produce a more affordable path to a college degree for all.

For La ­Salle students, absorption of the core values takes place inside and outside of the classroom, in traditional learning and experiential learning models. La ­Salle’s Explorer Café events offer students access to weekly discussion panels throughout the academic year meant to engage the La ­Salle community in conversations around stimulating topics. Similar channels of discussion exist through La ­Salle’s Living Learning Communities, on-campus residential communities designed to enrich student experience by developing a greater sense of community.

Immersion happens multiple times annually when members of the University community participate in La ­Salle Immersion Programs offered across the country and abroad. These trips, organized by University Ministry and Service, strive to serve others, promote social justice, and work toward the common good.

While learning, whether in or out of the classroom, La ­Salle students are engaged.

‘Keep the mission vital and vibrant’

“Through authentic relationships, students, staff, faculty, and administrators convey God’s unconditional love and dignity of all persons,” said Br. Ernest. “To make this a reality, Saint La ­Salle instructs us to draw on the spirit of faith and the spirit of zeal—one spirit with two dimensions. This spirit grounds our work as educators as we strive to keep the mission of Lasallian education vital and vibrant.”

One method to achieve that goal? “We have to meet students where they are,” said Brother Rafael “Rafa” Rodriguez, FSC, ’17, a campus minister.

But what exactly does that mean? According to Br. Rafa, it’s practicing what you preach, rather than pushing it upon them. La ­Salle embraces its traditional Catholic values, while accepting those from other faith backgrounds.

“Whether they’re nominal Catholic, Muslim, or Jewish,—they’re our students,” Br. Rafa continued. “And by the same mission that drives the Brothers, alike, we need to meet them where they are. You do that as best you can with what gifts and talents God provided you with. It’s counseling. It’s listening to people. Maybe it’s just being a great educator. I don’t think there’s one specific way of spreading the mission. If you have faith for it, zeal for it, then your actions will speak loudest and people will come to the mission.” 

Interfaith worshiping and prayer spaces on campus, along with multicultural events and organizations, are continued ways La ­Salle actively fosters a culturally and spiritually enriched campus environment.

Service rooted in solidarity and justice

For Lasallians, a life of service to marginalized individuals and communities is not a suggestion. Rather, it’s a call to courageously face the discomfort of fear head-on by challenging the status quo and fighting injustice. 

The aforementioned domestic and international immersion trips afford students, faculty, and staff the opportunity to make change on a global and localized scale. Here on campus, the University’s Community Building Team and the President’s Community Advisory Council host a number of events that provide resources for the neighborhood and foster a community of faith, activism, and understanding. 

The University maintains ongoing partnerships with community organizations, local churches, and neighboring schools by offering tutoring services, contributing meeting space, and allowing access to the new Connelly Library Learning Commons. La ­Salle’s partners include James Logan Elementary School, the 35th District of the Philadelphia Police Department, the Philadelphia Police Department Advisory Council, and the Belfield Area Neighbors Association. 

In addition to its collaborative efforts to keep the community safe, clean, and welcoming, La ­Salle also aims to keep it healthy. For 25 years, the Neighborhood Nursing Center has provided valuable health resources like wellness screenings, immunizations, and health education. 

“We’re working together and by association in that we’re not doing things to or for the community, but we’re doing it together in partnership and making it a community we can all be proud of,” said TiRease Holmes, Executive Director of Residence Life and Community Engagement. “It’s a bright future.”

The University’s adherence to the core value of association, historically one of the vows of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, refers to the creation of an interpersonal collegiate atmosphere of mutual respect and trust between students and educators. 

On campus, that relationship manifests in La ­Salle’s newly established Together and By Association (TABA) courses, which serve as an example of this core value in action. TABA’s community-based classes offer students the ability to collaborate with faculty and peers in the truest tradition of working together and by association, and call upon students to gain a broader perspective through collaboration with individuals and communities that, in turn, helps to address issues of personal and public concern.

 

La Salle’s Jubilee Year

Joining the international Lasallian community, La ­Salle formally commemorated the Lasallian Jubilee in October with a full day of activities under the theme “Engaging an Uncomfortable World: Lasallian Universities as Communities of Transformation.” 

Dr. David E. Kirkland, Ph.D., Associate Professor of English and Urban Education, and Executive Director of The NYU Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools, facilitated an interactive workshop for faculty and staff, and delivered a keynote presentation to an assembly of students, faculty, and staff. The goal of the workshop was to raise awareness of the effects of social injustice on the educational experience, and ask, “How might educators disrupt cycles of inequity so that youth might become empowered to transform their communities and their lives?” The goal of his keynote address, “‘The Danger of a Single Story:’ What We Can Do to Serve All Students,” was to raise hope about the possibilities of education being used to promote justice and interrupt cycles of miseducation. 

In the De La ­Salle Chapel, a labyrinth gave visitors opportunities to reflect and renew, together and by association, in the company of other Lasallians. The Peace Poets, a group of spoken-word hip-hop artists from New York City, offered both a spoken-word workshop on self-expression and common love for community and a soul-stirring evening stage performance. 

“In the spirit of Saint La ­Salle, each aspect of the Jubilee day summoned us—students, staff, faculty, administrators—to bear witness to a different narrative in the world today: to go beyond cultural, ethnic and religious borders, and to embrace our common humanity,” said Br. Ernest. “Collectively, Professor Kirkland and The Peace Poets urged us to continue building hopeful and thriving environments for learning and social transformation.”

He added: “I trust St. John Baptist de La ­Salle would be smiling to see how his legacy lives on.” 

A TIMELINE OF FAITH

1679

De La ­Salle establishes free school for poor boys. 

1681

De La ­Salle invites the teachers of the school to live in his home as their residence. 

1683

De La ­Salle gives up his fortune to feed the poor during a famine. 

1691

De La ­Salle and two Brothers profess a vow to establish the “Society” despite hardships.

1719

De La ­Salle dies at St. Yon on Good Friday, April 7. 

1725

The Church recognizes the Brothers as an Institute of Pontifical Right in a papal bull of approbation.

1900

Saint La ­Salle is canonized on May 24. 

1950

Saint La ­Salle is named Patron Saint of teachers of youth on May 15. 

2019

The worldwide Lasallian network continues to educate, live the mission, and thrive.