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St John Baptis De Lasalle gave up his richness so he can teach the poor

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St. John Baptist De La Salle gave up his wealth for poor boys to have education. His family did not like this but that did not stop him from doing this.

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St. John Baptist De La Salle cared for the needy very much. Together with his group of teachers, they built schools that give free education and welcomed everyone to learn.

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This was the start of something entirely new for the men. This "Cradle of the Institute" in what was then known as the Rue Neuve (presently called Rue Gambetta) now has its entrance at number 20 Rue de Contrai.

The present day school occupies the site of the original FSC school here on Rue Gambetta. This is the first de facto Mother House. De La Salle resided here for six years (1682-88) until his departure for Paris. Many important events in his life took place here. In August 1683, he renounced his position of Canon of Reims,dedicating himself fully to the work that he had begun with the schoolmasters. The community sang the Te Deum in thanksgiving. In the famine of 1683-1684, he distributed his rich inheritance (about $500,000 in today's money) to the poor through the daily handing out of bread to everyone who needed it.

In view of the objections of his family and relatives to having the school teachers living in the De La Salle family home at Rue St. Marguerite, and the lawsuit that resulted in the family home being sold and its assets distributed among the heirs, De La Salle rented a building in the Rue Neuve and went to live there with the schoolmasters on June 21, 1682.

This was the anniversary of taking the masters into his own home. But the move was not made because it was his patron's feast day (the Feast of John the Baptist is celebrated in the church on June 21 each year) but because that was the only day each year when contracts came due, new rents were signed, and people moved houses.

The Property

The property consisted of two houses with outer offices, yards and gardens and so was quite spacious. For close to 20 years after they moved in, the property was held on a lease. In 1700, De La Salle purchased the property outright. As the Institute as such did not have a legal corporate existence, the house had to be vested in trustees, so the Founder prevailed on his brother Louis, at the time a canon at Reims Cathedral, Claude Pepin, and a priest, Pierre Laval, to form a committee of trustees.

After the death of the Founder, his brother, Louis, and later his youngest brother Pierre, were careful to fill any vacancies in this committee and to ensure continued ownership of the property for the Brothers.

Most of the early teachers, when they realized they were being turned into some kind of religious group, cleared out and found jobs elsewhere. However, these were quickly replaced by generous young men who responded to the Founder's ideals. Then in a "Chapter of 1684," attended by Brothers from the schools in Reims as well as those from Guise, Laon, Rethel and Chateau-Porcien - all places where new schools had been established by the Brothers - the crucial decision was made that henceforth they would consider themselves "religious," "Brothers of the Christian Schools," and that they would wear a special habit and bind themselves to the service of God by vows.

On Trinity Sunday of that year (1684) twelve of the principal Brothers made a vow of obedience for one year. Afterwards, they walked through the night of that Sunday all the sixteen miles to the famous sanctuary of Our Lady of Liesse, where on the Monday morning De La Salle said Mass for them, after which they placed their new enterprise under the protection of the Mother of God. The Institute was launched!

As one would expect from a new and young religious community, great fervor reigned in the Rue Neuve. Conditions were simple and difficult; between 1683 and 1687 five young Brothers died. The Brothers' house here was referred as La Petite Trappe because De La Salle and his Brothers were leading a life of great austerity according to their first Rules, an austerity comparable to that of the Trappist monks.

The primary purpose of the residence in the Rue Neuve was to be a home for the schoolmasters who taught in the three schools in Reims. It was also used as a house for young men who were sent by their parish priests to be trained as teachers for country parishes. Of these the Founder says in his "Memoir sur l'Habit"

"They live in a separate house that is called a 'seminary.' The young men remain only a few years, sufficient to train them thoroughly in piety and in the duties of their state. They wear no special costume, dressing like ordinary seculars, except that their clothes are black or dark brown, the only distinguishing feature being a rabat. They also wear their hair shorter than is customary. They are taught to sing and to read and write perfectly. No charge is made for their maintenance. When they are trained they are sent to some town or village to be schoolmasters and parish clerks. After that they have no further connection with the community except what arises from friendship and gratitude. They are welcomed back to make a retreat if they so wish".

Although they lived as boarders, several of these country school masters were captivated by the same ideals as the Brothers and so many of them passed over from the training college to the Brother's community.

When De La Salle left for Paris, he left Rue Neuve in the capable hands of Br. Henri l'Heureux who, when he himself called to Paris for theological studies, handed over his responsibilities to Brother Jean-Henri. Canon Blain, an early biographer of De La Salle and the early Brothers, tells us that 8 of the 16 Brothers who then constituted the young society left between 1688 and 1692. Only one recruit joined in that time.

There was also in the buildings a "juniorate". Here boys who wished to become Brothers, but who were too young for the schools, were committed to the charge of one of the Brothers and were taught Christian doctrine, reading, writing and the other subjects they would later need and when they reached the age of sixteen they were incorporated in the community. There was no novitiate strictly speaking for new candidates, but young men who joined the community were given some months of training before they· were sent to teach. It was also here that the Brothers dressed for the first time in the black habit and rabat.

De La Salle lived in a miserable attic room at Rue Neuve and humbly submitted as "inferior" to Brother Superior, Henri L'Heureux (until Archbishop Le Tellier heard that a layman was in charge of the Order and told De La Salle to assume once more the direction of the young Institute).

Much later in our history, in 1791, the Director of the Community and his 21 Brothers unanimously rejected the law of separation of church and state and were expelled in 1792. The school was transformed into a military barracks and later into a cotton mill until the return of the Brothers in 1880. In that year, the Institute, under the cover of a group of lay well-wishers of the Institute, bought back the property and built on it a boarding school which has prospered up to our own day. The original buildings of the Rue Neuve had disappeared in the meantime but the ground on which they had stood was included in the purchase, so when the Superior General of the time, Brother Irlide, came there on a visit, the first thing he did was to kneel down and kiss the ground. The present school was rebuilt after the First World War.

De La Salle's sister, Rose-Marie, (1656-1681) became a Canoness Regular of St. Augustine in their nearby community on the Rue Neuve. Several times John Baptist visited her. The accounts of De La Salle's management of his deceased father's estate make mention of his regard for his sister (e.g. in addition to the cost of her board - 200 livres annually - he provided "some thread, currants, two small jars to hold jam and sugar; Portuguese oranges; 10 sols for an inkstand; 4 livres for a pair of stockings and an iron candlesnuffer").

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First real home: In the poor section of Reims, De La Salle and the first teachers moved here in 1662 after being forced to leave the home on Rue St. Marguerite. This was the start of something entirely new for the men. This "Cradle of the Institute" in what was

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This is the Laon Chethedral where he formed the brothers and miraculously cured an ailing brother director of the school in the town of Guise

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I mean Good Friday

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This is a picture of St. John Baptist De La Salle teaching the poor children.

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Rheims Cathedral is the same cathedral he was named canon at the age of 16 and recived his tonsure at 11.

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Rheims in France,is where De Lasalle was born,he was raised,unlike the other poor kids in france he was rich

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Rouen,France-place St. LaSalle died

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Rouen is the place where he died in the year 1719 on Black Friday, weeks before his birthday

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Rouen is the place where St. John Baptist de La Salle died who is well remembered for his generosity and compassion for the poor

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Rheims France, the place where he was bor

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Saint John Baptist De La Salle was born in Reims France.He is the patron saint of all Catholic teachers.He gave up his wealth just in order to teacher poor children that cannot afford to enroll into a school.De La Salle taught children for free.He is a true Christian that is worthy to be a Saint :D.

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This significant place in St. John Baptist De La Salle's life is where he taught the people that were poor in Reims, France. He made this place out of his family's earnings. When he passed away he was named "The Patron Saint of All Teachers.

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This is the birthplace of De La Salle.It was 1651,And this is where he was born.According to my reasearch,he was born in hotel De La Cloche.He then Became a Priest.And when he met Adrian Nyel,Lasalle was then created and became one of the greastest schools in the world

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Rouen ,1719 this is the place and time of death of Sait John Baptist De La Salle , where he sacrificed his life for everyone.

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The school that St.John Baptist the Lasalle build for the children that are poor for free he wasted all his wealth to build the school and teachers for the poor

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This picture is Reims.Reims is the place St.John Baptist De La Salle Was born and raised.When he was older he was rich and was a priest.He gave up all his money for the poor and built a school named La Salle.He also formed a group called the "Brothers of Christian Schools".Generations later
La Salle schools spread around the world.

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France,Reims, Hotel De La Cloche is the house where St. John Baptist De La Salle was born and raised

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An important place in St John Baptist De La Salle's life is Rheims, France because this is where he was raised and born

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This is a cathedral in Rheims France in Rheims France St. John Baptist De Lasalle was born. In the cathedral St John Baptist De Lasalle was given a tonsure.

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St. John Baptist De La Salle was born in Rheims, France. When he grew up, he gave up his wealth and built a school for poor boys. He showed mercy by doing this. He died on a Good Friday in April 7, 1719. He was canonized as a saint in 1900 and he was named the patron saint of teachers in 1950.

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Reims,France

The place Saint John Baptist De Lasalle was born and also his home town where he lived in.

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The Hotel dela Clotche is the house where St. John Baptist de La Salle. As of now, it serves as a museum although a group of Brothers live in the house.

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The Hotel de la Cloche (also known as Hotel De La Salle or Maison Natale) is situated at 40 Rue de l'Arbalete Street of the Crossbow.

It was built in 1545 and bought by Francois de la Salle in 1609. In this house in 1650 there lived a family of magistrates belonging to the nobility. Louis de La Salle, the future father of our founder, was a king's counselor and president of the royal court in Reims. In 1650, Louis de La Salle married Nicolle Moet de Brouillet, the daughter of another king's counselor, whose family was famous throughout the Champagne region for both their vineyards and their influence. The first child of the marriage was Jean Baptist de La Salle, born on April 30th, 1651. In French he was always called "Jean Baptiste" but in English he is known as "John Baptist." He grew up in this house for the first 13 years of his life, surrounded by cousins and younger brothers and sisters. It was from Hotel de la Cloche that twice a day De La Salle would leave to follow lessons in the College des Bons Enfants.

Young Brothers & Sister Die

Here it was that John Baptist first learned the meaning of sorrow at the loss of his young brothers and sister, Remy, Marie-Anne and Jean-Louis. (This was not an uncommon occurrence in the society of the time; seven children out of eleven survived into adulthood.)

Family Move

In due time the Maison La Cloche became too small for a family that kept growing in size at close intervals: eleven children in twenty years of married life. So the De La Salle family moved to the Rue de Marguerite (Hotel des Postes).

The House Today

The Maison Natale is now a museum, although a small community of Brothers lives there. It holds such treasures as an interesting tapestry of the life of De La Salle and a fine collection of books from the Insitute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools.

The house is literally decorated with antiques, all kinds of paintings, and letters dating back to the early days of the Brothers. There is an alabaster statuette of Our Lady with a bunch of grapes (originating from Champagne) in the inner courtyard.

In this house is kept the chair that De La Salle used in Dijon in 1714, along with several garments and instruments of discipline that were part of the spirituality of the time.

The house chapel is located in the former sitting room of the De La Salle family. In the chapel is an interesting statue showing De La Salle teaching a boy. The statue is carved from a 14th century beam which is itself a remnant from the old part of the house that survived after the 1918 destruction from World War I. The mural on the left at the front shows Our Lady among the Arts. The child in her arms is the younger son of the sculptor of the wooden statue who recently had his son baptized in this Chapel.

The original misericord (a small wooden shelf underneath folding seats for canons in the cathedral, installed to provide some level of comfort for those standing during long periods of prayer) is here. It was the seat of Canon De La Salle in Reims Cathedral.

The Courtyard

In the courtyard is a curious winding staircase in an enclosed stairwell. On the outside of the front of the house is the very attractive statue of De La Salle by Lejeune (president of the French Academy of Fine Arts). This is one of two statues of De La Salle by him. The front of the house is decorated with pillars, ionian capitals and a frieze.

At the left, the curiously slanted carriage entrance is flanked by two statues representing Adam and Eve. The slanted entrance was designed that way because another building jutted out at a 90-degree angle, filling in the present street, which did not exist when the house was built. Hence, the carriage entrance was on the far corner of the building and was designed accordingly.

The statue of De La Salle by Lejeune was unveiled in 1952. In the 17th century it is likely that a statue of Our Lady occupied the niche currently occupied by Lejeune's statue. The base of the niche carries the date of the restoration of the building in the renaissance style - 1545.

When Traveling...

Reims has an illuminated night tour which uses the Hotel De La Salle as its starting point.

The pilgrim should note the following details around the House:

On the right, the market square, "Place du Forum" which De La Salle crossed so often. Beneath the present Place is the actual Roman Forum: a large open market of the 3rd century, part of which has been cleared to reveal a huge room with square pillars.

On the left, the Town Hall, dating from the18th century, inside which, prior to 1914, there had been a commemorative plaque which read:
"Les Freres avaient bien merite de la Cite."

From 1680 - 1880, the Brothers had been practically the only recognized teachers of the boys' primary schools in Reims.

Family Fame

It was also at about this time that De La Salle's cousin, Fr. Jacques Marquette left for North America, working with the Iroquois Indians along the upper Mississippi.

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Where it all began The inner courtyard of the home where De La Salle was born and raised to the age of 13. Hotel de La Cloche is where his character was formed through the influence of his parents, his relatives, and his younger siblings.

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Saint John Baptist De La Salle was born in Rheims, France on April 30, 1651. He was a very rich man. He taught poor people without hesitance, though he was rich.

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This city was where St. John Baptist De La Salle died, on Rouen, France.

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Reims, France- De La Salle was born here. This is also his hometown.

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One of the Significant Places in Saint La Salle's Life is Parmenie. It is on of the Places significant to hI'm because he met a sister here. He was a Canon in Rheims Cathedral AND Gave All His Wealth FOR His LOVE FOR THE Poor

(Example of his house below)

HE IS WORTHY TO BE A SAINT!😄

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St. John Baptist de La Salle was born on April 30, 1651 and he is born in Reims, Champagne, Kingdom of France, which is a very significant place in his life. He is born in a rich family. As he grew up, he made a school with his money. For my opinion, he is very generous, because he had made a school out of his wealth, and teaches poor children for free. He has died in 1719, which is very sad for me and all of the children that he has taught. But as long as his school lives, his legacy will continue to live on, in our hearts. Animo La Salle!!
Saint John Baptistde La Salle is very generous, he teches other kids by himself, and doesn't need to hire others, this is a good example why he is considered a saint.