Saint Who?
Saints Who Were Teachers
Saint John Baptist de la Salle
Priest and founder († 1719) Feast: April 7
Saint John Baptist de la Salle had no intention of becoming a revolutionary educator. Instead, he and his noble parents recognized that God was calling him to the priesthood even when he was a young boy. His seminary studies were interrupted when his parents died, but after arranging for the care of his six younger siblings, John was ordained at the age of twenty-seven.
Soon afterward, a dying priest made John promise to take over his duties as spiritual director of an orphanage. Then a layman told him about his plan to establish a school for poor boys. John was gradually drawn into the novel idea of educating the children of the poor, which led to a new religious order called the Brothers of the Christian Schools.
Convincing children that they want to be educated is always difficult. But one of his biggest challenges was finding the right teachers. After all, his teaching methods were very different from those popular at the time. John taught the students in French rather than demanding that they learn Latin first, and he taught them in a group rather than individually. Eventually other men wanted to follow John’s example, and his disciples formed the first order of religious brothers devoted to educating people of all backgrounds, rooted in an awareness of God’s presence in the world and in every subject.
Father of Love, help us see divine providence
in surprises and setbacks.
