The Influence of La Salle
In the 1600’s in France, education was something for the rich alone. Children not from the upper classes in France would never receive an education. However, in 1679, a young Catholic priest, St. Jean Baptiste de La Salle began doing the unthinkable. Moved by the plight of the underclasses and the poor, La Salle decided to reach out to these children of need. As a sign of his commitment, he abandoned his family home and renounced his family wealth—worth about one half million dollars in today’s money. He then formed the Christian Brothers, a religious community of teachers in France. Indeed, St. Jean Baptiste de La Salle’s ideas were considered radical and outrageous by the aristocracy and others in power but he never blinked. LaSalle’s Christian Brothers believed in education for all‐‐‐something unheard of in his time‐‐‐and thankfully the Christian Brothers eventually opened up shop here in the United States founding many high schools and universities. From the beginning, the Christian Brothers have been all about touching the hearts and minds of all students…..encouraging and inspiring and offering opportunity no matter what baggage the student might have. And what a history they have created. The legacy of the St. Jean Baptiste de La Salle is thousands and thousands of educational success stories all around the world. And one of those success stories is me. As a young man from a Philadelphia working class family in which no one had ever pursued higher education, I desperately needed support and guidance. The Christian Brothers believed in me, motivated me, and inspired me to dream big dreams. From a Christian Brothers High School (West Catholic), I eventually went on to study for my undergraduate degree at a Christian Brothers University (La Salle). I will always be grateful! Joseph Batory