John the Baptist DeLeSalle
•St. John Baptist De La Salle founded the Institute of Brothers in France in 1680.
•Born of a well-to-do family in Reims, as a young priest he became involved with a small group of young school teachers.
•De La Salle formed them into a community in which they called themselves Brothers. This community eventually became the Brothers of the Christian Schools.
•Feeling himself gently led by God, De La Salle divested himself of his personal wealth and ecclesiastical honors to devote his talents and energy to helping the Brothers become effective in the education of the urban poor.
•Today the Brothers have schools in over eighty countries, a worldwide network of Lasallian schools that continue to adapt the sprit and educational vision of De La Salle to the needs in new times and cultures.