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LIFE AND VIRTUES
OF
ST. JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE
ST. JOHN BAPTIST DK LA SALLE
Founder of the Institute
of the Brothers of the Christian Schools.
Life and Virtues
of
St. John Baptist
De La Salle
FOUNDER OF THE INSTITUTE
OF THE BROTHERS OF THE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS
BY
J. GUIBERT, S. S.
Translated from the Frenola
TOURS
IY1AISON A. MAINE & FILS
IMl RIMEL RS - fiDlTEURS
PARIS
J. DE GIGORD
RUE CASSETTE, 15
1912
Permit to print the Life and Virtues of Nf. John Baptist
De La Salle, by J. Guibert, a priest of Saint- Sulpice.
A. CAPTIER,
P. (JEN. OF SAINT -SULPICE.
t
Parisiis, die 30 Aprilis 1901.
f FRANCISCUS, CARD. RICHARD
ARCH. PARTSIENSIS.
Imprimatur :
Turonibus , die 6" Julii 1912.
f RENATUS-FRANC1SGUS
ARCH. TUIIONENSIS.
NOV281968
PREFACE
This book has no scientific pretensions; Us aim
is chiefly to edify the reader. Not that in writing
it ive set no great value on historic exactitude,
for a narrative is never more wholesome to the
soul than when it is very truthful. But, whilst
following the way traced by our Histoire de St. John
Baptist De La Salle, published last year on the
very day of the canonization of our dear Saint,
we have simplified our work by avoiding all display
of erudition : notes, documents, references, discus
sions, all have been omitted in this book. The
reader who is desirous of making a more profound
study of the subject that we are sketching in these
pages, will find all necessary matter in our Histoire,
to which we refer him.
At the same time, we have not contented our
selves with a hurried view of the apostolic career of
6 PREFACE
SL John Baptist De La Salle. After having fol
lowed him through the vicissitudes of a very active
existence, we have taken time to study his personal
physiognomy, endeavouring to fix the traits which
characterize the man, the Christian, the apostle
and the founder of a religious Order. For this
reason we decided upon selecting the title : Life
and Virtues.
May these humble pages make known a Saint
who merited so well of the Church and the nations,
who endowed the Church with a religious Order
as fervent as it is flourishing, and who so power
fully concurred in developing in France the edu
cational works whence it derives its glory and its
power.
J. G.
Paris, March 10th 001.
LIFE AND VIRTUES
OF
ST. JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE
CHAPTER I.
EDUCATIO N
1651-1678
CHILDHOOD OF ST. JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE
1651-1660
The holy founder of the Institute of the Brothers of
the Christian Schools was born at Rheims April 30th
1651. The parents of the predestined child, Louis De
La Salle and Nicolle Moe t de Brouillet, belonged to the
most respectable social and religious circles of Cham
pagne. With the worldly goods which he was one day
to sacrifice so nobly, he received in his birth the pre
cious heritage of honour, faith and virtue.
Indeed, the La Salles enjoyed at Rheims, along with
the Colberts, the highest esteem. Being descended,
according to a trustworthy tradition, from the illustrious
house of De La Salle which, in the Middle Ages, set out
8 EDUCATION
from Catalonia or Beam and settled all over France,
they were established in Champagne since the middle
of the fourteenth century. Their coat of arms, " three
broken chevrons of gold on an azure field ", recalled an
old legend, according to which an ancestor, John Salla,
had his legs broken by a shiver of stone when fighting
by the side of Alphonsus the Chaste, in the year 818.
The younger branch from which our Saint sprang, had
been obliged to embark in commerce during the six
teenth century, and, without departing from the strictest
honesty, it had acquired great riches, and a preponder
ating influence in the city of Rheims.
Among the ancestors of John Baptist there stands out
a more salient figure, that of Lancelot De La Salle, a
merchant and counsellor of the city, whose power gave
umbrage to the partisans of the Lifjue. Being accused
of Protestantism and cast into prison in 1575, Lancelot
proved his Catholicity and his virtues as a citizen.
One of the witnesses at the trial tells us that " the said De
La Salle is hospitable, lavish of his alms and compas
sionate to the poor whom he sees often ; he supports
poor children at school , and afterwards places them as
apprentices at his own expense, and he is loved by the
good. " This is a glorious testimony which shows in
the germ in this ancestor, the virtues that will shine
with such extraordinary lustre in the great-grandson.
The Meets De Brouillet were worthy of alliance with
the La Salles. Belonging to an ancien nobility of the
gown , they discharged with integrity the duties of the
magistracy and gave the people an example of lively
piety. John Moet, the maternal grandfather of our
Saint, daily recited the whole of the canonical office, and
drew from communing with God that life of faith which
CHILDHOOD OF JOHN BAPTIST 9
he imparted in so intense a degree to his grandson.
For, with his wife Perrette Lespagnol, he exercised the
happiest influence on the education of John Baptist.
It was in 1650 that the La Salles and the Moots
De Brouillet, already allied by friendship, contracted
a closer union by the marriage of Louis De La Salle, a
counsellor at the presidial court of Rheims, aged twenty-
five years, with Nicolle Moe t De Brouillet, aged seven
teen years. Louis De La Salle then lived with his broth
er Simon, at the hotel de la Cloche, a large town
mansion which, even at the present time, compares
well with modern buildings, and which is situated in
the rue de 1 Arbalete, near the place du Marche, and
which an inscription points out to the people of Rheims
and strangers as one of the most precious relics of the
ancient city. For, it was here that John Baptist De La
Salle, the glorious founder of a powerful Institute, the
intelligent and devoted educator of the people, the
venerated Saint whom the Church has just raised to
the altars, was born.
God blessed the union of Louis De La Salle and
Nicolle Moe t with ten children, three of whom died at
an early age. Of the seven others, three entered Holy
Orders : John Baptist, Jacques -Joseph and Louis ; Rose-
Marie became a religious; Marie, Remy and Pierre
entered the state of marriage and left posterity.
John Baptist was the eldest of this numerous family,
and he was to become its glory. On the very day of
his birth, grace took possession of his soul by holy
Baptism , and we have every reason to believe that it
Avas never banished therefrom by mortal sin.
No extraordinary events marked the early years of
this blessed child ; besides, it was characteristic of his
r
10 EDUCATION
existence to be less distinguished by the lustre of mir
acles than by the depth and continuity of his solid
virtues. Yet, his character early manifested itself and
gave indications of his being called to great things.
Piety was one of his first traits. Instinctively, this
young soul turned to God. As soon as he was taken
to church , he manifested a taste for the ceremonies of
religion ; having returned home , he took pleasure in
reproducing what he had seen. In the little oratory
which his parents had to arrange for him, he enjoyed
being the priest of his chapel, to ascend the altar and
imitate the august mystery of the Mass. And it was
not a simple childish amusement for John Baptist, for
he performed these acts with all the recollection and
religious spirit of which he was capable. If he some
times escaped from the vigilance of his parents , it was
not to play with comrades, but to go to church to pray,
and follow the Divine Office. There they found him
recollected, attentive, and in that attitude of respect and
prayer which he was to preserve in church during the
whole course of his life.
He was but seven or eight years of age when, by dint
of entreaties, he obtained permission from his parents
to exercise the functions of altar boy. When he served
the priest at the altar, which was a high honour in his
estimation, he acquitted himself of this office with so
much grace and fervour, that, in the words of his bio
grapher, " he attracted the attention of all the assistants,
and inspired those with devotion who beheld him. "
To this lively piety, he joined precocious maturity
and thoughtful gravity. And, indeed, he had but little
inclination for the usual amusements of children ; re
ligious objects were his toys, and religious practices the
JOHN BAPTIST AT COLLEGE 11
only distractions he loved. On a certain day, when a
family feast had assembled a joyful party of relatives at
the hotel de la Cloche, John Baptist was suddenly seized
with a deep feeling of ennui at the noise and amuse
ments around him ; taking refuge near his venerable
grandmother Perrette Lespagnol , he took her aside and
besought her to read for him the Lives of the Saints.
As much as he loved church song, so much did he
abhor profane music. His father, who was a man of
distinction and a friend of art, wishing doubtless to
give John Baptist a more complete liberal education,
endeavoured in vain to give him a taste for music.
Either because of a lack of artistic talent or through a
spirit of mortification, the child did not respond on this
point to the efforts of Louis De La Salle.
It was quite otherwise with his studies. For, an old
biographer tells us of John Baptist, " that lie cheerfully
took to everything that a faithful, virtuous tutor pre
scribed, and he was not long in acquiring the necessary
knowledge to go to college. " Indeed we believe that he
did not go to the petites ecoles, but that his father kept
him to " bring him up under his own eyes ", until he
should attain the requisite age to begin his classical
studies.
JOHN BAi TIST AT THE COLLEGE DES BONS-ENFANTS.
HE ENTERS THE CLERICAL STATE. -
lib] BECOMES A CANON OF RHEIMS
1660-1669
John Baptist was nine years of age when he was placed
at the College des Bons-Enfanls> of the University of
i2 EDUCATION
Rheims. There lie pursued the whole course of studies ;
consequently, he devoted five years to grammar, two to
literature, poetry and rhetoric, and two to philosophy.
While following the course at the college, he re
mained under the vigilant guardianship of his parents,
heing an extern student. Thanks to their daily
influence,, thanks to the wholesome joyfulness found
in his family, he preserved all the glow of his piety,
purity of conscience and the sweet gravity of his
character.
Besides, the University did not then imperil the faith
or the virtue of children. It was not then an oeuvre
laique, in the modern sense of the word; being directed
by the clergy themselves, the spirit that pervaded it
was eminently religious. Whilst forming their literary
taste by familiarizing them with the great authors of
Greece and Rome, the young men, solidly instructed in
their religion and profoundly impressed with the spirit
of faith of their social surroundings, lived up to it and
considered the fables of mythology only as subjects for
scholastic exercise. Besides, nothing was spared for
the protection of the pupils : the regulations of the
college prescribed religious exercises, instructions in
catechism and sermons , as well as means of discipline
to safeguard virtue.
Under the twofold action of a vigilant family and a
catholic college, the fervour of John Baptist only
increased. He was not yet eleven years old, when he
heard the call of God and made it known without delay
to his parents. Of what consequence was the world
with its riches and honours to him ? The promises of
a future had no attractions for him , because God had
spoken to his heart. He was not willing to leave the
JOHN BAPTIST ENTERS THE CLERICAL STATE 13
sanctuary which he loved ; he desired always to enjoy
the divine office in which he already participated ; he
wished never to be deprived of his intimate union
with God by prayer which constituted his happiness.
In order to cast his career where his heart was already
fixed, he solicited the favour of being admitted among
the clergy by receiving the tonsure.
Such a proposal would have thrown into consterna
tion a less religious family than that of John Baptist.
Wealthy families, certainly, did not refuse to give
their children to the Church; but the recognized custom
of the time destined the younger children for the
priesthood, and reserved the elder ones to sustain in the
world the glory of the name and the prestige of fortune
of the family. Entrance into the ecclesiastical state of
the eldest of the family was very unusual. What was
Louis De La Salle to answer his son? If there was a
struggle in this soul so thoroughly pervaded with faith,
the religious spirit triumphed over that of the world,
and the tyranny of custom was overcome by the gener
ous inspiration of a great heart. This immolation of
paternal self-love was so much the more meritorious, as
the glorious destinies of the child could not yet be sur
mised. Now we see that God returned a hundredfold
what he had received; for, this child who sought only
the pious obscurity of the sanctuary, illustrated the
name of the La Salles with a brilliant aureola lasting
through the ages.
It was on March llth 1662 that John Baptist De La
Salle received the tonsure in the chapel of the archi-
episcopal palace of Rheims. The conferring of the ton
sure at the age of eleven years was not unusual in the
seventeenth century; it did not entail any engagement
14 EDUCATION
for the future, but simply indicated the desire of a
youth to give himself to God on attaining a ripe age.
But, however young, John Baptist had sentiments in
harmony with the holy profession of the priesthood.
The sacred formula that he pronounced was not in vain
for him ; for, in saying to God : " The Lord is the por
tion of my inheritance ", he already made in his heart
all the sacrifices that God would ask of him one day.
And he gave to God pledges of his generosity by a con
tinued increase of piety, by greater and greater assiduity
at church and at the liturgical offices, and by a reserve
that showed in him a youth vowed to God.
His parents might have availed themselves of his
entrance into Orders to solicit some rich ecclesiastical
benefice in his favour. They did nothing of the sort, so
much were they disinterested for their part in the
matter of the gift offered to God in the person of their
son. It was only five years later that a canonicate was
conferred on John Baptist De La Salle in the cathedral
of Rheims.
Canon Dozet, his relative, Archdeacon of Champagne
and chancellor of the University, carefully followed the
progress of the young cleric. The rare piety which did
not belie itself ; the irreproachable behaviour indicat
ing great moral worth ; incontestable talent which set
off the young student among the best students of the
University, disposed this wise old man to resign his
benefice in favour of John Baptist. On Easter Day 1666,
in a solemn session of the University, when he heard his
name pronounced among the laureates of the College,
he was convinced that his prebend could not be be
stowed in favour of a cleric that was more deserving or
inspired richer hopes. On January 7th following, young
JOHN BAPTIST BECOMES A CANON OF RHEIMS lo
Canon De La Salle was installed in the choir of Notre-
Dame of Rheims.
He was becoming a member of an illustrious body that
had given many Bishops, great Popes and Saints to the
Church. But, far from glorying in it, he thought only
of worthily discharging this august ministry of the
divine office. Looking upon himself as consecrated by
his state to public prayer, he felt that the divine praises
should be so much the more pure and fervent on his
lips inasmuch as he sang them in the name of the
Church and of all mankind.
" Remember ", said Canon Dozet to him, " that a
Canon should live like a Carthusian , spending his life
in retirement and solitude. " Faithfully practising these
lessons, the young Canon soon became the admiration
of his colleagues by his fervour and exactitude. " He
is for us ", said one of them, " a model of regularity,
of modesty and candour. "
His title of Canon invited him to fix himself in the
ecclesiastical state and to take another step towards
the priesthood. Besides, he had only to follow his
personal attraction to ask for Minor Orders, which he
received on March 17th 1668.
He was then a student in philosophy, and the end of
his course of studies Was approaching. When he had
crowned them with the Degree of Master of Arts on
July 10th 1669, he began his course of theology without
the least hesitation , and followed it for a whole year at
the School of Theology of the University of Rheims.
But his father, a thoughtful man, followed the intel
lectual and moral progress of John Baptist too atten
tively not to understand the merits of the young man and
what might be expected from him in the future. Being
1<> EDUCATION
the guardian of the gifts that God had conferred on this
chosen soul, he understood that his first duty was to
improve them, and he deserves thanks for having
selected, for the completion of his son s education, the
two most celebrated schools then in France, the Sorbonne
and Saint-Sulpice.
JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE FOLLOWS THE COURSE
OF THE SORBONNE
AND FORMS HIMSELF TO THE PRACTICE
OF THE SACERDOTAL VIRTUES
IN THE SEMINARY OF SAINT-SULPICE
1670-1672
The Sorbonne was looked upon in the whole Church
as the first among the Schools of Theology, as well for
the solidity of its teachings and the reliability of its
decisions, as for the merit of its Doctors and the value of
the degrees it conferred. John Baptist followed the
courses assiduously, and he would have pursued his
studies until he had attained the degree of Doctor, if
family trials had not interrupted them at the end of
eighteen months.
It was at the school of the most illustrious masters
that France then possessed that he contracted that love
of study which, in spite of a multitude of affairs, made
him apply himself all his lifetime to intellectual work.
There were developed the dominating qualities of his
mind : order, clearness and firmness of exposition, which
revealed themselves later on in so striking a manner in
his conduct and in his books. The very si, ong oppo-
THE SEMINARY OF SAINT- SULPICE 17
sition which, at that time, the Faculty of the Sorbonne
manifested with regard to the doctrines of Jansenius,
fixed his mind in fidelity to the Roman Church towards
which his heart was already inclined. Thus, his sejourn
in Paris was not less profitable to the purity of his faith
than to the solidity of his knowledge.
But his virtue there gained still more. For the Semi
nary of Saint -Sulpice, where he enclosed himself in
an austere and recollected solitude, placed the seal on
his religious training which had been already so much
advanced by happy family influences.
In fact, his new surroundings offered him all the
means of sanctification. The seminary, still penetrated
with the memory and the graces of its founder, had not
lost any of its first fervour. Besides M. De Bretonvil-
liers, the faithful guardian of the spirit and authority
of M. Olier, there was M. Tronson, as learned as he
was modest, a profound psychologist and at the same
time an enlightened theologian, whose name stands out
so prominently in the education of the clergy of the
17th century. This eminent man whose counsel was
sought by the whole Church of France, was the spiritual
director to whom John Baptist confided the care of his
conscience and the cultivation of his will .
Among his fellow-students, the young Canon had the
happiness of forming advantageous friendships ; we
shall mention only Fenelon and Paul Godet Des Marais,
both called to occupy considerable positions at the
court, one in connection with the Duke de Bourgogne,
and the other with Madame De Maintenon, whose adviser
he became. But no one attached himself more closely to
him than Jacques Bauhin, a converted Calvinist, who
was the admiration of all by his lively piety, his morti-
18 EDUCATION
fication and humility. Twenty years later, John Baptist
placed himself nnder his direction and found in him, in
the first tribulations of a founder, a most supernatural
and comforting counsellor.
Under the beneficent action of this novitiate , where
" nothing hard was discouraging ", where exact disci
pline allied itself with an easy deportment and urbanity
of manners in all relations, where jthe most austere
Christian virtues harmonized with the expansive effu
sions of piety, the young seminarian acquired that temper
of soul which characterized him , and which presents a
marvellous harmony of meekness and strength , and of
mastery of the will with vivacity of sentiment.
However, his virtue remained as hidden as it was
profound. Could it be otherwise in an assembly of
select, thoughtful, fervent men, who, according to a
Memorial of the time, stood less in need of being spurred
on to advance than of being held to a moderate pace ?
For, in well-regulated communities, if any one attracts
attention , it is usually less by serious qualities than by
accidental peculiarities of character. One so well bal
anced in character as John Baptist was to be passed over
unobserved. However, his worth did not escape the
penetrating notice of his masters , as we learn from the
testimony given by M. Leschassier fifty years later.
The superior of Saint-Sulpice wrote in 1720, that " he
was, in the first place, an observer of the rule, and very
exact in the performance of the community exercises.
Soon he appeared more detached from the world than
he had been in entering. His conversation was always
gentle and becoming. He appeared to me never to have
displeased anyone, or to have drawn on himself any
censure. When he came to Paris for his studies, I noticed
THE SEMINARY OF SAINT -SULPICE 19
in him a marvellous progress in all virtues. All who
knew him, saw the marks thereof in his whole conduct,
especially in the patience with which he suffered con
tempt and other trials. "
This irreproachable seminarian in whom were germ
inating obscurely but in an active manner virtues one
day to bloom profusely in broad daylight, could not fail
to imbibe the apostolic zeal which then animated the
young clerics of Saint -Sulpice. The seminary, in fact,
shared in the parochial work with regard to the teaching
of catechism and the care of the petites ecoles, and the
most noble works abroad awakened in them efficacious
sympathies.
No question at that period engrossed thoughtful minds
in a more lively manner than the instruction of the
popular classes in charity schools ; either through pity
for the multitudes sunk in ignorance and .vice in conse
quence of lacking means to frequent pay-schools, or
through fear of the excesses to which a populace not
imbued with religious sentiments might give itself up,
everywhere the talk was of instructing the poor and
imbuing them with religious sentiments.
Already had M. Bourdoise, the zealous pastor of
Saint- Nicolas-du-Chardonnet, written to M. Olier these
words which have become memorable in the history of
the Christian Schools : " As to myself, I say it with all
my heart, I should gladly beg from door to door in
order to provide for a real schoolmaster. Like St. Francis
Xavier, I should ask all the Universities of Europe for
men willing, not to go to Japan or India to preach to
pagans, but at least to begin so good a work. " On
the other hand, M. Demia, in a book entitled Remon-
trances, which had attracted much attention, had
20 EDUCATION
pointed out to the aldermen of Lyons the disorders that
resulted from a lack of schools for poor children.
These ideas were taken up at Saint-Sulpice , and , at
the time when John Baptist lived there, all the students
were enrolled in an association founded by M. Bourdoise
in 1649, and having for its object to obtain Christian
teachers for children. The young Canon of Rheims
doubtless participated in the prayers and aspirations of
his fellow-students. And if it be true that in spite of
ourselves, our real life becomes the development of the
germs placed in our souls by education, we must recog
nize that Saint-Sulpice was for John Baptist De La Salle
the cradle of his vocation.
He would have been pleased to live many years in this
blessed house ; but he was violently dragged away
from it by cruel trials. The death of his mother, which
happened July 19th 1671 , was the first wound inflicted
on his filial heart; and his tears had hardly dried when
he lost his father on April 9th 1672. Though his grief was
great, instead of abandoning himself to it, he was obliged
to set out immediately for Rheims, in order to take hold
of the direction of the affairs of the family. He had en
tered Saint-Sulpice October 18th 1670, and left it April
19th 1672. The precious leaven that he bore away in
his heart was to ferment during six years of prayer,
labour and solitude. Then, when God s time manifested
itself, the apostle was ready for his mission.
JOHN BAPTIST TAKES CARE OF HIS FAMILY 21
JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE TAKES CARE OF HIS FAMILY
HE DEVOTES HIMSELF TO STUDY AND TAKES PART
IN WORKS. HE RECEIVES HOLY ORDERS.
THE PRIESTHOOD
1672-1678
John Baptist De La Salle, the eldest of the orphans,
understood that he was to be their father, and he took
to heart the nohle task of bringing up his four brothers
and two sisters in piety, in refinement and learning.
He acted powerfully on their souls by the example of
his own life. Being accustomed to regularity in the
seminary, he made his house a sort of community.
From early rising and religious exercises to the meals
the recreations and the studies, everything was done at
an appointed time. He drew from his piety the courage
to perform all his duties, and he found the sustenance
of his piety in the very obligations of his canonicate.
For he was not less inclined to the public offices of
the Church than to private meditation and intimate
communion with God.
This regular life, monotonous though it was, never
became a burden for his brothers , so tender and com
municative was his affection that it prevented or over
came all weariness. In this warm atmosphere of piety
of which John Baptist was the living source, his broth
ers and sisters grew up in union, religion and work.
He had the happiness of seeing three vocations devel
oped under his roof; for, as we have already said,
Rose -Marie entered the convent of Saint -Etienne at
22 EDUCATION
Rheims, Jacques-Joseph and Louis became priests. The
others founded truly Christian families in the world.
John Baptist, not satisfied with watching over their
souls, also managed their temporal affairs with care,
and, according to a biographer, the skill which he
manifested in these temporal questions, might have
given reason to the belief that " he was made for such
business. " It was thus that Providence was pleased to
mature its young servant, by exercising him, in the
shadow of his paternal house, to conduct souls and
manage weighty interests. If he appeared to lose time
in these family preoccupations, the truth is, that he
thus acquired consummate experience, and developed
a wisdom the happy fruits of which were soon to be
appreciated.
In spite of his love for study and his fidelity to follow
the lessons of the University of Rheims, his examina
tions dragged along tediously ; we do not know at what
time he underwent the examination for the degree of
Bachelor, but he obtained his Licentiate only towards
the end of 1677. Another interval of at least three years
elapsed before he obtained the degree of Doctor ; but he
took it to heart, through respect for his dignity as a
cleric and Canon, and not through ambition, to go
through the complete course of ecclesiastical studies,
and thus to raise his whole soul to the level of his
sublime vocation.
And still, he did not hesitate to add new cares to
those of head of a family, Canon and student; he
allowed himself to be persuaded by Nicolas Roland into
works of zeal.
Nicolas Roland, a Canon and lecturer on divinity of
Rheims, an ardent soul , who was ready for any under-
JOHN BAPTIST RECEIVES HOLY ORDERS 23
taking, followed up among others, a work for young
clerics, a weekly conference for priests, the direction
of an orphan asylum, the creation of popular schools
for poor girls and a sodality for lady teachers. On his
return from Paris, John Baptist De La Salle took this
apostolic man as the director of his conscience, and he
received from him, although in a more poised soul,
lively impulsions for works of zeal. Exhausted in the
flower of his age hy excessive labours, Nicolas Roland,
who foresaw his approaching death , ardently desired to
make Canon De La Salle the heir of his works as well as
of his spirit : docile to the lessons of so holy a master,
John Baptist initiated himself into these new forms of
apostolate and thus prepared himself for the future to
become, with a wisdom that never failed, a happy
innovator.
However he ascended the steps of the altar but slow
ly and, as it were, with fear. Notwithstanding the
overwhelming doubts about his vocation which troubled
him at the death of his parents , he had resolutely taken
the definitive engagements of the subdeaconship on the
formal invitation of M. Tronson and M. Boland, on
June 2nd 1672; but he received deaconship only four
years later, on March 21st 1676, and he allowed two
more years to pass before ordination to the priesthood.
Doubtless , young clerics then were not so hurried as to
day to receive Holy Orders, either because their mainte
nance was assured by benefices, or because the ranks
of the clergy were abundantly provided for. Besides,
having once placed between himself and the world the
insurmountable barrier of the subdeaconship, he had
never regretted devoting himself to God in the sacer
dotal state. We believe that his delicacy of conscience
1\- EDUCATION
was the sole cause of these delays ; like so many other
Saints, he dreaded a dignity before which even St. John
Ghrysostom, St. Jerome and St. Augustine had trembled,
and of which St. Vincent of Paul said with humility :
" Had I known what a priest is, I should never have
consented to become one. "
When he was ordained deacon in 1676, Canon De La
Salle, following the advice of Nicolas Roland, undertook
to exchange his rich canonicate for a benefice with a
charge of souls attached thereto. It appeared to him
that an active ministry would correspond better with
the aspirations of his zeal than the sedentary obligations
of his canonicate. He had already made arrangements
with the parish priest of Saint-Pierre, when the Arch
bishop of Rheims, Maurice Le Tellier, who was on this
occasion the happy instrument of Providence, refused
his consent, ordered the negotiations to be stopped, and
thus reserved John Baptist for his future mission.
Our Saint, who sought only the will of God, bowed
before the decision of his superior, and whilst further
pursuing his studies, prepared himself for the priest
hood.
It was on Holy Saturday April 9th 1678, that John
Baptist De La Salle received the priestly unction at the
hands of his Archbishop, in the metropolitan church of
Rheims. In order to enjoy the gift of God more freely,
he wished to say his first Mass without eclat, his
relatives alone present, in a humble chapel of the cathe
dral. What happened in this first meeting at the
altar between God and His servant? No witness of the
time has preserved the memory thereof for us; the
humility of the Saint chose to bury it in oblivion. But
his whole life as a priest speaks loudly enough , and we
THE PRIESTHOOD 2, i
can judge of the first day by all those which followed.
Thenceforward, the Mass was to be the centre of his
existence; he could not live a day without celebrating,
and he knew how to stand even the most painful infirmi
ties, in order to offer the august sacrifice. As passion
ately as he was attached to poverty, he never found
the vestments too rich or the altars too well decorated;
and his vestments and sacred vessels, preserved in the
treasury of Rheims, prove that, with regard to the
mystery of the Holy Eucharist, he went even to prodi
gality. And what a respectful altitude before the altar!
What angelic radiance on his countenance in his contact
with God! And then, what recollection in his act of
thanksgiving , even so far as to lose the use of his senses !
And how his words, issuing from a heart replenished
with God, penetrated the souls that then addressed
themselves to him !
Once in possession as a priest of the source of life
which the Eucharist is, John Baptist De La Salle will
now engage himself, never to depart therefrom, in the
providential mission for which he was marked out by
God.
Life and Virtues.
CHAPTER II.
THE FIRST SCHOOLS
1678-1682
JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE CONSOLIDATES THE WORK OF
NICOLAS ROLAND
1678
The life of John Baptist De La Salle unfolded itself in
perfect unity. Until the day of his ordination, he lived
a hidden life, he seemed to live only for himself and did
not even surmise.his mission ; he prepared himself only
to do the will of God. Hardly had he been ordained,
when the designs of God hecame manifest; he applied
himself without a moment s rest to the great work of
popular education, and, during the forty-one years of
his priesthood, he laboured only at this most important
work. The way that he entered was hard and strewn
with a multitude of obstacles ; he sprinkled it with his
tears and his blood; he drank the chalice of humiliation
to the dregs; but he did not deviate from it for a
moment, and being a pioneer as intrepid as he was
THE WORK OF NICOLAS ROLAND 27
patient, he opened up new roads which others followed
after him.
God began by testing his courage and aptitude in the
establishment of the work of Nicolas Roland.
The zealous divine of Rheims, worn out by the excess
of I ) is mortifications and labours, survived the ordina
tion of his dear disciple only eighteen days. Ry his Will
and Testament, he made John Baptist his Executor, and
confided to him the delicate mission of establishing on
a solid basis the cherished work of his life, a work that
was to preserve in Rheims his name and the veneration
of his memory, that is, the Congregation of the Holy
Child Jesus.
Being penetrated with the sentiments which then
were fermenting in the best of souls, Nicolas Roland
had, in 1670, established gratuitous schools for poor
children who were refused in pay- schools. He had
copied from the schools he had seen at Rouen, and it
was from Rouen also that had come to him the first
religious, Franchise Duval, who had become a school
mistress. In a few years, gratuitous schools for girls
were established in the different quarters of the city.
Pious persons, animated with holy zeal, joined Franchise
Duval, shared in her work, and uniting themselves in a
secular Congregation, took the title of Sisters of the Holy
Child Jesus.
Being carried off by death too soon , Nicolas Roland
had not obtained official recognition for his school
mistresses. His work would soon have crumbled, if it
had not been promptly placed on a solid basis by being
legalized; he had committed the task of doing this to
John Baptist De La Salle.
The mission was extremely delicate. It was neces-
28 THE FIRST SCHOOLS
sary to obtain the consent of the Archbishop , who had
never been in sympathy with Nicolas Roland and had
often refused him ; it was necessary to overcome the
opposition of the City Council, which saw in the new
Congregation only an additional burden for the people
to bear; finally, Letters Patent had to be obtained
from the King.
Whatever repugnance he experienced for the external
and distracting work which this matter necessitated,
John Baptist undertook it through respect and love for
Nicolas Roland. By his amiable and polite manners,
and thanks to his freedom with the most influential
persons, that the social position of his family procured
for him, he soon won the good will of the Archbishop
and the support of his council. Maurice Le Tellier
went so far as to place at the service of this cause the
great credit he enjoyed at the court of Louis XIV., being
the brother of the minister Louvois, and he also helped
it with the resources of his immense fortune. So great
was the diligence brought to the execution of this under
taking, that Letters Patent authorizing the Congregation
of the Holy Child Jesus were granted and registered as
early as the month of February 1679.
The humble daughters of Nicolas Roland were con
vinced by the facts that not only had the soul of their
father remained among them to protect them, but also
that he had given them a visible support who was not
less skilful than pious and wise. Hence they would have
been pleased to have him for superior; but the Arch
bishop found him too young and appointed another, so
that John Baptist kept up no other relations with them
than those of friendship and edification. It was God
himself who reserved him for something greater.
SCHOOLS IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY 29
MADAME MAILLEFER SENDS NYEL TO RHEIMS.
FOUNDATION OF THE SCHOOL OF SAINT -MAURICE
1679
Happy to have complied with the last wishes of Nico
las Roland, John Baptist De La Salle thought only of
resuming his studies and the duties of his canonicate,
Too modest to attribute any mission to himself, he did
not form any project. If he engaged in a new under
taking, it was because God urged him to it; besides,
he explained himself clearly on this subject.
He said : " I never thought of it... Even if I had ever
believed that the care I was taking of the schoolmas
ters through pure charity, should ever make it a duty
for me to live with them, I should have abandoned it...
God, who conducts all things with wisdom and kind
ness, and who is not accustomed to force the inclina
tions of men, wishing to engage me to take entire
charge of the schools, did it in an imperceptible manner,
and with much time, so that one engagement led me to
another, without my perceiving it at the beginning. "
These easy and imperceptible ways by which God led
this humble and docile soul to one of the greatest works
accomplished in the Church will be recognized by the
reader as he peruses these pages.
The vigorous religious impulsion of the seventeenth
century had brought about the creation of primary
schools in nearly all the parishes of France. Being
under ecclesiastical jurisdiction, these schools gave
equal attention to the development of the mind and to
30 THE FIRST SCHOOLS
the religious formation of the heart. But frequently,
especially in the cities, the poor children were neglected.
Either they had no admittance to the pay -schools, or
there was no zeal shown to have them received. Hence
they continued roaming about the streets, exposed to
all the vices engendered by ignorance and vagrancy.
In some cities, especially in Paris, charity schools had
been established for them. But these schools were rare ;
they lacked teachers and resources; order especially
was so much lacking , that they were less classes than
clamorous multitudes of children. Popular education
therefore awaited a creator and legislator. -
The reform movement set out from Rouen, where, as
early as the middle of the sixteenth century, charitable
schools had been opened by the Bureau of the Hospital.
Two choice souls had been labouring there in concert
for the education of the poor since 1662 : the Rev. Father
Bane, a Minim, whose sacred memory is held in bene
diction, established gratuitous schools for girls, and
founded an Institute of teaching religious, whilst Madame
Mailleter, in order to expiate by penance and works of
zeal a youth passed in effeminacy and vain show, conse
crated her time and fortune to the maintenance of the
teachers, male and female, of Christian schools.
Madame Mailleter, whose maiden name was Dubois,
was born at Rheims, and had resolved to procure for
her native city the benefit of popular education and to
save the poor children of Rheims as she had saved those
of Rouen. She had already in 1670, in concert with the
Rev. Father Barre, brought about the foundation of
schools for girls by sending Frangoise Duval to Nicolas
Roland. In 1679, she believed that the providential
moment had arrived to begin schools for boys also.
ADRIAN NYEL GOES TO RTTEIMS 31
In order to realize this object, she cast her eyes on
a man of devoted ness, ready for anything, under the
name of Brother Gabriel, who for twenty-seven years
had been conducting the charity schools of Rouen. His
name was Adrian Nyel. He was a native of Laojmojs
in the Bejmxais. district, and at this time, fifty-five years
of age. With the simplicity of a child, he complied with
the desire of Madame Maillefer and set out, with a boy
of the age of fourteen, to establish a charity school for
boys at Rheims. Nyel did not surmise all the conse
quences of his mission. He believed himself to be sent
by Madame Maillefer, but he was in reality the messenger
of Providence. He set out to establish a school, and
God made use of him to draw a Saint out of solitude and
obscurity, in order to bring about the creation of a
powerful Institute. Like a shepherd in the mountain ,
raising a clod with his crook, and causing a spring to
burst forth which becomes stronger in its course and
pours out on the plain a majestic river.
Having arrived at Rheims, Nyel at first presented
himself to the superior of the convent of the Child Jesus.
He was to make known his mission to Francoise Duval,
take the advice of Canon De La Salle, and, pending the
success of the enterprise, stop with the brother of
Madame Maillefer.
Frangoise Duval received him kindly; she knew and
appreciated him ; she was ready to help him in establish
ing a school for boys. But as much as she desired the
work, so much did she apprehend its failure. How many
prejudices were to be dispelled and difficulties over
come ! Her first thought was to consult Canon De La
Salle.
It just happened that John Baptist was in the house.
32 THE FIRST SCHOOLS
Nyel and he had crossed the threshold of the convent of
the Child Jesus .at the same time. The pious Canon
listened silently tq(Q/i/,Nyel. He admired the courage
of Madame Maillefer, who sent this man and this boy to
establish anew school at Rheims, and who promised three
hundred livres a year for its support. What would the
magistrates think? What would the clergy say? How
would the Archbishop look on it? In face of these
questions, it was necessary to take time, to pray and
reflect, and not to take any steps that might compromise
the project. John Baptist thought that it would be
prudent to bring Nyel and his companion to his house.
" Come and stop with me, " said he, " as my house is a
hospice, where country priests and ecclesiastics, who
are my friends, are wont to lodge ; it is quite well adapt
ed to receive you and conceal your design from the
public. By your external appearance you will be taken
for a priest from the country... " By receiving Nyel
into his house, M. De LaSalle made a first step ; he was
not to depart from the way he had entered.
He began by consulting God in prayer; he then
sought light in the counsel of the most holy and enlight
ened men of Rheims, such as Jacques Caliou, superior
of the seminary, and Dorn Claude of Brittany, prior of
the Abbey of Saint-Remy; he even went so far as to hold
a meeting in his house of the most zealous and prudent
ecclesiastics of the city, so that the question might be
duly examined. The resolution adopted by the assem
bly was that which John Baptist himself had pro
posed; so evident was it from the beginning that the
spirit of a founder animated him. The new school was
to be placed " under the protection of a parish priest
zealous enough to take charge of it, discreet enough not
THE SCHOOL OF SAINT- MAURICE 33
to betray the secret, and generous enough to support
the undertaking. " M. Dorigny, parish priest of Saint-
Maurice, appeared to have all these qualities; and to
him M. De La Salle addressed himself without delay.
Never were advances better received; for, the parish
priest of Saint- Maurice, desirous of establishing a char
ity school for the poor of his parish, was looking for a
teacher to take charge of it. An understanding was
quickly arrived at. " The only condition that we ask
for in this matter ", said M. De La Salle, " is that you
shall appear to be the founder of the school, and to lend
it your name. Nearly all your parishioners are poor,
you o\ve them an education which they cannot procure
for themselves ; you will have Nyel and his little com
panion to teach them; we recommend them in this capa
city. Take them as your own, and, when an opportunity
presents itself, make it appear as if you had set them to
work for the education of your parishioners. "
It was wise at this period to take such prudent mea
sures in opening a charity school; for, the teachers of
pay -schools, who were very jealous of their rights,
looked with suspicion on every rival undertaking, and
mercilessly prosecuted it. They only tolerated that
parish priests, solicitous for the instruction of the poor
of their parishes, should open gratuitous schools for
them alone.
The matter was so promptly and so happily arranged,
that M. Dorigny received Nyel and his companion into
his own house for the three hundred livres of Madame
Maillefer, and the school was opened on April 15th 1679.
This school of Saint- Maurice is properly considered
as the first school of the Institute of the Brothers. If
its walls have disappeared , the remembrance of it has
34 THE FIRST SCHOOLS
been preserved by a monument erected in the church of
Saint- Maurice to the glory of Canon De La Salle.
Far from attributing to himself any of the merit of this
foundation, John Baptist, on the contrary, left the
newly -begun work in the hands of M. Nyel and the
parish priest of Saint-Maurice. Believing that God now
required no. more from him with regard to this under
taking, he, in all simplicity, returned to the duties of
his canonicate. But Providence, that had chosen him for
an important design , soon drew him from the hidden
life where he wished to conline himself.
THE SCHOOL OF SAINT -JACQUES AND THE SCHOOL
OF SAINT -SYMPHORIEN.
HOW JOHN BAPTIST WAS LED TO DIRECT
THE TEACHERS
1679-1680
The new school soon attracted the attention of the
inhabitants of Rheims. As it had received poor children
until then addicted to vagrancy and vice, it had pro
cured tranquillity and moral salubrity to the suburb of
Saint -Maurice. The two teachers who were precious
helps to the parish priest taught, besides reading and
ciphering, the Christian doctrine and good manners, so
that in a short time the place assumed a changed
aspect.
Being informed of these happy results, and being
convinced that no work has more lasting consequences
than the education of children, a pious widow of the
parish of Saint- Jacques, Madame Leveque De Croyere,
THE SCHOOL OF SAINT -JACQUES 35
resolved to procure for the poor of her parish the same
benefit. Feeling that her end was drawing near, she
called for Canon De La Salle, and earnestly requested him
to undertake the work, and promised him an annuity
of five hundred livres for that purpose. tc I must ", she
said, " profit by so favourable an occasion ; for it is long
since God made me think of founding a school in my
parish, and I am very happy to see it realized before my
death. " The pious foundress died before the opening
of the school; but the annuity which she had guaranteed
was always paid exactly.
Meanwhile, Nyel had set about looking for help, and
had found three young men , willing to aid in the
work. The school of Saint -Jacques was opened in the
month of September 1679.
Not content with directing these negotiations, M. De
La Salle found himself obliged to take care of the tea
chers. As a matter of fact, M. Dorigny, who now had
live teachers in his house, and who received for them
but eight hundred livres, found their support beyond
his means; rather than jeopardize the work, M. De La
Salle promised to supply the necessary surplus from his
own income.
On the other hand, he soon perceived that Nyel was
not able to conduct a community, With very precious
qualities, there were deficiencies. Though he was gener
ous, devoted, enterprising, supernatural in his views,
and also a good teacher, yet he was inconstant, always
preoccupied with new foundations, more stirring than
thoughtful ; his frequent journeys kept him too far away
from his fellow workers. These young teachers, whom
no previous training had prepared to suffice for them
selves, suffered the bad consequences of isolation and
36 THE FIRST SCHOOLS
the want of supervision. They neglected their duties;
hence, there was less progress among their pupils; the
good behaviour which was so much appreciated in the
beginning, soon began to disappear. If a prompt re
medy had not been applied, the charity schools would
have been seriously compromised.
M. De La Salle was too zealous not to ward off the
danger. Besides, although unconsciously, he already
loved this work which was his with the tenderness of a
father. He therefore went to see the teachers, treated
them with kindness, and drew up a rule of life for them.
A certain hour was appointed for rising, for meals, and
for beginning school. Until now, these inexperienced
teachers had directed their classes without method, or
concurrence, and each had followed his own caprice ; he
gave them suitable advice to bring about uniformity of
management, an essential condition of success.
He thought of confining himself to what he had just
done : " I had imagined ", he said, " that the manage
ment of the schools and teachers that I was assuming
would concern only the exterior, which would bind me
in their regard to nothing more than to provide for their
subsistence and to be careful that they should discharge
their duties with piety and application. " But good has
its allurements like evil; M. De La Salle found himself
on an incline on which he could not halt.
He could plainly see that the parish priest of Saint-
Maurice regretted having encumbered his house by
giving an asylum to the teachers. On the other hand,
though he had no desire to exercise on these young men
the authority of a superior, his charity made it a duty to
visit them frequently and encourage them. He thought
the difficulties would be easily smoothed over, if the
THE SCHOOL OF SA1NT-SYMPHOR1EN 37
teachers had a residence in which they could be alone,
but quite near his house, where he could see them often
to advise and encourage them.
Since 1664, his family occupied a mansion situated
on rue Sainte- Marguerite, in the parish of Saint-Sym-
phorien. Not far from there, near the ramparts, he
rented a secluded house for eighteen months, and the
little company of teachers was transferred to it at Christ
mas 1679.
Thenceforward, the zealous Canon watched over them
with the most assiduous devotedness. He drew up for
them a more precise rule; being alone in their house,
they could carry out the least prescriptions. He spoke
to them frequently, giving them precious advice on
matters of piety and the duties of their state.
Nyel, who felt the responsibility of watching over the
teachers, could not but applaud the efforts of M. De La
Salle to train his fellow labourers. Following the bent
of his character, he hurried to look for new teachers to
open a third school in the parish of Saint- Symphorien.
And in fact, he succeeded, and thanks to the action of
John Baptist, these new classes soon became more
numerous and disciplined than the others.
Thus, with the blessing of God, grew the mustard
seed so timidly sown in the soil of Rheims; in less than
a year, it had grown large enough to be full of promise.
But, in order to develop, it still stood in need of the
gardener who presided at its germination ; and Pro
vidence preserved from ruin the work of the Christian
education of the poor by saving its pious founder from
a great peril.
It was in 1680. Being overtaken by night in the
midst of a tract covered with snow, John Baptist lost
38 THE FIRST SCHOOLS
his way and fell into a deep ravine. After long and
painful efforts to get out of the precipice, he succeeded
only by a kind of miracle. The infirmity, contracted
on this occasion, reminded him until his death, of the
danger he had run ; and he never spoke of this event
but with sentiments of lively gratitude for the manifest
protection of God which he experienced on this occasion.
JOHN BAPTIST BY IMPERCEPTIBLE DEGREES BBINGS
THE TEACHERS INTO HIS HOUSE. - HE ESTABLISHES
SCHOOLS AT BETHEL, GUISE, CHATEAU -PORCIEN
AND LAON
1680-1682
The first few days passed in the new house were
marked by sincere fervour; the little community took
possession of it with great joy. But this outburst was
of short duration. Was this surprising ? What con
stancy could be expected from young men without
training, under the direction of a master as inconstant
as Nyel, attached to a thankless and hard task, and
obliged to live in the same regularity as religious ? A
distaste for their vocation slowly penetrated their souls;
having grown negligent in their work, they soon
became dissatisfied with themselves and their position;
they would have abandoned their schools, if M. De La
Salle had not been there to sustain them.
This relaxation of will threw the zealous Canon into
great perplexity. He asked himself whether he had not
rushed into an impossible undertaking. He had to
choose between the alternative of abandoning the
THE TEACHERS IN THE HOUSE OF JOHN BAPTIST 30
teachers or resolutely taking their direction on himself;
for his spirit of regularity could not suffer the disorder
which reigned among them; he would have preferred
breaking with them altogether to keeping useless
relations. Indeed, he could not conceive how a work
of Christian education could be successfully carried on
by men who were not profoundly pious and virtuous.
But, how could he break the bonds which already
united him to these humble teachers ? He then felt
how much his heart had attached itself to them in
doing them good; yes, he loved them, and he was not
to separate himself from them ; he loved this work so
providentially begun, and he was not to betray it. In a
generous impulse, he took the resolution of making
a new effort to establish order and fervour in the com
munity of teachers.
But what means was he to take ? He saw but one that
was really efficacious, that of receiving the teachers
into his house and living with them. This perspective
frightened him. What would people, and especially
his family say, if he received into his house and
admitted to his table men whose social position was so
inferior to his? Could he overcome his own repug
nance, and lead a common life with these poor young
men who lacked those exquisite manners in which he
himself had been brought up ? The souls of saints are
not exempt from these interior struggles between nature
and grace; indeed, holiness is not exempt from these
combats, since it is measured by the victories gained
with the help of grace over nature.
Distrusting his own light at so grave a juncture, he
sought counsel, and it was to Father Barre that he
addressed himself. The holv Minim was then in Paris,
40 THE FIRST SCHOOLS
where his zeal for popular education made him found
a second Congregation of religious women , and gather
into a community, under the name of Brothers of the
Child Jesus, a certain number of teachers of charity-
schools of Paris. This man of God, in the full sense of
the word, who was very experienced in the spiritual
life, discovered the saint in the young Canon who
consulted him, and said to him very emphatically : " If
you wish to train your teachers to piety and make them
love their state because of the good they can do in it,
you should take them to your house and live in society
with them. "
These words were for M. De La Salle an order from
heaven. But, being prudent and thoughtful, he did
not act with precipitation. He entered gradually into
the way of sacrifice; having once begun, nothing was
to arrest his course; with a lirm and uniform step,
he arrived, like his Master, even at the summit of
Calvary.
In order to prepare for the transition, he began by
having the teachers take their meals in his house. This
did not seem extraordinary ; since it was he w r ho was
providing for them, it seemed quite natural that they
should come to him for their meals. This daily
presence at his table furnished him with the occasion
of acting efficaciously on their souls. Silence was kept
in the dining room, and well chosen books were read.
The reading kept the teachers recollected, instructed
them in their religious and professional duties, and
became the subject of edifying conversation during
their recreation. After refreshing their souls in this
pious manner, they returned to their occupation with
new ardour. What they gained in fervour was reflected
,f%
HRRARV
THE TEACHERS IN THE HOUSE OF JOHN BAPTIST 41
on their schools, and their classes became more
flourishing.
Daring the Easter holidays of 1681, M. De La Salle
availed himself of a long absence of Nyel and of the
interruption of schoolwork to engage the teachers in a
spiritual retreat of eight days. He brought them to his
house at seven in the morning and kept them until
evening prayer.
This retreat was very fruitful. Being kept during all
this time in an atmosphere of piety, the teachers learn
ed how to appreciate meditation and the practice of
mortification of the senses. Admonished by their wise
director, they took notice of their defects and learned
the means of reforming their exterior at the same time
that they developed their interior. After these eight
days of a life sanctified by prayer and regulated by
obedience, they seemed to be entirely new men, so
much so, that Nyel himself, ravished with admiration,
besought M. De La Salle to keep the teachers in his
house. -
This was a new and decisive resolution to be taken ;
John Baptist took it courageously, and, on June 24th 1681,
he received the teachers into his own mansion.
Immediately criticism gave itself full vent, and
contradictions began. Already the world had taxed
him with singularity, and for the two years that he had
taken charge of the teachers, his conduct had appeared
strange. But silence had been kept through respect
for his title of Canon and the high rank of his family.
When the teachers had definitively taken up their abode
with him, he was no longer spared. It was asked how
a member of the Chapter, a man of rank, could consent
to live with such common people; this was considered
42 THE FIRST SCHOOLS
beneath his dignity. The dress of the teachers con
sisting of a black gown with a rabat, without cloak,
announced only poverty ; not even the religious
characteristic was perceived in it which, in the simple
dress of a monk, is calculated to inspire respect.
These criticisms of the public exasperated his family
and turned his relatives against him. His way of
living caused them profound humiliation. In their
estimation, John Baptist did not know how to respect
his rank. They made it a crime for him especially that
he kept his younger brothers at the same table as the
teachers. Every time they met in his house, they
overwhelmed him with bitter reproaches, accusing him
of neglecting the care of his brothers for the purpose
of bringing up teachers without manners , who knew
but their a b c. According to one of his aunts, he
listened to all this patiently, with his arms crossed,
without saying a word.
His inflexible firmness so irritated his relatives, that
they took away from his guardianship his two youngest
brothers who were still living with him. This was
useless violence, which, far from making him give up
his work, resulted in making him more steadfast in it;
for, his stock of affection and devotedness were now
bestowed, without ever being again divided, on these
humble teachers, who became his adopted family. This
trial moreover helped him to overcome himself. If his
refined feelings had suffered a little from his daily
intercourse with strong characters whom education
had not yet refined, he finished by overcoming his own
repugnance and taking pleasure in the humble company
that he had so religiously accepted.
God did not withhold his consolation for so much
NEW SCHOOLS OPENED 43
humiliation and anguish of heart. His community
became more fervent and regular than ever; very
sensible progress was made in the schools; teachers
were asked of him from all directions. During the single
year 1682, notwithstanding his desire of not employing
an\ young recruits without training them, M. De La
Salle was obliged to give teachers to the charity schools
of Rethel, Guise, Chateau -Porcien and Laon.
The letter which he wrote on June 20th to the mayor
and aldermen of Ghateau-Porcien , shows the zeal and
delicacy with which he went about the foundation of
the schools.
" Were I to take but little interest in the glory of
God ", said he, " I should be very hard-hearted not to
be touched by the earnest entreaties of your Dean, and
by the courteous manner in which you have addressed
me. I should be very wrong, gentlemen, not to send
you teachers from our community, seeing your eager
ness and ardour to provide Christian instruction and
education for your children. Rest assured then, that I
have nothing more at heart than to second your good
intentions in this matter and that, next Saturday, I
shall send you two teachers to begin the school on the
day after the feast of St. Peter. I hope you will be
pleased with them. I am very much obliged for all
your kindness, and I beg of you to believe me,
" Respectfully yours , " etc.
CHAPTER III.
THE COMMENCEMENT
OF THE INSTITUTE
1682-1688
JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE QUITS HIS SPLENDID HOME.
HIS COMMUNITY IS RENEWED.
HE BECOMES CONFESSOR OF THE MASTERS
1682
When God chose Abraham to make of him the father
of a great people, He said to him : " Go forth out of thy
country and out of thy father s house, and come into
the land which I shall show thee. " After the most
illustrious founders of Religious Orders, John Baptist
De La Salle, in his turn, heard this command : he had
already separated himself from his family ; he was now
about to quit his own home, and soon after leave his
country.
While his relatives sought to annoy him by with
drawing his younger brothers from his guardianship,
they, on the contrary, left him greater freedom of
THE ESTABLISHMENT IN THE RUE NEUVE 45
action. There was now nothing that could attach him
any longer to his rich mansion of the rue Sainte- Mar
guerite, in no way built to be adapted to the needs of
a community of poor teachers. With the design of
avoiding the importunities of his relatives, and to
withdraw the masters from the distractions of a house
that was much frequented and of a very populous
district, he rented a more secluded residence situated
in rng_Nftiivft ; opposite the convent of Sainte-Glaire, and
took possession of it on June 24th 1682. From this place
the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools
was to corne forth.
He had scarcely entered his new home, when he
began to establish order among the young masters.
From the early hour of rising until evening, not a
moment was left to caprice; the community went from
prayer to the schools, and from the schools to prayer.
Even the meal times and the recreations were not
complete relaxations; the reading at table fixed the
mind on serious thoughts or some edifying subject ; the
conversation during the recreation was a commentary
on what had been read.
This monastic regularity could not fail to bring on a
crisis. These young men, who had sought to be
teachers rather than religious, " found their life now
tedious, their exercises too restraining, their food too
simple, their liberty too straitened. Overcome by
weariness, and feeling their will gave way under the
yoke, most of them withdrew. This desertion was a
cruel trial for the tender heart of M. De La Salle.
But he soon saw that God himself was watching
over his little flock. At the moment when the community
was about to begin, it was necessary that a choice
46 THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE INSTITUTE
should be made, in order to exclude the intract
able, whose presence would have been dangerous.
Besides, the empty places were very soon lilled ; for God
raised up numerous promising vocations, in which
talent for the school duties combined with the most
consoling dispositions of piety. With the exception of
two or three seniors, his community was now composed
of entirely new members, all ready to be guided by him
and fashioned to the religious life. From this moment,
the house assumed all the appearance of the most
irreproachable regularity.
This crisis gave M. De La Salle to understand the
necessity of a uniform interior direction for all the
members of the community. This is why he now com
plied with the desire that the masters had many times
expressed, that they might be able to address themselves
to him for confession; in this way he became com
pletely their father and his direction took hold of their
entire being.
However, in order to allow them the greatest liberty
of conscience, he frequently procured extraordinary
confessors for them. He begged these confessors to
tell him frankly whether the subjects experienced any
constraint, so willing was he to cease to be their con
fessor, if this office was found incompatible with that of
superior; but not one of them ever advised him to
abandon this practice, and he remained faithful to it till
his death.
From the moment that he had taken the interior
direction of his disciples, a notable progress manifested
itself in the community. All , taking the spirit of their
father, had the same maxims, the same views, the same
sentiments ; all of them seemed to have but one heart
JOHN BAPTIST RESIGNS HIS CANONRY 47
and one soul. This unity of mind caused charity to
reign. Mutual charity rendered their souls happy,
and from this time, regularity was only a " sweet yoke
and a light burden. "
M. De La Salle had, besides, the secret of rendering
his authority gentle, and of tempering the force of his
direction with kindness. He disliked to command;
thanks to the impulse which he imparted to them, they
desired to do good on their own accord, and had the
consciousness of doing it by spontaneous acts.
His example much more than his precepts drew them
into the path of virtue. Not satisfied with the hours he
consecrated to prayer with his community, he retired
very often into a solitary garden that he had hired near
the ramparts. There he gave his soul up to prayer and
his hody to rude penance. He macerated his flesh with
bloody disciplines, so that the place where he had prayed
was marked with his blood. " Ah ! " cries his biogra
pher, " if the walls of the little hut that served him as a
cell could speak, what would they not relate... of the
pious excesses to which he delivered himself through
the spiritual intoxication caused by the new wine he
was beginning to taste ! "
In these intimate communings with God and by these
exercises of mortification, he prepared himself for new
sacrifices.
JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE RESIGNS HIS CANONRY
1683
The fervour of the masters was very soon subjected
to a dreadful temptation, that of distrust. Not that the
48 THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE INSTITUTE
austere life which they led frightened them; but the
thought of their future fate troubled them. As long as
M. De La Salle would support them and they would have
strength to bear the burden of their labour, all would
assuredly go well. But if their virtuous chief should
fail them, what would become of them? Deprived of
resources and having no profession, they would be
infallibly reduced to beggary. And even should M. De
La Salle remain faithful, they would still find themselves
doomed to a miserable old age; and in case of illness,
there would be no other asylum for them than the
hospital.
M. De La Salle, made aware of their fears, tried to
preach to them abandonment to Providence, firmly
believing that, to encourage the poor sorely tempted
souls, it would be enough to reanimate their faith :
" Men of little faith ", said he to them, " by your want of
confidence, you set limits to a bounty that knows none.
Certainly, if it is infinite, universal and continual, of
which you have not the least doubt, it will always care
for you and will never fail you. "
But these words, as well as many others, found their
hearts closed. The masters were rendered insensible
to these exhortations by a secret thought. They were
unable to hide it long : " It is easy for you ", said they
to M. De La Salle, " to speak to us in such terms. You
want for nothing; you are well provided for; you have
riches and you have, besides, your canonicate; all this
will protect you from the destitution into which we
shall infallibly fall, should the schools fail. "
These reflections, though somewhat rudely expressed,
were a revelation to M. De La Salle. Far from addressing
the masters reproachfully, lie humbly confessed that
JOHN BAPTIST RESIGNS HIS GANONRY 40
they were right. He understood that he would have no
ascendency over his disciples until he had despoil
ed himself of all his riches and had become poor like
them. From this moment, he, in the secrecy of his
heart, sacrificed all his wealth. But what was he to do
with it?
Then followed many an hour of terrible anguish and of
painful hesitation. He hoped indeed to have the courage
to become poor like his disciples, and to sacrifice his
patrimony and his prebend. Bat did not prudence
dictate to him to employ his patrimony in founding new
schools, and to live with the masters on the income
from his canonry?
Before taking any definite action in so grave a matter,
he consulted Father Barre again. Some years before
this, the saintly Minim himself had sought the advice
of wise persons as to the means that would assure the
subsistence of his religious teachers, and had received
from M. Boudon, the pious Archdeacon of Evreux, the
following answer : " Found your establishments on
Providence ; that is of more value than all contracts. "
Being still full of these thoughts, he answered Canon
De La Salle : " The foxes have holes, and the birds of
the air nests ; but the Son of man hath not where to lay
his head. The foxes are the children of the world,
who are attached to its goods. The birds of the air are
the religious, who have their cell as their refuge. But
those who, like you, are destined to instruct and catechise
the poor, should have no other portion on earth than
that of the Son of man. So you should divest yourself
not only of all your riches, but also resign your benefice,
and live in an entire abandonment of all that might with
draw your attention from procuring God s glory. "
Life and Virtues. 3
SO THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE INSTITUTE
M. De La Salle, though prepared for all, yet felt some
surprise at so explicit a decision. Being as prudent as
he was courageous, he took time to meditate before his
crucilix, and there to ponder over the words of the pious
Minim. But the more he prayed, the more the fascina
tion of entire sacrifice seized him.
As soon as his resolution of sacrificing all things
was ripe, he apprised his director and solicited his
approbation. M. Gallon, superior of the seminary, was
a man of God ; but he did not share Father Barre s ideas ;
he would have wished that the income from the patri
mony and canonry should be consecrated to the charity
schools . John Baptist, impatient to commence his
sacrifice, proposed to divest himself at least of his
prebend , which required too constant attendance to be
compatible with the care of the schools and the duties
of the community.
As the affair lingered on, his intention became known
outside. A sudden and violent tempest burst out against
him. He was severely treated by public opinion;
according to some, " his excessive mental strain had
weakened his mind ; " while others said " that, in acting
thus, he was but following the bent of his mind, which
always went to extremes; " it was hoped " that he
would not find directors complaisant enough to approve
of such a whim. " His relatives and friends, in fear
and alarm, conjured him to weigh all the consequences
of his project : his resignation would dishonour his
family ; the members of the Chapter would regard it as
an act of disdain; and he was exposing himself to
poverty and neglect.
All these attacks found him impassible and resolute.
" The last shift ", said he, " will be to ask alms, and
JOHN BAPTIST RESIGNS HIS CANONRY 51
should this be necessary, we will do it. " This firm
attitude gained his director s assent.
But there was yet the Archbishop s authorization to
be obtained. John Baptist undertook a journey to Paris
to solicit it. M. Le Tellier, who was prejudiced against
him, was displeased with his design and even refused
him the audience he solicited.
This journey to Paris was not however without
consolation for him. For, in fact, he was encouraged
by Fathers Giry and Barre, and besides received the full
approbation of his old masters of Saint-Sulpice. One
of them, M. De La Barmondiere, who had become parish
priest, made him promise soon to return, and bring
with him two of his masters, to take charge of the
charity school in the rue Princesse. Our Saint, believ
ing that his promise was all but accomplished, " left ",
as his biographer says, as a proof of the sincerity of
his word, " a part of his wearing apparel. "
With his heart full of these hopes, M. De La Salle
followed his Archbishop to Rheims. Renewed entreaties
only provoked new refusals. One day, when he had
been again refused, he retired to the cathedral to pray.
He poured out his heart with an ardent supplication at
the foot of the altar; he was noticed, motionless and as
if in ecstasy, by two persons who knew him. " Pray for
M. De La Salle ", said one of them, he is losing his
mind. " < You are right ", replied the other, he is
surely losing what is worldly in it in order to fill it with
God s spirit." Strengthened by prayer, our Saint returned
to the Archbishop. To his great surprise, the doors
of the archiepiscopal palace opened before him. The
prelate received him kindly, spoke to him with benevo
lence, accepted his resignation and signed the act by
52 THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE INSTITUTE
which he made over his prebend to M. Faubert. At
last, his soul delivered, abounding with joy, John Baptist
returned to the rue Neuve, assembled his disciples and
sang with them the Te Deum.
However, the matter was not yet at an end, and a fresh
storm burst upon him, as soon as it became known that
he had transmitted his prebend to M. Faubert, then a
pious and deserving priest, but of humble extraction.
The De La Salle family protested, and pretended that
the canonry of John Baptist should descend to his
brother Louis. The Chapter was indignant that, without
consulting it, a man of rather humble extraction had
been introduced into its ranks. The public criticised
the incomprehensible disinterestedness that had influ
enced the Saint to prefer a poor ecclesiastic to his own
brother. Maurice Le Tellier, who shared the feelings
of the family and of the Chapter, charged M. Callou to
persuade M. De La Salle to reconsider his decision.
M. Callou did, in fact, take steps in order to please
the Archbishop, the Chapter, the family and the city.
But John Baptist answered with all simplicity : " If my
brother were not my brother, I should not hesitate
to satisfy the Archbishop, in making choice of, and in
giving him the preference to the one whom I have
named; but can I, and ought I listen to the voice of
nature and to the solicitations that prompt it?
Profoundly touched by such religious sentiments,
M. Callou did not insist : " God forbid ", said he to him,
" that I should advise you to do what every one seems
to ask. Do what the Spirit of God has inspired you to
do. His counsel, though contrary to the one I brought,
is the only one that must be listened to. "
Thus ended this long and painful affair, in which
JOHN BAPTIST SELLS HIS PATRIMONY 53
John Baptist was seen to display as much will and
energy to despoil himself of the riches and honours of
the world, as other men generally employ for their
acquirement.
As soon as he saw his bonds broken, he determined
to start for Paris : several friends urged him to do so,
M. De La Barmondiere and Father Barre called him
there; and, besides, he was in honour bound to go by
the formal promise he had already made. But his
director, who considered his departure inopportune, and
even harmful to the rising work, made it an obligation
for him to remain at Bheims some time longer. His
work, in fact, required to be fortified before being
carried to a distance.
JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE SELLS HIS PATRIMONY
AND DISTRIBUTES THE PROCEEDS TO THE POOR
1683-1684
Delivered from his canonicate, John Baptist was still
tied to the goods of the world by his rich patrimony.
He heard the words of the Gospel resounding in the
utmost recesses of his heart : " If thou wilt be perfect,
go, sell what thou hast, and give to the poor ; and come,
follow me. " From this moment, the supreme ambition
of his life was to become poor like his disciples, and
to have no other guarantee for the future than God.
He acquainted his director with the interior movement
which urged him to sacrifice his fortune. " I will not
renounce it, if you do not wish me to do so ; I will abandon
54 THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE INSTITUTE
it only inasmuch as you advise ; if you tell me to keep
anything, were it but five sols, I will keep them. "
M. Gallou was liable to be greatly perplexed by this
proposal . For such total renouncement, frequent enough
in the early ages of the Church, had become very rare,
and it could not fail to lower M. De La Salle in the
estimation of all prudent men. However, -rising supe
rior to all human prudence under the influence of divine
inspiration, M. Gallou unhesitatingly gave his full
consent to the proposal of his illustrious penitent.
" But, " said he to him, " since you are determined to
make an entire renunciation of your patrimony, make it
in favour of your community, and found your schools. "
But the Saint was haunted by the words of Father
Barre said in jest : " If you endow your schools, they
will dwindle away 1 . " Thus divided between two
apparently contradictory counsels, he had recourse to
prayer : " My God ", cried he, " I know not whether
I should endow the schools or not : it is not for me to
establish communities, or to know how they should be
established. It is for Thee to know how, and to do it in
the way Thou pleasest. I dare not found establishments,
because I know not Thy will. I will therefore contribute
nothing to found our houses. If Thou found them,
they will be founded; if Thou do not found them, they
will remain without foundation. I beseech Thee to
make Thy holy will known to me. "
A prayer so humble merited an answer. God gave
the reply through the voice of events. The winter
of 1684 and all the following year caused such frightful
i In French : Si vous fondez les ecoles, elles fondront. The play
is on the verbs fonder and fondre, which entirely resemble each
other in some parts of their conjugation.
JOHN BAPTIST SELLS HIS PATRIMONY ;;;>
destitution throughout the province of Champagne, that
M. De La Salle firmly believed that God ordered him to
sell his goods and give the proceeds to the poor. And
he did it, in fact, largely but prudently. He gave all,
but with as much order and discernment as if he had
been only the administrator of riches intrusted to his
care.
The poor whom he assisted were divided into three
categories.
The school children, after each meeting, had a portion
of bread given to them, and , according to the remark of
a biographer, " they came to receive it with much more
avidity than the instruction. "
The bashful poor were the special objects of his care ;
he watched their movements that he might find out the
destitution that their reserve would hide from view,
and he had important assistance brought to them with
so much discretion that their self-love was not wounded.
As to the poor who were known as such , he gathered
them into his own house : after a catechetical instruction,
which he himself gave, or sometimes one of the eccle
siastics that lived with him, he distributed abundant alms
to them. This distribution took place every morning.
Adoring with the spirit of faith Jesus Christ Himself in
all these poor, he often went on his knees to give them
this bread; and sometimes, glad to make himself poor
like them, he would take a portion of bread and eat it
in their presence. At that time of famine, after all had
been given, he humbled himself so far as to beg from
door to door, without fear of being rebuffed.
The most considerable fortune in the hands of so com
passionate a man, would have been quickly disposed
of. And so M. De La Salle soon found himself
56 THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE INSTITUTE
reduced to the ranks of the poorest of the poor. It was
the state in which God wished him to be that He might
take him and cause him to accomplish His designs.
But a man without either wealth or position, no
matter what name he bears, is doomed to all kinds of
scorn by the world. M. De La Salle was now beginning
to feel the contempt and persecution which follow in
the train of poverty. What mattered it to him thence
forward, so long as humiliation glorifies God and renders
the works prosperous !
THE FIRST ASSEMBLY. THE FIRST VOWS.
THE RELKilOUS HABIT
1684
God did, in fact, bless the work of John Baptist with
prosperity. His new home became the hearth of a
very active apostolate. Several priests, drawn by the
fame of his virtues, came to ask his advice and to make
a spiritual retreat under his direction ; some of them
even lived with him and shared his work. Of these,
one of the most zealous was M. Faubert, his successor
in the Chapter, who had grouped and formed to piety
some young ecclesiastical students.
But nothing touched the Saint s heart so much as the
number of well chosen vocations that God raised up at
that time for his schools. Whilst the first masters,
recruited by Adrian Nyel, had not been always guided
by supernatural views, the new comers, on the other
hand, looked upon their employment only as the means
of procuring the glory of God by instructing the poor.
THE FIRST ASSEMBLY 57
Some came from the working classes; while others had
given up their literary or theological studies to devote
themselves with him to the education of children.
Struck by their good dispositions, M. De La Salle
thought the moment was come to group the masters
together and organize a Community. This is why, after
he himself had made a retreat at the Carmelite convent
of Rheims, he convoked the Directors of the schools of
Rethel, Guise and Laon, to whom he added the principal
masters of Rheims, so as to constitute an apostolic
college of twelve disciples. This was the first Assembly
of the Institute.
It was opened on May 9th 1084, the vigil of the Ascen
sion, and was continued, under the form of a retreat,
until Trinity Sunday.
These seventeen days were divided between prayer
and conferences; for, by grouping his disciples in
the presence of God, M. De La Salle proposed to him
self to decide the most important questions regarding
the rising Society by common consent. For this end,
he gave the masters the greatest liberty to express their
views during the conferences. Fearing that his words
should have too great an influence over them, and so
prevent the spontaneity of their sentiments, the humble
superior was the last to speak. He then collected the
votes, and decided according to the majority.
The first subjects that were considered were the Rules
and Constitutions; but it was judged premature to fix
them by writing. It was thought much better to test
by experience, for some years yet, the customs and
regulations given by the founder. Did not St. Vincent
De Paul wait until the close of his long career before
writing the Constitutions of his Congregation?
3*
58 THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE INSTITUTE
It was easier to settle the service of the table, which
was made uniform for all the houses. Wisely conceived,
it safeguarded both the laws of health and the obligations
of penance. For men overwhelmed with work, sufficient
food was necessary; this was accorded them. But to
men who wished to live poor and mortified, choice
dishes were not suitable; therefore delicate meats and
high-priced fish were forbidden.
As to the religious habit, it was agreed that it was
necessary to adopt one that would distinguish the
masters of the community from seculars; but it was left
to the Servant of God to determine on the form and
colour. Until then, the masters had worn the short
habit, adding thereto only a rabat ; the following winter,
Providence itself gave indications that were faithfully
followed.
Finally, there came the question of the vows, the
most important of all. The fervour displayed by the
young disciples of M. De La Salle on this occasion was
admirable. With a generous impulse of faith, they
asked to bind themselves by the three vows of religion,
not for a certain, determined time, but for life : it seemed
that the obligations of poverty, chastity and obedience
did not cost them any sacrifice. But if John Baptist was
happy on account of the holy ambition with which God
filled the hearts of his children, he was too prudent to
be carried away by this movement of youthful ardour.
He convinced these dear souls that it would be pre
mature to take upon themselves such serious and grave
engagements, and thus persuaded them to consent to
take but the vow of obedience, and that for only one
year.
On the morning of Trinity Sunday, the first vows of
THE RELIGIOUS HABIT ;>9
the Brothers of the Christian Schools were pronounced
in the humble oratory of the rue Neuve. M. De La
Salle had prepared the formula and had signed it ; each
of the masters made a copy of it, and signed it in the
same manner. The holy founder celebrated Mass and
gave Holy Communion to his twelve disciples; then,
with lighted taper in hand, he pronounced the vow of
obedience. The masters followed him to the foot of the
altar, and there took the same engagement.
Before separating, the first twelve religious agreed to
meet the next year. On the appointed day, only eight
presented themselves and renewed their vow. The
defection of the four others confirmed the Saint in the
prudent slowness he exercised towards his disciples.
The question of the costume which had been left
undecided was solved the following winter. Four times
a day , in the snow and in the rain , the masters had to
pass through the streets of the city to go to their
schools. Poorly protected by the insufficiency of their
clothing, they inspired the inhabitants with pity.
The Mayor of Rheims made the remark to M. De La
Salle, and advised him to provide them with a mantle
to keep them warmer. The mantle was the one with
pendent sleeves, and much worn by the peasants of
Champagne. As it was the dress used by the poor,
M. De La Salle adopted it. To this he added a soutane,
made of coarse black cloth , closed in front with iron
hooks and eyes, such as was worn by ecclesiastics at the
end of the xvnth century. In order to complete the
costume, and in the same spirit of simplicity and pover*
ty, he added the white rabat, the three-cornered hat
with wide brim, and, finally, shoes with thick soles,
such as were then worn by the labouring classes.
60 THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE INSTITUTE
This costume appeared very strange at first, and drew
upon the religious that wore it many bitter scoffs.
But those young men were not discouraged either by
insults or by humiliations, for they rejoiced in suffering
for the name of Jesus Christ. Since that time, the Bro
thers habit has been honoured by so many individual
and social virtues, that it is everywhere respectfully
saluted by the rich and the poor.
The change of dress led to the change of name. The
title of master appeared very pretentious; in order not
to offend the simple people who would come to the
schools, the name Brothers of the Christian Schools
was adopted.
But humility urged them on still further. They
resolved to renounce their family name and assume a new
one, both to hide their origin from wordlings, and to
show that their entrance into the Institute, being as a
new birlh, imposed on them a complete transformation
of life.
THE CREATIONS OF JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE I
NOVITIATE, JUNIOR NOVITIATE,
SEMINARY FOR COUNTRY SCHOOLMASTERS
1684-1685
The Assembly of 1684 was the signal for immense
progress. For the founder, encouraged by the sympa
thy and fervour of his dear disciples, began to organize
the Institute.
His first care was lo establish a novitiate. From the
very commencement, he felt the need of it; and he
NOVITIATE AND JUNIOR NOVITIATE 61
saw how detrimental it was to the young masters to be
sent into the schools, without having had either a reli
gious formation or a pedagogical training. But he
was obliged to yield to the imperious wants of the mo
ment. From the year 1684, the new comers were kept
for a longer time under his care, combining for them, in
a prudent measure, both the exercises of the religious
life and the elements of the intellectual life, and he
employed them in the schools only after a serious pre
paration.
Among the subjects grace brought him, there were
many who were too young to be sent to the same com
munity as the Brothers and novices. He received them
all the same with pleasure; and it was for them that he
created, in a completely isolated part of the house, the
junior novitiate, which he placed under the direction of
one of the most pious of the senior Brothers. This por
tion of his religious family was always very dear to him,
and he had no sweeter consolation than to visit these
youths. On Christmas day especially, he would come
among them, and, grouping them in their little oratory,
pronounce an act of consecration that these junior
novices repeated after him.
Notwithstanding the increasing number of vocations,
the Saint was not able to comply with the numerous
appeals that were addressed to him. They multiplied,
in fact; because country parish priests, hearing of the
blessings that God showered upon the schools of
Ilheims, besought M. De La Salle to give them masters
formed by him for the good management of the schools.
But M. De La Salle did not accede to their desires,
not because he had no subjects, but because he was
resolved never to send fewer than two Brothers to anv
62 THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE INSTITUTE
school : a resolution from which he never departed.
The parish priests then hit upon an ingenious solution
of the difficulty. Each of them chose, in his parish, the
young man whom he judged the most capable of
teaching, and confided him to M. De La Salle s direction.
In this way was formed a kind of seminary, or normal
school, into which young laymen were gratuitously ad
mitted and instructed in all that a good teacher should
know. Destined to be the priests auxiliaries and to
sing in the choir, they learned the plain -chant, and,
at the same time, they applied themselves to learn
reading, writing and arithmetic. More than thirty stu
dents at a time attended this seminary for country school
masters. The Saint was aided by Providence in this
beneficent enterprise, for it raised up for him devoted
benefactors whom he could not well dispense with.
The success of this normal school gave the Duke De
Mazarin the idea of founding one at Rethel , from which
he would take Christian teachers to instruct the chil
dren of his tenants. This project gained for the Saint
one of those humiliations of which he loved to relish
the bitterness, because, the work being novel and sin
gular, the Archbishop did not approve of it at first; and
when the Duke De Mazarin and M. De La Salle presented
themselves to obtain his authorization to establish it,
Maurice Le Tellier simply said : " You are two fools. "
" No, Monseigneur ", replied the humble priest,
" there is only one. " The Duke De Mazarin, having
failed to obtain permission at Rheims, founded the
school on another of his domains, situated in the diocese
of Laon.
John Baptist was now engaged more and more in the
founding of popular schools $ and henceforth the work
THE FERVOUR OF JOHN BAPTIST 63
depended on him alone. At this juncture, God deprived
him of those who had been his advisers and helpers
in the early days of his work. Father Barre died
May 31st 1686; John Baptist, who had imbibed his spirit
and had taken the most decisive steps under his direc
tion, mourned for him as for a father. And when
he learned of the death of Adrian Nyel, who had retired
to Rouen in 1685, he assembled the Brothers of Rheims
and with them celebrated a solemn service for the repose
of the soul of this first Brother of the Christian Schools.
THE FERVOUR OF JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE
AND OF HIS FIRST BROTHERS
1685-1688
The three years that preceded his departure for Paris
were for John Baptist a period of interior activity and
of hidden fruitfulness. He made no new foundations ;
but, like the seeds that ferment under the soil, he
silently prepared the future expansion with his disciples.
He devoted so much time to meditation, that one
would have said that prayer was his sole occupation.
He had chosen the most isolated room in the house, in
order to be less disturbed in his communings with
God. As much as proprieties permitted, he shunned
the distracting society of men. Not content with the
hours which he devoted to prayer in his room, he
passed an entire night each week in the church of Saint-
Remy. He made the exercises of a spiritual retreat
several times a year , and , for this purpose , he sought
the monasteries in which he was least known.
64 THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE INSTITUTE
This constant union with God made him master
of his senses. His body, reduced to servitude by
merciless mortifications, was no hindrance to the soul in
its movement towards God. It cost him much, for
example , to partake of the common fare at the table
of the Brothers; but, by long fasting, he triumphed
over this repugnance at last. Merely to refrain from
flattering his senses was too low an ideal for him ; he
went so far as to treat his body to bloody scourgings
and sharp -pointed iron chains. " He became the
tyrant of a body that had been reared with extreme
care ", said one of his relatives, " for there never
was a more delicately brought up child. "
Humility, which is only another, but the highest and
most meritorious form of mortification, appeared to be
his by preference. He could not bear being praised ,
or having regard shown to him : the last place, the
poorest share at table, the worst clothing were what he
sought. To remove from the Brothers the occasion of
speaking of him, he formulated this rule, that they
should not speak of any living person in particular. On
the contrary, humiliations and insult were his delight.
Having to replace a sick Brother in the Saint-Jacques
school, he gloried in wearing the mantle with pendent
sleeves, and in thus exposing himself to public ridicule
in his native city. The people crowded and insulted
him several times , under his own window , in the rue
Neuve, under the pretext that the Brothers had been
too severe with some unruly children ; he only thanked
God for being thus paid for his devotedness.
To one animated with such sentiments, the first place
was insupportable; and it was a source of grief for him,
after the Assembly of 1684, not to be the last that he
THE FERVOUR OF THE FIRST BROTHERS Go
might all the better practise obedience. However, two
years later, he persuaded the assembled Brothers to
elect as their superior one of themselves, saying that
it was not advisable to have a priest as their superior,
and that it was most important, to put a Brother at the
head of a Congregation of Brothers without delay.
With childlike deference, which is to their honour,
they allowed themselves to be caught in the snare , and
elected Brother L Heureux as their Superior General.
What inexpressible joy this gave the humble founder !
He did nothing without asking permission ; he would
prostrate himself at the feet of the Superior, and accuse
himself of the least imperfection that he believed he
had discovered , and ask for a penance. No kind of
work was too menial for him ; and one day it was neces
sary for Brother L Heureux to forbid him, in the name
of obedience, to do certain work that was judged to
be beneath the dignity of a priest.
When the Archbishop was made aware of what had
taken place at the rue Neuve, he annulled the election
of Brother L Heureux and ordered the Saint to resume
the office of Superior; this was regarded as a deliver
ance by Brother L Heureux, but was a cause of pro
found regret for John Baptist. However, the Saint s
humility was in no way disarmed ; if it was thought
unbecoming that a priest should be subject to a layman,
he could prepare Brother L Heureux for the priesthood,
and he already looked forward to the time when he
could divest himself of his office, and place the govern
ment upon him. And, in fact, without further delay,
he set the Brother L Heureux to study for the priest
hood.
Such examples of virtue are always contagious.
GO THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE INSTITUTE
The young men that lived in contact with M. De La
Salle were seized with the noble desire of perfection.
Interior life, facilitated by profound recollection, was
active ; sensuality was courageously withstood, and the
love of humiliations was not less in honour than that of
mortification ; rigorous abstinence and corporal macera
tions were added to the daily work of the school.
In this enthusiasm of fervour, excesses were not
always avoided. But who would reproach those choice
souls for not having, in their generosity, kept them
selves within just bounds ? If some of them succumbed,
who would dare affirm that God did not accept those
innocent victims, those truly fresh-blown flowers in
the morning of the Institute, as the first sacrifices and
the first offerings of the great work of which He
was blessing the commencement?
Among those young Brothers, three names remain
in benediction in the Institute ; they are Brothers Jean-
Frangois, Bourlette and Maurice. Brother Jean-Frangois
summarized their dispositions, when he cried out in
an ecstasy of his last day on earth : " Ah! beautiful
eternity, how lovely is thy abode ! Love, love, love, we
shall go to see love. "
CHAPTER IV.
THE SCHOOLS
OF SAINT-SULPICE
1688-1691
JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE TAKES POSSESSION
OF THE CHARITY SCHOOLS OF SAINT-SULPICE
1688
M. De La Barmondiere, parish priest of Saint-Sulpice,
was waiting for M. De La Salle since 1683. Of the seven
schools that M. Olier had opened forty years before
for the poor of the parish, only one now existed, that of
the rue Princesse. The others had been closed through
lack of capable masters. At the rue Princesse there
were about two hundred pupils on the registers, and
to manage such a large and noisy school population,
M. Gompagnon, one of the priests of the parish, had
for assistants a hosiery maker, called Rafrond, and a
boy fourteen years of age ; the former taught his
industry. There was no regularity, no intellectual
progress, no religious or moral benefit. It was to avert
68 THE SCHOOLS OF SAINT- SULPICE
the ruin of the school , that the zealous parish priest of
Saint-Sulpice appealed to the masters of Rheims.
M. De La Salle was not less desirous of establishing
himself in Paris. Personally, he was anxious to withdraw
from Rheims, where so many family ties and friends
impeded his action. That his Institute might not be
considered a local and diocesan work, as well as to be
delivered from all the fluctuations of successive admi
nistrations, it was necessary to transfer it to Paris, the
capital of the kingdom, as it would there alone find the
liberty and independence necessary for its full expansion.
These ideas, controlled by prudent counsels, induced
M. De La Salle to leave Rheims, and to reject the tempt
ing advances by which the Archbishop tried to retain
him.
Having confided the communities of Rheims to Brother
L Heureux, he took with him two of the most learned
Brothers, and set out on foot for Paris, where he arrived
on February 24th 1688.
M. De La Barmondiere lodged M. De La Salle and his
two Brothers in the school house of the rue Princesse.
From the very beginning, the Brothers courageously
set themselves to work. The disorder they witnessed
would have disconcerted them, had not their father been
there to encourage them. They divided the pupils into
three classes, and at once, thanks to their method, made
them attentive to their lessons. Leaving the general
direction to M. Compagnon, the Brothers occupied
themselves only with the teaching. M. De La Salle
observed the greatest reserve : he noticed all and com
plained of nothing; he passed from section to section,
and instructed the children in the principles of Christian
life ; he spoke to them with gentleness and inspired them
THE SCHOOL OF THE RUE PRINGESSE 69
with docility, attention and proper behaviour by his
affability. " His seasonable remontrances ", says his
biographer, " produced fruit in the hearts of those young
children, and soon a very sensible change was remarked
in their manners and general conduct. "
As soon as the parish priest of Saint -Sulpice was told
of these happy results, he went to visit the classes. He
found that the behaviour was better; the catechism
more thoroughly known. He understood that, for the
perfect discipline of the school, the Saint should have
the entire authority and direction, and he conferred
them on him, at the same time adding that if other
Brothers should be required, he had only to send for
them to Rheims.
M. De La Salle was no sooner invested with the com
plete control, than he began the work of reform. The
school door was opened and closed at a fixed hour. It
was opened in the morning for the admission of the
pupils ; as soon as the classes were begun, the door was
closed, and those coming late were obliged to remain in
the street. No pupil was allowed to leave before the end
of school ; by this means that continual movement to
and fro, the fruitful source of perpetual disorder among
the children, was suppressed. The pupils were con
ducted to Mass every morning; they walked through the
streets silently and in an orderly manner, as if these
formerly turbulent scholars had been transformed into
novices of a fervent community. The catechism was
taught every day, and that without prejudice to reading,
writing, or arithmetic, to which, in fact, more time was
now devoted.
70 THE SCHOOLS OF SAINT -SULPICE
JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE BECOMES A BUTT
TO OPPOSITION
1688
The success of the charity schools could not fail to
excite fierce opposition to their founder. A new work,
while making its way through human affairs, fatally
clashes with either interests or with passions, and some
times provokes terrible reactions. Notwithstanding
John Baptist De La Salle s tact and the meekness from
which he never swerved, he succeeded in making a
beaten path for himself only by passing through un
ceasing opposition, and he assured the existence of his
Institute by confronting, calmly but resolutely, a thou
sand tempests let loose against him. His life, as we
shall see, was but one long history of moral sufferings.
His first difficulties sprang from jealousy. In fact,
M. Gompagnon, who had so ardently desired the Brothers,
looked upon their success with no favour; he felt humil
iated at their having succeeded where he had failed, and
it seemed that he could not pardon M. De La Salle s
being put at the head of the school by the parish priest
of Saint-Sulpice. On his side, Rafrond, the hosiery
maker, pretended that the new organization took
away many hours from the industry. The two mal
contents agreed that the Brothers should be dismissed.
Rafrond made complaints to M.De La Barmondiere and
threatened to retire, if the new regulations were not
withdrawn; but the parish priest of Saint-Sulpice
refused to sacrifice the school for the hosiery industry,
and was very careful not to dismiss M. De La Salle
OPPOSITION 71
to reinstate Rafrond. M. De La Salle called a Brother
from Rheims who was familiar with hosiery work, and
thus the industry was continued in this school of poor
children.
M. Compagnon did not consider himself defeated.
Profiting by the temporary absence of the Saint, he
spread disadvantageous reports concerning him, and
cleverly availed himself of a meeting of ladies to represent
as disastrous the methods introduced by M. De La Salle.
The calumnies soon spread among the parishioners and
the priests, so much so, that the ears of M. De La Bar-
mondiere were soon filled with nothing but complaints
against the new masters. Whether they succeeded in
inspiring him with distrust of M. De La Salle, or whether
he simply felt the impression of weariness, so common
to superiors with respect to people who make trouble
for them, we know not. However that may be, he
resolved to dismiss M. De La Salle and his Brothers, and
to put the school on the same footing as it was before
their arrival.
During all this time, M. De La Salle, who was not
ignorant of the conspiracy formed against him, was
silently doing his duty, and when M. Baudrand, his
director, came to tell him that it would be well to take
advantage of the vacation to retire, the persecuted,
innocent one made no complaint, but prepared himself in
silence for his departure. However, when he presented
himself before M. De La Barmondiere to take leave, the
good parish priest was greatly troubled. In fact, the
parish priest of Saint- Sulpice esteemed M. De La Salle;
he recognized in him the eminent teacher ; was he going
to sacrifice him, without making inquiries, to accu
sations that were perhaps nothing more than odious,
72 THE SCHOOLS OF SAINT-SULPIGE
idle tales? Regaining possession of himself, he begged
M. De La Salle to remain at least till he had reflected
more maturely.
And M. De La Salle remained; his soul was quite
undisturbed in the midst of so much uncertainty ; but
new intrigues raised up renewed agitation against
him. The least imperfections of the school, artfully
taken up, gave rise to malicious insinuations, and even
to positive accusations. To put an end to such an
embarrassing situation, the parish priest of Saint-Sulpice
charged one of his curates, M. De Forbin-Janson, to
make an inquiry to discover the hidden cause of all
these vexatious occurrences.
An inquiry could only bring out in bolder relief the
virtues and merits of the pious teachers of the rue
Princesse. M. De Forbin-Janson visited the school and
found a well managed house, with attentive children,
and masters devoted to their duties ; he questioned the
Brothers, but could not get one word of complaint from
them against their calumniators; he begged M. De La
Salle to answer the charges, but the Saint replied that
all he desired to know was his own faults, that he might
correct them. The enquirer was too shrewd not to
discover the true cause of this slanderous campaign.
He rendered justice to the innocence of the accused, and
regained for him the entire sympathy of the parish
priest of Saint-Sulpice. M. De La Barmondiere prepared
to remove the cause of this division, when he resigned
the office of parish priest, in January 1689.
THE QUESTION OF THE HABIT OF THE BROTHERS 73
DIFFICULTIES RELATIVE TO THE HABIT
OF THE BROTHERS
1689-1690
M. De La Barmondiere s successor was M. Baudrand,
who had been director of the seminary for many years.
M. Baudrand had known M. De La Salle during his stu
dies ; he was even his spiritual director since his return
to Paris, and had sustained him likeafather in his first
difficulties with M. De La Barmondiere. M. Baudrand s
appointment to the parish was therefore a happy event
or the Brothers.
He, in fact, at first, seemed to be in full sympathy with
them. He dismissed from their house M. Gompagnon,
whose presence was so awkward for them ; he visited
them in their classes, and at the sight of those silent
children, so well behaved, so obedient and already so
well instructed in their religion, he was not able to
suppress his joy. In the month of January of the fol
lowing year, he opened a second school at the extremity
of the rue du Bac, near the Pont- Royal, and M. De La
Salle called new Brothers to direct it.
But it seemed that severe trials were to be the neces
sary price of the prosperity of M. De La Salle s schools ;
therefore after a year of quiet, successful work, the
cross recommenced to weigh heavily on his shoulders.
M. Baudrand undertook to change the Brothers dress.
This costume appeared as strange in Paris as at Rheims.
Men of the world criticised it ; the parishioners of Saint-
Sulpice must have made observations to M. Baudrand.
Life and Virtues. 4
74 THE SCHOOLS OF SATNT-SULPICE
For the daily going and coming from the run Princesse
to the rue du Bac had doubtless revealed the existence
and presence of the Brothers to the influential persons
of the neighbourhood, on whom the singularity of dress
had produced a disagreeable impression. The parish
priest of Saint-Sulpice desired that the Brothers should
wear the ecclesiastical habit, along cassock and mantle,
instead of the short robe and the mantle with pendent
sleeves.
He thought he had the right to impose this change ;
for he regarded the Brothers, not as a Congregation
fully constituted under a superior, but a simple associa
tion of pious and devoted men, who laboured in the
works of the parish, and depended on him alone. And
as M. De La Salle was his penitent, he flattered himself
that he would regard it as a duty to accede to his desires.
However great was M. De La Salle s deference for
M. Baudrand, he was alarmed at this proposal ; he saw
at once all the disadvantages that would result from
such a change. There would be no longer any stability
possible in the rules, if he were to permit so serious an
attack on the Institute. Acting under the advice of
prudent men, especially MM. Tronson and Baiihin, he
opposed an energetic but respectful refusal to the parish
priest of Saint-Sulpice.
He even drew up a Memorial, in which he demons
trated, with a force of logic betokening consummate
good sense, that it had been well to give the Brothers a
habit which would distinguish them from ecclesiastics ,
and that such an important modification would entail dis
astrous consequences from the point of view of regularity.
M. Baudrand, who was rendered deaf to the question
of principle by the complaints of his parishioners, did
LAWSUIT WITH THE SCHOOLMASTERS 75
not like the reasonings of the Memorial. He said
that M. De La Salle s firmness was nothing less than
obstinacy, and, though he had a very lively affection
for him, he manifested his displeasure by great coldness.
M. De La Salle, who had humbly put on the mantle to
teach the class of a sick Brother, consented to resume
the ecclesiastical habit himself, but the Brothers con
tinued to wear the robe and mantle.
LAWSUIT INSTITUTED BY THE MASTERS
OF THE " PETITES ECOLES "
1690
The holy founder had no sooner come out of the
difficulty about changing the dress, than he found him
self in the embarrassments of a lawsuit that was brought
on by the masters of the " petites ecoles ".
From the moment of the Brothers arrival in Paris ,
the touchiness of these good men was aroused. Were
not the new teachers, under the pretext of instructing
the poor gratuitously, about to draw from them a part
of their scholars ? As long as there was only the school
of the rue Princesse, the masters of the " petites ecoles "
contented themselves with watching the Brothers work,
but made no disturbance. But as soon as the school in
the rue du Bac was opened and had become in a short
time very flourishing, they took alarm and began to
agitate. If they had not lost any paying pupils, they
would not have said anything; but, having lost some,
they considered that their interests were injured. In
fact, with the poor children, who till then were left to
76 THE SCHOOLS OF SA1NT-SULPICE
wander about the streets, a few did come from the
pay -schools to the Brothers whose school was free to
all; but as their mission was to teach the poor gratui
tously, they did not consider themselves bound to
examine family conditions and their degree of indi
gence.
Irritated by a competition that was going to diminish
their income, the lay masters determined to stop the
spread of these rival establishments. At first, they had
recourse to violence, and had all the furniture of the
free schools seized; then they summoned M. De La Salle
and his Brothers before the precentor of Notre -Dame,
as being guilty of infringing on their privileges. They,
in fact, formed a powerful union, under the jurisdiction
of the precentor of Notre-Dame ; and the differences that
sprang up among themselves, as well as the complaints
they made against rivals, came, in the first instance,
before the precentor s tribunal. Claude Joly, who was
at this time precentor and Inspector of schools, watched
over the rights and privileges of the " petites ecoles "
with such jealous care, that he condemned the Brothers
and their superior, and suppressed the charity schools
of Saint- Sul pice.
M. De La Salle was, for a moment, quite disconcerted.
He held lawsuits in such abhorrence, that he was on
the point of abandoning all, rather than lodge an appeal
from the precentor s judgment. But he was given to
understand that he had not the right to abandon so
lightly, and simply on a point of monopoly, an enter
prise that concerned, in the highest degree, the glory of
God. Besides, M. Baudrand, whose rights as pastor
were attacked by the precentor s judgment, obliged him
by a formal command to appeal the case.
INTERNAL TRIALS OF THE INSTITUTE 77
Accordingly an appeal was made to Parliament. Called
upon to explain his case and plead his cause before the
magistrates, our Saint, though backed up both by the
sympathies of the people and by influential persons,
betook himself to prayer as if he counted only on God s
assistance. He went with his Brothers to Notre-Dame-
des-Vertus,at Aubervilliers,and there passed a whole day
in prayer, without taking any nourishment. He then
presented his defence in writing, " with so much
force and clearness, " says his biographer, " that in a
short time the case terminated in his favour. " His
schools were opened anew to his numerous pupils, and
the masters of the pay-schools, defeated in their pre
tensions, left him in peace till the year 1699.
INTERNAL TRIALS OF THE INSTITUTE. ILLNESS OF
THE HOLY FOUNDER, AND DEATH OF BROTHER
HENRI L HEUREUX
1690-1691
To add to his trials, M. De La Salle saw his Institute
on the point of being broken up from within at the
same time that it was attacked from without.
The first two Brothers whom he had brought from
Rheims to Paris, became unfaithful to their vocation,
through a movement of secret jealousy, and abandoned
the Institute. After having multiplied his efforts to
keep them, the Saint wept for them as prodigal sons.
From lack of teachers, M. De La Salle was now obliged
to take a class and become a schoolmaster once more.
/8 THE SCHOOLS OF SAINT-SULPICE
Indeed, other defections had taken place at Rheims.
As long as this house was directed by Brother Henri
L Heureux, it prospered. But when this prudent and
loved Brother was called to Paris, all was lost through
the imprudence of his successor, Brother Jean-Henri.
Not that Brother Jean -Henri was not an excellent re
ligious; but his fervour, lacking maturity, had not that
suppleness which the good direction of men requires.
He appeared " severe and indiscreet. " Under his govern
ment, eight Brothers successively abandoned the Ins
titute; the community for country schoolmasters, which
M. De La Salle had left in a flourishing condition, was
emptied ; the junior novitiate itself just escaped foun
dering. As this institution of young men was the great
resource whence the Institute recruited its members,
M. De La Salle, anxious for the future, resolved to
transfer it to Paris.
The young novices arrived there in 1691. The oldest
took the habit, and the others, while pursuing their
studies, were employed at church to serve Mass. This
concession, made solely out of deference to M. Baudrand,
brought ruin on the work. In fact, the fervour of these
youths, in surroundings not suitable for them, soon
began to cool; and this religious nursery, which con
tained the germ of the founder s hopes, was entirely
destroyed. It was thus that in 1691 nearly all his work
had crumbled. He himself just escaped being carried
off by sickness, and this at the very moment when he
was most needed by his small number of disciples.
In the midst of the overwhelming occupations which
the government of the Institute entailed, he relaxed
none of his ordinary austerities. It even seemed that
his penances became mose rigorous in proportion as
ILLNESS OF THE TIOLY FOUNDER 79
difficulties arose from without. In consequence of the
weight of hair-shirts and iron chains, the deprivation of
sleep, and his voluntary condemnation to insufficiency of
food, he succumbed to excessive fatigue. Towards the
close of 1690, though he felt he was already attacked, he
wished to make the journey on foot to Rheims, where im
portant business required his presence. But it brought
only sorrow to his disciples, for they saw him so weak that
the fear of losing him caused them great consternation.
However with the care lavished on him by his
relatives and by his adopted family, he soon thought
himself in a fit state to return to Paris; the desire that he
had of withdrawing himself from the attentions of which
he was the object made him face the fatigues of a second
journey. But he had scarcely arrived in Paris, when a
fresh attack of sickness seized him, and endangered his
lite. Admonished by his personal sufferings that there
was but slight hope of recovery, the Saint wholly
resigned himself to God s will and prepared for death.
His disconsolate disciples had recourse to all means,
divine and human, to avert what they considered an
irreparable misfortune. While besieging Heaven with
fervent prayers, they called in the celebrated Dutch
Doctor Helvetius, then in great repute in Paris for his
medical skill. Helvetius had indeed a remedy for the
disease, but a dangerous one, which might cause the
death of the patient or radically cure him. Before admin
istering this remedy, Helvetius wished the patient to
receive the last sacraments. And, when M. Baudrand,
pastor of Saint-Sulpice, came with a large number of the
clergy to bring the Holy Viaticum to the pious dying
man, Dr. Helvetius followed in the procession.
At this hour of terrible anguish, the weeping Brothers
80 THE SCHOOLS OF SAINT -SULPICE
pressed around the bed of their dear lather. Profoundly
touched by the sight of this heartbreaking spectacle of
a family in tears, M. Baudrand addressed all present;
he exhorted the father to resignation, promised the
children that he would not leave them orphans, but
would care for them as his own children. Then he
begged the holy patient to bless the Brothers. With a
faltering hand that had to be supported, M. De La Salle
blessed his sons, saying : " I recommend you to have
great union and to be thoroughly obedient. " This was
all the last will of that great soul.
Heaven heard the prayers of the Brothers, of the
clergy, and of the people ; for the remedy of Helvetius
had a happy effect. The founder of the Brothers of the
Christian Schools was saved for the continuation of his
work.
But he seemed to recover strength only to begin over
to suffer. In a few days after, 1he most sensitive spot
in his heart was struck by the death of Brother Henri
L Heureux. This Brother was his beloved disciple. As
unassuming as he was intelligent, as mild in his manner
of acting as he was firm in his direction, Brother L Heu
reux had won the sympathies of all. When M. De La
Salle had requested that a Brother should be elected
Superior, he received all the votes, and obedience to his
commands was never difficult. In order that he might
become a priest, and, one day take over the government
of the Institute, M. De La Salle enjoined him to apply
himself to the study of theology. The humble and obe
dient Brother, during all the time he passed in Paris,
assiduously followed the course of the Sorbonne, and
was just about to receive Holy Orders.
His death was a revelation for John Baptist. Our
DEATH OF BROTHER HENRI L llEUREUX 81
Saint saw in it an intimation from Heaven that no
member of the Institute should be a priest. From this
moment he enacted the rule that no Brother could
become a priest or even study Latin, and this rule has
since then always been observed.
CHAPTER V.
THE
NOVITIATE OF VAUGIRARD
1691-1698
JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE ESTABLISHES A HOUSE
OF BETREAT AND THEN A NOVITIATE AT
VAUGIRARD
1691-1692
The dreadful crisis through which the Institute passed
would have disheartened a soul less strong and less con
fiding in God. From a human point of view, the work
of John Baptist was seriously compromised. One half
of his Brothers had abandoned him, and the fervour of
the others had notably cooled; during three years, only-
one or two subjects presented themselves to fill the
empty places ; the health of the most fervent was seriously
affected, and they were in danger of succumbing under
excessive labour, like Brother L Heureux. In the anguish
into which this state of things threw him, the Saint had
recourse to Heaven in retreat and prayer, and God re-
THE FIRST RETREAT AT VAUG1RARD 83
animated the courage of His servant. The grace of his
vocation which, despite difficulties, urged him on to his
goal, inspired him with the proper means to consol
idate his tottering Institute.
His first care was to look for a well-aired and secluded
house in the country, not far from Paris, where the mas
ters might recuperate physically, and where he might
assemble the Brothers for frequent recollection as well
as for the annual retreat, and form them in a novitiate
animated with the purest religious spirit. A vast en
closure, situated at the entrance to Vaugirard , appeared
suitable for his purpose. It was a house of very unpre
tentious appearance, opening on a large garden, and
far enough from the village not to be disturbed by its
noise. M. De La Salle rented it in the month of Sep
tember 1691.
The sick Brothers of the Paris community were the
first to be transferred there. These young men, already
exhausted by the unfavourable conditions in which they
lived at the rue Princesse, were soon restored to health
and strength in the pure air and silence of Vaugirard.
On the 8th of the following October, the holy founder
convoked all the Brothers for a general retreat. All res
ponded to the call of their dearly beloved father with as
much eagerness as joy, happy to renew* their religious
fervour under his direction. Under the action of his
stirring and persuasive words always impressed with
a supernatural spirit, their hearts glowed with new
ardour and yearned with a lively desire for perfection.
Ten days did not appear to them sufficient to strengthen
their souls in recollection, meditation, mortification and
humility, and they begged leave to prolong the retreat.
The zealous superior took advantage of these good dis-
84 THE NOVITIATE OF \ 7 AUGIRARD
positions to keep with him those who had had but a
hurried novitiate, and they were replaced in their schools
by young lay teachers , chosen from among those whom
he had formed at Rheims.
It was during this prolonged retreat that, together with
two of his dearest disciples, he contracted an additional
engagement with regard to his Institute. Nicolas Vuyart
and Gabriel Drolin appearing to him to be courageous
enough not to be disheartened by any obstacles, and to
uphold, even after his death, the work of the schools, he
pronounced with them, November 21st 1691, the follow
ing vow : " We take the vow of association and union
to uphold the said establishment, and that we may not
be free to abandon it, even though we should be the
only three remaining in the said society, and should be
obliged to beg alms and live on bread alone. "
Bound by this secret engagement, M. De La Salle and
his two companions formed the heart of the Institute.
From this centre burning with zeal, life, strong and
active, spread through all the members of the body.
After a few months, the Brothers appeared as if trans
figured by the double influence of solitude and grace.
As soon as the Saint " saw them as he desired, interior,
recollected, mortified, penitent, humbly submissive and
blindly obedient, " he sent them back to their schools ;
he was convinced that by forming perfect religious, he
was thus preparing excellent masters for the poor.
As he had exercised on each the power of his personal
action, he did not wish that this should be discontinued
by separation. Desirous of continuing it even at a dis
tance, he enjoined upon the Brothers, before dismissing
them, to write to him every two months, in order to
acquaint him with their interior dispositions and to
THE NOVITIATE OF VAUGIRARD 85
receive his advice. From this time the practice of
" reddition " has been established in the Institute; this
practice, without infringing on the reserved rights of the
confessor, permits the superiors to strengthen in virtue
the religious confided to their care. In nothing else is
the strong and tender heart of the Saint better revealed
than in this intimate correspondence of direction; for
he regarded it as his duty to reply, no matter how
briefly, to all his children. Not content with directing
the Brothers by letters, he was pleased to visit them in
their communities; and, during the seven years he
passed at Vaugirard, he imposed upon himself the obli
gation to visit each community at least once a year.
The annual retreat, frequent visits, and the monthly
correspondence, were the means employed by his
paternal solicitude to maintain religious fervour, and
union of mind and heart among the members of the
Institute. All the Brothers, imbibing the same life from
the soul of their father, loved one another and urged one
another on to good by a holy emulation.
It is a fact of experience that God blesses the revival
of the interior life in communities with an increase
of subjects. This blessing did not fail to take place
among the Brothers. Whereas the recruiting of the
Institute seemed suspended for four years, it now visibly
appeared that a movement of grace was about to raise
up new subjects ; for several postulants solicited admis
sion among the Brothers.
It was found necessary to organize a regular novitiate
for these young aspirants. Until now, the novitiate had
been nothing more than a long retreat, scarcely suffi
cient to form the subjects to the Christian virtues and to
initiate them in the elementary principles of pedagogy;
86 THE NOVITIATE OF VAUG1RARD
the too hasty employment of the subjects in the work of
the schools hindered their consolidation in the religious
life, and thus exposed them to those shortcomings and
defections which M. De La Salle had so bitterly deplored.
He was fully determined to avoid all precipitation in the
future, so as to render the formation of subjects more
solid and durable.
For this purpose, he opened a regular novitiate in the
house of Vaugirard in September 1692. The Archbishop
of Paris, recognizing the little Society of Brothers as a
religious community, approved of the erection of this
novitiate. M. Baudrand, pastor of Saint-Sulpice, after a
momentary opposition to this project, generously helped
it. Twelve aspirants were at first admitted, of whom six
received the habit of the Brothers from tjie hands of the
founder, on the first of November. If inconstancy caused
gaps among these first recruits, God, who was watching
over the Institute, sent new subjects to the novitiate, so
that, in a short time, there were as many as thirty-five.
THE COMMUNITY OF VAUGIRARD.
THE VIRTUES PRACTISED IN THIS COMMUNITY.
TRIALS DURING THE FAMINE
1692-1694
No sooner had he opened the novitiate, than the holy
founder consecrated himself entirely to it. Though he
had called from Rheims Brother Jean-Henri, a religious
of exemplary virtue, to make him master of novices, yet
he himself did not neglect to exercise immediate and
THE EXERCISES OF THE NOVITIATE 87
personal action upon each of his children. Was there
anything so dear to him in this world ? Were not the
hopes of his Institute centred in these young men V
W r ould not the fervour of their novitiate be the source
and the measure of the fruitfulness of their after -lives?
Full of these thoughts, John Baptist De La Salle actively
occupied himself with the formation of his novices. He
lived in the midst of them as long as his other occupa
tions permitted, presided at their exercises, shared with
them in the humblest offices of the house ; he let. no day
pass without instructing them in their obligations,
exhorting them to love the painful and laborious life of
the Brothers and joyfully to suffer humiliations and
privations. His word and example inspired the commu
nity with holy ardour.
The exercises of a truly religious novitiate absorbed
every moment of the day. Three hours were devoted to
mental prayer, which was made kneeling; the whole of
the Little Office of the Most Blessed Virgin was recited
standing and without any kind of support ; there was an
hour s spiritual reading in the forenoon, and as much
in the afternoon. Prayer, reading, and manual work,
filled up all the free moments. Silence, scrupulously
observed, enveloped the community in an atmosphere
of recollection, by means of which, God penetrating their
souls, prayer was greatly relished and became the
source of the sweetest consolations.
There was no chapel in the enclosure. But, every
morning, in silence and two by two, the novices went
to a neighbouring chapel, where the Saint celebrated
Mass. The time of the august sacrifice was for them as
a continuation of their meditation; they did not read,
nor say any vocal prayers ; with eyes modestly down-
88 THE NOVITIATE OF VAUG1RARD
cast, they conversed interiorly with God on the mystery
of the Holy Eucharist. Thus recollected, their re
ligious life was all the more active, more fruitful,
and in greater readiness for the acts of the Christian
virtues.
Within this enclosure, Avhere young souls prepared
for future combats, all kinds of virtue were practised,
and not without success; the most painful were the
most sought after.
The first thing that attracted attention was the extreme
poverty ; for M. De La Salle had done nothing to give
the remotest idea of comfort to a house that he called
" his dear Bethlehem. " Under roofs that were neither
rain nor wind proof, in rooms with badly jointed doors,
there was seen only a plank for bed, with a very hard
straw mattress and a bolster filled with chaff instead of
feathers; there were only two fairly good beds in the
whole house, one for the superior, who never used it,
and the other for the sick. Passing the night on these
hard beds, with coarse sheets and a single blanket, the
Brothers suffered all the inclemency of the winter s cold.
In this austere dwelling no fire was ever seen ; nor was
there any question of furniture : a few rude benches and
bare tables, these were all.
Their clothing matched their poverty. " I am con
vinced ", says the biographer, " that, if the stockings,
the shoes, the robes, the mantles and the hats of the
Brothers, and all the household furniture of their com
munity had been thrown in the street, they would have
attracted the pitiful attention of the passers-by, but not
one would have been tempted to pick them up. "
There was nothing in the service of the table that
could help to mitigate the rigours of this life of penance.
THE VIRTUES PRACTISED AT VAUGIRARD 89
There was never any cooking in the novitiate of Vau-
girard. But, every morning, one of the Brothers went
to the school in the rue Princesse and brought back in
a basket, the bread, the soup, and some coarse dishes,
fitter to content mortification than to satisfy sensuality :
the remnants of the community and seminary of Saint-
Sulpice, as well as those of some other religious houses,
though very poor themselves, supplied the refectories
of the rue Princesse and the novitiate of Vaugirard.
They were fortunate when the Brother did not keep
them waiting too long, or when he w r as not despoiled
of the alms on the way.
These meagre meals, at which wine was never served,
gave those fervent religious many occasions to practise
acts of charity. From these badly prepared and often
insufficient articles of food, the share of the poor was
set aside, thus sacrificing a portion of their frugal meal.
Not content with curbing their tlesh by depriving it
of nourishment, they imposed upon themselves rude
flagellations. Willingly was the arm provided with the
discipline ; the use of the hair-shirt and hair-girdle was
in honour. The superior s example drew after it, along
this penitential way, all the members of the community ;
for he could not hide the pointed disciplines that he
used.
However, the prudent founder relied much more on
interior mortification; and it was for this reason that he
permitted exterior macerations, that they would pre
pare the way. " I prefer ", he used to say to his disci
ples, " an ounce of interior mortification to a pound of
corporal macerations. " To those who appeared more
eager for bodily mortification than for the curbing of the
will, he said : " Ah ! my dear Brother, subdue your
00 THE NOYITIATE OF VAUGIRARD
will; that is the discipline that suits you aud from which
you will gather more fruit. " In this way he inspired
them with the love of humiliations and reprimands.
The custom of the daily accusation was introduced
without difficulty. According to the custom in the an
cient monasteries, the young Brothers came and accused
themselves of their least faults; they joyfully accept
ed the imposed penance in expiation of them. Often,
this penance was imposed at the beginning of supper
and delayed the humble penitents ; but, though they sat
down to table after the others, they rose at the same
time, not at all sad, but pleased with having doubly
expiated their faults.
Far from cooling the ardour of this fervour, trials
only stimulated their generosity. This was well seen
during the winter of 1693, when the famine that raged
over the whole of France, reduced the community of
Vaugirard to extreme distress. In ordinary times, it
was poverty ; but in the time of famine, it was extreme
scarcity. There was often lack of necessaries, and
more than once the pious solitaries found in the refec
tory nothing but empty tables. In the hope of procur
ing resources more easily, and to escape from the
attacks of the starving people who wandered about the
village, the superior transferred his community to the
rue Princesse, Paris. But Paris did not give abun
dance : a little black bread, some poor vegetable soup
often formed the Brothers menu. Sometimes the pro
curator mingled with the poor, and went to the doors
of the rich where food was distributed.
One day, he was recognized, on account of his robe,
by a lady of distinction. " What! " said she to him,
" has the famine entered your house also? " " Does
TRIALS DURING THE FAMINE 01
the pastor leave in extreme want the poorest of his
parish and even those whom he employs to instruct the
indigent? " The Brother replied with simplicity that
they lacked everything at the rue Princesse ; that he was
going with the last four sous of the community to buy a
few vegetables for a meal which might perhaps be their
last. " Go in peace ", said the lady, " I am going to
give orders. " And, in fact, she went and saw M. Bau-
drand, pastor of Saint -Sulpice, who, distracted with
the increasing destitution of his flock, had omitted to
pay the Brothers their little allowance, without which
they could not live.
Long and painful were the months of that bitter win
ter. But the virtue of the Brothers suffered nothing
during that time of trial ; so true is it that privations and
sufferings are always a source of santification and pro
gress for well -regulated communities. Vocations were
not weakened, nor did their courage abate. With a
constancy founded on the most lively faith, the holy
founder roused the Brothers confidence by often repeat
ing to them these words of the Gospel : " Be not solici
tous therefore, saying : What shall we eat or what shall
we drink, or wherewith shall we be clothed? For after
all these things do the heathens seek. For your Father
knoweth that you have need of all these things. " He
went so far in his abandonment to Providence, that, even
when the distress was at its height, he did not refuse to
receive those who presented themselves either to make
a spiritual retreat or to enter the novitiate, though it
was evident that, with many subjects, hunger alone held
the place of vocation. God blessed the supernatural
dispositions of His servant to such a degree, that, at
the end of the famine, in the spring of 1(394, when he
02 THE NOVITIATE OP VAUGIRARD
returned to Vaugirard, the Saint had the happiness of
seeing his family complete. And while some religious
communities saw their riches dwindle away during the
famine, the Brothers had subsisted on the funds of their
poverty without going into debt.
No sooner had they returned to the holy desert of
Vaugirard, than the novitiate reassumed its aspect of
religious austerity. Though nature did not find there
wherewith to be gratified, yet the young Brothers loved
this life of combat, in which, by the help of grace, they
gained daily victories. With hearts filled with super
natural happiness, they submitted to the irresistible
influence of the words and example of a superior who
did not spare himself. Apart from the exercises of the
community, John Baptist De La Salle passed entire
nights in meditation; he often prayed kneeling on the
bare and damp floor, and was overcome by sleep
during these prolonged meditations without having
taken care to protect himself against the intense cold.
How often was he not found at the hour of rising,
benumbed and crippled, extended on the icy cold floor !
He contracted chronic rheumatism from this austere
manner of life, which caused him crucial sufferings
ever after. Even the most violent remedies could give
only temporary relief to his sufferings. It was during a
rheumatic crisis that he stretched himself on a kind of
wooden gridiron, over a fire of odoriferous plants, that the
smoke from which, by penetrating his bare flesh, might
give him some relief. The remedy was not less painful
than the evil, during which he thought of the martyrdom
of St. Lawrence, but to which he courageously sub
mitted, so that he might be able to resume his occupa
tions.
THE PERPETUAL VOWS 93
THE RETREAT OF 1694. -
PERPETUAL VOWS AND THE ELECTION OF A SUPERIOR
1694
The holy life led at Vaugirard had soon exercised its
happiest influence on the rising Institute of the Broth
ers. Like a sacred nursery, the novitiate provided
each community with fervent religious who renewed its
spirit. Moreover, the senior Brothers came, each year,
to revive their spiritual life under the direction of their
father, and to submit themselves to the beneficial
action of this blessed solitude. Under the sway of this
powerful moral progress, and urged on by the great
desire of their hearts towards perfection, the Brothers
begged their superior to admit them to perpetual vows.
Since 1684, he had permitted them to make but the
temporary vow of obedience ; this was not sufficient to
satisfy their desires ; they wished to consecrate them
selves for ever to God by the three vows of religion.
Such sentiments went straight to his heart; could he
have hoped for a sweeter consolation, as the price of
his labours, than to see his children so ready for the
sacrifice? Though he rejoiced at these holy disposi
tions, yet he did not depart one iota from his usual pru
dence, so well did he know how to regulate his zeal
by wisdom.
After having consulted God in prayer, he chose twelve
disciples, whom he judged the best prepared for per
petual vows. He called each of them separately to Vaugi
rard, there to make a week s retreat : in this way, he
04 THE NOVITIATE OF VAUG1RARD
made himself aware of their dispositions, tested their
moral strength, completed their religious formation and
put them in a fit state to undertake the linal engage
ments.
When he had assured himself that these twelve Broth
ers ardently desired and could prudently pronounce
perpetual vows, he convoked them all for the retreat.
From Pentecost till Trinity Sunday their time was occu
pied with prayer and the superior s exhortations and
conferences. In these conferences, at which each one
was at liberty to express his opinion, it was decided that
the assembled Brothers should not make the three vows
of religion yet, but only perpetual vows of obedience
and stability. Consequently, on Trinity Sunday morn
ing, the superior with his twelve Brothers pronounced
the first perpetual vows of the Institute in the following
terms :
" Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Ghost,
prostrate with the most profound respect before Thy
infinite and adorable Majesty, I consecrate myself en
tirely to Thee, to procure Thy glory as far as I am able,
and as far as Thou wilt require of me. And for this
purpose, I, JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE, priest,
promise and vow to unite myself and to live in society
with Brothers Nicolas Vuyart, Gabriel Drolin, etc., to
keep together and by association, gratuitous schools, in
any place whatever, even should I be obliged in order
to do so, to ask alms or to live on bread alone, or to do
anything in the said Society at which I shall be employed,
whether by the Body of the Society or by the superiors
who shall have the government thereof. Wherefore, I
promise and vow obedience to the Body of this Society
as well as to the superiors. Which vows of association
THE ELECTION OF A SUPERIOR 9. i
as well as of stability in the said Society and of obe
dience, I promise to keep inviolably all my lifetime, in
testimony whereof I have signed. Done at Vaugirard
on this sixth of June, Trinity Sunday, in the year one
thousand six hundred and ninety -four. Signed: DE LA
SALLE. "
By this solemn act, the Institute of the Brothers took
a new step in its constitution. It seemed to some of
the Brothers that the moment was come to place the
Congregation under the protection of the Holy See, and
to solicit Letters of Approbation. Although the Saint
had the most unequivocal veneration for the Roman
Pontiff, he did not accede just then to the desire of the
Brothers; he prudently wished to wait until the Bules of
the Institute had undergone a longer test of experience,
in order to be able to submit to the Pope a more studied
project. It was only six years later that he sent the
first two Brothers to Borne.
It appeared to him much more urgent to give the
Institute its final form of government by electing a
Brother for superior. If humility made him desire to
descend to the lowest rank so as to practise obedience
equally with the humblest of the Brothers, his foreseeing
mind prompted him to organize the Institute such as he
conceived before God. At the death of Brother L Heu-
reux, he laid down the established principle that no
member of the Congregation could become a priest, and
that no priest could enter the Institute. A society com
posed of Brothers, under pain of being governed by
a stranger, should therefore have a Brother for its supe
rior. From this moment, his position at the head of the
community appeared to him to be an anomaly and a
danger. To accustom the Brothers to obey one of them-
96 THE NOVITIATE OF VAUGTRARD
selves, and also to establish, during his lifetime, the
tradition in the eyes of men of the world, he desired that
a Brother should be elected in his place, esteeming him
self happy to be kept to serve in the lowest employ
ments.
Convinced that the occasion was opportune for the
execution of his project, he exposed his views to the
twelve newly professed on the day following Trinity
Sunday 1694. In order to win them over to his way of
thinking, he spoke to them for a long time in the most
insinuating manner. But if the Brothers shared the
opinion of their superior on the question of principle,
they, however, resolutely declared that, as long as he
lived, they would not accept any other superior than
himself. It was he who had brought them together, who
had fashioned their souls to the religious life, who had
directed them during tifteen years; therefore, an excep
tion in favour of the founder of the Institute could not
be regarded as a breach of the essential Rule of the
Society.
This frame of mind of the Brothers alarmed the Saint ;
lie conjured them to relieve him of a burden that
weighed too heavily on his shoulders, and invited them
to proceed with the election. The humble disciples were
silent in deference to their master ; after half an hour s
prayer, the election began, but all the votes were for
John Baptist De La Salle. Confused and troubled at the
result, the Saint paternally reproached his children.
Had they not planned this result? Did they allow
themselves to be guided by the spirit of God alone? He
asked for another trial , and ordered a second election ;
but the second only confirmed the first. Thus defeated
by the confidence and affection of his children, John
THE WORKS OF JOHN BAPTIST 97
Baptist was resigned. To console him, the Brothers
gave him to understand that, perhaps, a day would
come, when the Society would he more consolidated,
and then he would be allowed to resign the office of
superior.
So seriously did the interests of the Institute seem to
him to be endangered by this affair, that he caused to
be inserted in the act of his election a formal clause,
signed by the twelve Brothers, excluding forever from
the government of the Institute any priest or ecclesias
tic engaged in Holy Orders, as well as any person that
had not made vows in the Society. The future showed
the wisdom of this determination; for the great trials
that afterwards befell the Saint had no other origin
than the attempted efforts to substitute another priest
in his place in the direction and government of the
Institute.
THE WORKS OF JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE
IN THE SOLITUDE OF VAUGIRARD
1694-1698
In 1094, the Saint s authority was not contested, and
he was able to continue, immediately after the retreat,
the multifarious works which the silence of Vaugi-
rard rendered easy. If from time to time he left his
dear solitude, it was only to visit the schools and to
bring to the Brothers words of paternal encouragement
along with the happiness of his presence. But he
was always in a hurry to return to his dear novitiate.
There lived the cherished portion of his Institute, which
Life and Virtues. %
98 THE NOVITIATE OF VAUGIRARD
he cultivated with care as being the future harvest, and
to which God was pleased to give the twofold benedic
tion of value and number. Determined not to send
these young recruits into the midst of the fray before
having made of them well trained soldiers, he kept
them with him as long as their formation required.
Hence he refused several offers that were made him to
open schools. He did not comply even with the express
petition that was addressed to him by his friend, Paul
Godet Des Marais, Bishop of Gliartres, for the gratui
tous schools of his episcopal city. Rather than weak
en himself by dispersing his forces, he preferred to
concentrate all his efforts upon the existing schools,
convinced, moreover, that Providence would not fail
to provide new occasions, when he would be able to
furnish Brothers.
The period between 1694 and 1698 was therefore a
time of recollection and interior progress. Profiting by
the time that was at his disposal, the Saint began to write
the Rules and Constitutions of the Institute. Like all
the founders of Religious Orders , he had done nothing
during the last fifteen years, in virtue of a preconceived
design; he had allowed himself to be guided by the
hand of God along the way on which he had entered.
Some practices had been introduced into his commu
nity by force of circumstances and the necessities of a
society of schoolmasters. Many experiments had been
made, with the result that only those which were consi
dered practicable and harmonized with the exigencies
of the teachers life were retained. In writing his
Rules, John Baptist De La Salle did nothing more than
codify customs that experience had shown to be useful
and wise. Besides, this code was not final; for more
THE SCHOOL MANAGEMENT AND OTHER BOOKS 90
than twenty years he continued to study and perfect it,
in proportion as the experiences of life gave him new
light. When in 1717, the General Assembly besought
him to fix the text, he put into writing only what
the Brothers had been practising for nearly forty
years.
The Brothers had as much need of a guide to direct
them in their schools, as they had of religious Rules to
inspire their moral life. From the very beginning,
John Baptist De La Salle had given his disciples enlight
ened counsels on the art of teaching children, on the
order and discipline that should prevail in the classes,
and on the method they should follow to preserve the
virtue of the children and induce them to love religion.
These counsels were so much the more valuable, as
pedagogy was then only in its infancy.
By means of the sound judgment for which he was
always distinguished, John Baptist knew how to profit
by all that was good in the parish school ; but he never
shrank from innovations that appeared necessary. In
stead of teaching children to read by means of Latin
books, he unhesitatingly substituted French books;
sucli an act, which, at present would appear the only
sensible thing to do, was, at that time, most daring,
for it made a breach in an ancient and commonly prac
tised custom. John Baptist effected a still more advan
tageous revolution, when, in place of the individual
system of teaching, he introduced the simultaneous
method; before his time, the master taught each pupil
separately, which, of necessity, reduced the number of
scholars in each class; he, on the contrary, established
the system by which the Brothers could instruct, by
speaking louder, an entire group of children at the
100 THE NOVITIATE OF VAUG1RARD
same time, which gave the masters the advantage of
being able to direct a large class successfully.
The outcome of these pedagogic directions was the
School Management, a book of rare merit , written by
the founder of the Brothers, but compiled by collecting
the experiments of his disciples. It was not printed
during the Saint s lifetime; in the novitiate, the Broth
ers made copies of it, which they took with them
when going to make new foundations. The first edition
was printed the year after his death.
Besides this directory for the masters, he composed
some schoolbooks for the pupils. He did not disdain
to compile an A B G book for the youngest children,
while for the older ones he composed two books of
great value : The Rules of Politeness and The Duties of a
Christian. The first is an excellent treatise on polite
ness, in which the rules of good manners and the vir
tues that make an upright man are taught with as much
good sense as piety ; the second is an abridged theology,
in which the truths of faith and the obligations of Chris
tian life are clearly exposed; an admirable book, by
which thousands of children, while learning to read it,
have been taught their religion.
These works did not absorb the Saint s time to such a
degree that he found none for works of zeal. He was
glad to receive into his house ecclesiastics who wished
to make a retreat under his direction; they had the
same fare as the community, with the exception of a
small quantity of wine ; but this poverty disposed them
all the more for the holy influences of grace on their
souls. Sometimes illustrious visitors came to converse
with him : among others, he often received the Bishop
of Ghartres, Paul Godet Des Marais, who had remained
THE CHAPEL IN THE NOVITIATE 401
faithful to an old seminary friendship; M. Bauhin, a
priest of Saint- Sulpice, with whom he had been in close
friendship at the seminary and to whom he was attached
by the same love of prayer and mortification, and whom
he had chosen for his spiritual director when he arrived
at Vaugirard; then there was the Count De Gharmel,
a gentleman, who, touched by grace, had broken with
the court and its pleasures, and now led a life of
penance near the Brothers house.
Incorrigible youths were frequently brought to the
Saint. By the influence of his meekness and kindness,
he won them and gained entrance to their hearts ; his
patience never wearied either because of their indocility
or their faults : in time, the spirit of God that acted
through him mastered their souls, and they seldom
escaped its influence. It was in this way that hardened
sinners for whom his house had at first been like a
prison, were glad that they had found therein a holy
sanctuary where the grace of conversion had come to
them .
So many virtues and so many apostolic works could
not long remain hidden from the Archbishop of Paris.
Mgr De Noailles did not less appreciate them than MgrDe
Harlai, and when he became Archbishop of Paris,
in 1695, he renewed the approbation and the privileges
granted to John Baptist De La Salle by his predecessor.
He even loaded him with new favours. For, having put
all the private chapels of the diocese under interdict,
in 1697, on account of the notable injury they did to the
parish churches , he permitted the Saint to erect a pri
vate oratory in the novitiate. John Baptist gladly profit
ed by this favourable occasion to have the Most Blessed
Sacrament enter under the roof of his humble dwelling,
102 THE NOVITIATE OF VAUGIRARD
and, in spite of his poverty, he took every precaution to
prepare a worthy sanctuary for its reception. Hence
forth, the novices assisted at Holy Mass within the
enclosure of their solitude, except on the first Thursday
of each month, when, out of deference to the parish
priest, they were conducted by their superior to the
parish church of Vaugirard. The arrangements of this
oratory were provisional, for there w r as already question
of removing the community to Paris.
On leaving the village where they had so much prayed
and where they had so valiantly mortified themselves,
the fervent religious carried away with them the live
liest souvenirs of their stay in this holy desert ; they pre
served, above all, that vigorous character of soul,
which they had received there. If the Institute, during
its seven years of solitude, appeared stationary and
barren in new foundations, it was strengthening itself
from within, and preparing for the happy extension
which was about to commence, and also for the furious
tempests which were to burst upon it before long. Vau
girard was the Manresa, or the place of recollection
and interior growth, of the Brothers of the Christian
Schools.
CHAPTER VI.
DEVELOPMENT
AND OPPOSITION
1698-1705
THE BROTHERS TN THE GRAND MAISON. -- THE WORKS
ORGANIZED THEREIN
1608
The religious family of John Baptist De La Salle had
not ceased to increase since 1601 ; in 1698, it numbered
more than sixty members. The modest roof of Vaugi-
rard no longer sufficed to lodge so many persons at the
same time, and, rather than forego the precious practice
of retreats in common, the vigilant superior determined
to look for a larger house. At the risk of being partly
deprived of the invigorating country air, he desired,
for the better accommodation of the Brothers, to return
to Paris, and reside in the parish of Saint -Sulpice,
where, moreover, the new parish priest invited him.
M. Baudrand, struck with paralysis since two years,
had resigned his parish to a man of great piety and solid
104 DEVELOPMENT AND OPPOSITION
virtue, M. De La Chetardye. This good priest had been
occupied until then in provincial seminaries ; he knew
neither the Brothers nor their holy founder. But as
soon as he became acquainted with the work done in
the Christian Schools, he conceived the liveliest sym
pathy for it and bestowed on it marks of the most gen
erous devotedness. He loved to the end the schools
and the masters who conducted them ; if he had the re
grettable misunderstandings with their superior which
we shall have to relate, he always retained for him the
veneration which his eminent holiness had inspired
from their first meeting. During one of his visits to
Vaugirard, he persuaded M. De La Salle that so small
and so dilapidated a house was not at all suitable to the
wants of the Brothers; moreover, he said he should be
glad to have again in his parish so fervent a Community,
from which virtue shone out like a blazing furnace of
Christian life.
On the road to Vaugirard, and near the Carmelite
Gate, between the Luxembourg and the country, there
was a large property with spacious buildings and gar
dens : it was called Notre- Dame -des-Dix- Virtus.
It had been inhabited by the Annunciade nuns of Saint-
Nicolas of Lorraine. The proprietor s price was not un
reasonable, because strange rumours, which were cir
culated among the people that the house was haunted,
kept would be tenants away. Thanks to M. De La
Chetardye s generosity, and to that of a great bene
factress, Madame Des Voisins, John Baptist De La Salle
was enabled to rent the place for sixteen hundred
livres; in the month of April 1698, the novitiate was
transferred here.
The poor furniture of Vaugirard appeared so miser-
ORGANIZATION OF THE GRAND MAISON 105
able and so insuitable for what was stricty necessary,
that Madame Des Voisins gave seven thousand livres to
put the house in a habitable condition. The Saint com
menced by furnishing and beautifully ornamenting the
house of God. As the old chapel of the Annunciades
was too small, he enlarged it by building a choir. He
invited his friend, the Bishop of Chartres, to bless it,
and it was dedicated to the martyr St. Cassian. It
was not without reason that he put his community under
the patronage of a confessor of the faith, who, being a
schoolmaster, had been martyred by his own pupils.
He was very careful that the conveniences of the new
dwelling should in no way weaken the virtue of his
dear disciples : and, for this reason, nothing was changed
in the regulation followed at Vaugirard. At Notre-
Da-me-des-Dix- Virtus, which they called the Grand -
Maison, the same silence was observed, the same
exercises of piety and of mortification were practised,
and the table was not less frugal. This austere manner
of life maintained fervour in the Institute and merited
success for its works.
By the divine blessing, the Grand Maison soon became
so flourishing, that the wise superior saw that the hour
was come to divide the several offices of the community
and to place them under the charge of Brothers capable
of directing them : from that moment he ceased to be
the only one burdened with the whole administration
of the Institute. Brother Jean -Henri was made the
Director of the novitiate, and gave the example of a
sincerely fervent life until his death, which occurred in
the following year. A procurator, Brother Thomas,
received charge of the temporal affairs, for which office
he had a particular aptitude. To Brother Jean-Ghrysos-
5*
lOG DEVELOPMENT AND OPPOSITION
tome was confided the care of the sick, and he
assiduously and piously discharged this office of infir-
marian, until he fell a victim in 1705, to the epidemic
which decimated the Brothers of Chartres. Brother
Jean, one of the most ancient in the Institute, received
the mission of forming the young masters by lessons on
school management, and of guiding their first efforts by
inspecting their classes.
Thus released from a part of his former occupations,
John Baptist De La Salle was at liberty to direct his
solicitude to other works which called for his zeal, and
which were to contribute to the development of his
Institute. Without mentioning the Brothers retreats,
the visits to the communities in the provinces, counsels
given to the ecclesiastics and the sinners that were
led to him by grace, he lent himself with apostolic
deyotedness to two new works proposed by the parish
priest of Saint -Sulpice.
In the year 1098, he received into the Grand Maison
fifty Irish youths, exiled for their faith, whose families
greatly desired that they should be educated and ren
dered capable of exercising an employment befitting their
station. When the king of England, James the Second,
whom William of Orange had supplanted in 1088,
desired to give these young men an education at once
Christian and liberal, the Archbishop of Paris and the
pastor of Saint -Sulpice agreed between them to recom
mend him to send them to the house of John Baptist De
La Salle. The Saint received them with such affability
and worked at their formation so assiduously, that,
during a visit which James the Second paid the Grand
Maison a few months later, he received the most flattering
testimonies of satisfaction and thanks. This boarding
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL 107
school, the first that the Institute directed, did not exist
long : because the students that were confided to the
Brothers were soon in a position to fill the different
offices that were destined for them.
The creation of a Sunday school was a much greater
novelty for that epoch. The parish priest of Saint-Sul-
pice, very desirous of reaching all the souls of his
parish, had undertaken to gather together, every Sunday,
all the young workmen and apprentices who were
occupied during the rest of the week. It was to John
Baptist De La Salle that he appealed to open and direct
this Sunday school work. The Saint, who never refused
any work of zeal, opened his own house to the young
men, and, in 1699, " on a Sunday, at noon, in the
enclosure of the novitiate, was inaugurated a Christian
Academy for all the boys who were not over twenty
years of age." This institution was a complete success,
for it soon numbered two hundred pupils. The object
of these Sunday reunions was not profane amusement;
study and piety formed their chief attraction. The least
instructed were taught reading, writing, arithmetic
and spelling, the same as in the " petltes ecoles "; the
more advanced learned geometry, architecture and
drawing, a real programme of secondary education.
After having devoted two or three hours to intellectual
work, they received a catechism lesson; after which,
one of the Brothers closed each meeting with a short
" spiritual exhortation " or reflection. As long as it
lasted, about five or six years, the Sunday school
wrought in the young men who attended it a happy
moral transformation.
108 DEVELOPiMENT AND OPPOSITION
EXTENSION OF THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARIS.
SEMINARY FOR COUNTRY SCHOOLMASTERS
AT SAINT -HIPPOLYTE
1698-1699
While undertaking these works which he did not
consider foreign to his vocation, John Baptist never lost
sight of the principal object of his mission , the work of
gratuitous schools for the people. And, therefore, now
that the number of the members of his Institute had
increased, he gladly entertained all the proposals made
regarding this object.
The first came to him from M. De La Chetardye. The
pastor of Saint-Sulpice had already two charity schools
in his immense parish, one in the rue Princesse, and
the other at Pont- Royal; but the poor in the district
of the " Incurables " were without masters. It was
for these that the third gratuitous school was opened in
the rue Saint-Placide, in the year 1697. The success of
this school was so rapid that it had, in the following
year, five classes, containing four hundred children.
One day as M. De La Ghetardye was visiting these classes,
accompanied by Madame Des Voisins, he could not
disguise his joy at the sight of this multitude of chil
dren, and, addressing the holy founder, he exclaimed :
" Ah! Sir, what a work! Where would this crowd of
children be at this moment, if they were not gathered
here? They would be seen running in the streets,
corrupting one another; living in complete ignorance
of all principles of morality and religion, and making,
at their expense, the fatal apprenticeship of wickedness
THE SCHOOL OF SAINT-HYPPOLYTE 109
and sin. " He then turned to the children and ques
tioned them on the mysteries of religion, and he was so
delighted with their answering, that he embraced the
Brothers in testimony of his satisfaction. Madame Des
Voisins was not less pleased with these happy results of
the charity schools, and more than once, afterwards,
gave proof of her sympathy in abundant donations.
Two more schools were shortly opened in the parish
of Saint-Sulpice : one at the Grand Maison, the other
near the Porte Saint- Michel, rue des Fosses-de-Mon-
sieur-le-Prince. The first of these had only a few pupils,
because the Carmelite district was thinly peopled ; but it
was useful as a practising school for the young masters
of the novitiate , whom Brother Jean was preparing for
the schools. The second, on the other hand, received
so many pupils, that it was found necessary to put four
Brothers in it; but it existed only a few years, either
from lack of benefactors, or because M. De La Chetardye
had sacrificed it to the storm that was raised a few years
later through the jealousy of the writing masters.
The fruits of grace produced in the schools of Saint-
Sulpice were so abundant and manifest, that they could
not escape notice. Michel Lebreton, parish priest of
Saint- Hippolyte, in the Saint- Marcel quarter, desiring
similar benefits for his parish, appealed to the devoted-
ness of John Baptist De La Salle. Two Brothers, one
of whom was Nicolas Vuyart, were sent there to open
a gratuitous school, " lo teach the catechism, and
reading, and writing to the poor children of the
parish. "
But this school was soon but a branch of a more
important institution, a new training school for country
schoolmasters. The one founded at Rheims had sup-
110 DEVELOPMENT AND OPPOSITION
plied the villages of Champagne with such excellent
Christian teachers, that the superior of the Brothers,
since his arrival in Paris, had nourished the hope of
re-establishing it there. Faithful to his first ideas, he
would never consent to send a Brother alone to a country
school, so that his Institute was destined only for
large towns and important boroughs. He clearly
understood that, for the completion of his work of the
education of the poor, it would be necessary to prepare
lay masters for the villages. At that time, there was
no normal school for teachers : the idea struck him
whether it would not be entering into the plans of Pro
vidence to work in this direction ?
For this purpose, finding the pastor of Saint-Hippoly te
to be a broadminded man, capable of great designs, he
requested him to favour the opening of a training school
for lay masters. Circumstances so promptly aided the
execution of this project, that the school for the masters
was opened in the rue Ourcine, close by the charity
school for poor children. Some pious, intelligent young
men from the country soon filled the house. They
were dressed in secular. As they were lodged, fed and
instructed gratuitously, the only payment expected was
good will. From half- past four in the morning until
nine o clock at night, the time was employed in exercises
of piety, study and recreation. Exercises of piety occu
pied an important place in their life; by means of
meditation and the practice of the examen of conscience,
they exercised themselves in the strong Christian virtues,
The programme of their studies comprised the cate^
chism, reading and writing, arithmetic, weights and
measures, and plain chant. The plain chant was of the
utmost importance for them, because everywhere the
THE FOUNDING OF SCHOOLS OUTSIDE PARIS lit
country schoolmasters were also the conductors of the
parish choirs.
This normal school for masters was confided to Brother
Nicolas Vuyart, who also had the direction of the school
for children. This Brother, in 1691 , had made a vow,
together with Gabriel Drolin, " to ask alms and to live
on bread alone " rather than abandon the work of the
schools. At this time he was very faithful, and his
superior rightly relied on him. Under his direction,
the normal school prospered, and provided excellent
lay teachers, even for some schools of Paris. The
parish priest of Saint -Nicolas du Chardonnet, when
writing about John Baptist De La Salle, in 1719, referred
to the usefulness of this normal school in the following
terms : u I and my country owe him eternal obligations.
He had the charity to prepare for me, in the faubourg
Saint -Marcel, four young men for the schools, who
came from him so well trained and so fall of zeal that,
had they found in the ecclesiastics of the country the
wherewith to feed and cultivate the good dispositions
with which he had inspired them, they would have
established a most useful community for the province. "
THE FOUNDING OF SCHOOLS OUTSIDE PARIS I
CHARTRES, CALAIS, ROME, TROVES, AVIGNON
1660-1708
The authorities outside of the capital did not content
themselves with secular masters trained at Saint- Hip-
polyte; they asked for Brothers also, envious to see them
at Paris and in Champagne. Thanks to the number
112 DEVELOPMENT AND OPPOSITION
of recruits that had enriched Vaugirard, the work of
gratuitous Christian schools entered on a movement
of great expansion.
The first request which the founder complied with
was that of the Bishop of Chartres. Paul Godet Des
Marais, importuned by the parish priests of his episcopal
city to open schools for the poor, had, during five years,
earnestly begged for Brothers, when, at last, his friend,
John Baptist De La Salle, sent him some to conduct six
gratuitous classes for boys. They were opened Oc
tober 12th 1699, in the parishes of Saint -Hilaire and
Saint -Michel, and were soon crowded with children.
The new schools did not lack the Bishop s sympathies.
The pious prelate took pleasure in visiting them ; his
gentleness charmed the children , his paternal affection
encouraged the Brothers. Perhaps he took advantage of
his friendship for John Baptist De La Salle to meddle a
little too much with the direction of the Brothers and even
with the government of the Institute. Several Brothers
having fallen sick from sheer exhaustion, charity urged
the good Bishop to visit and console them in their house ;
he invited them to relax something of the austerity of
their Rule, took away their spiritual books as well as
the instruments of penance of which their fervour might
make an indiscreet use; " but ", says the biographer,
" their fidelity to their obligations overcame his remons
trances, and all that he could do was to supply them
abundantly with what their infirmities required. "
In this unflinching attitude, the Brothers were only
following the example of their father, for John Baptist
De La Salle, notwithstanding his deference for the
Bishop of Ghartres, would never consent to a violation
of the Rules of the Institute to please him. This was
THE SCHOOLS AT CHARTRES AND CALAIS 113
clearly seen daring a visit which he paid to Ghartres in
1702. The Bishop made himself the echo of the oft
repeated complaint that the Rules imposed on religious
schoolmasters were too severe ; the holy founder bowed
his head under the criticism of which he wasthe object;
but, before his conscience and God, he did not believe
that he was warranted in changing the Rules of his
Congregation, because he was thoroughly convinced
that austere rules, strictly observed, render Religious
Orders prosperous and lasting.
Even on points of secondary importance, the founder
knew how to maintain their observance. The good
Bishop would have wished to send the Brothers, on
Sundays, into the several churches of the city, that their
behaviour might give edification and spread piely
throughout all the parishes. However praiseworthy
this intention , John Baptist De La Salle could not agree
to it, alleging that the Brothers place in church should
be with their pupils to watch over them and inspire
them with the religious respect and devotion due to the
divine office.
This noble independence in regard to a benefactor
and friend did not less assert itself whenever there was
question of school methods. Godet Des Marais did not
admit that the children should be taught to read
French before learning to read Latin, and he requested
John Baptist De La Salle to return to the traditional
method, at least in the schools of Chartres.
John Baptist, with his twenty years experience,
saw too many disadvantages in beginning with Latin
to sacrifice his method. He drew up a Memorial in
which, in language full of sound sense, he demons
trated : 1st, that it was easier to teach reading by
114 DEVELOPMENT AND OPPOSITION
commencing with French, which the pupils under
stood ; 2nd, that it was much more advantageous for poor
children, who generally remain only a short time at
school, and for whom Latin would never be of any use,
promptly to learn to read their mother- tongue. The
Bishop could not but bow to the solid reasonings of the
happy innovator.
Tenacious guardian of the Rules, the Saint voluntarily
submitted that he, personally, should be criticised both
by friends and by guests. To some, his dress appeared
too simple and too clumsy; his singular habit, his
thick-soled shoes, his broad-brimmed hat, were laughed
at by others ; his cloak, old and threadbare, was secretly
taken away and replaced by a new one. The humble
priest accepted all with good grace, so neglectful was
he of self in order to safeguard the work of God.
The opening of the schools at Calais followed very
closely upon the founding of those at Ghartres. About
the close of 1699, a young ecclesiastic of Calais, who
was a theological student at the seminary of the Bons-
Enfants, named M. Ponthon, having seen the pupils of
Saint-Sulpice silent and in good order, conceived the
project of procuring for his town such a salutary insti
tution. He wrote about it to his uncle, a venerable old
man, who was the dean of Calais, and conjured him
to call into his parish these clever educators, who had
the talent of transforming the turbulent youths of a
large district of Paris. The venerable pastor of Calais
immediately became possessed with the desire to have
the Brothers, and, thanks to the assistance of the civil
magistrates and of the governor of Boulogne, he had
the happiness to install two Brothers, July 19th 1700, in
classes filled with poor children. Five years later, a
BROTHER GABRIEL DROLIN IS SENT TO ROME lib
second school of the Brothers was opened for the sons
of sailors.
A number of friends declared themselves the zealous
patrons of these schools. Among these, M. Gense dis
tinguished himself; he was a virtuous layman, who was
kept from aspiring to the priesthood by his humility,
but his ardour in combating the Huguenots placed him
amongst the most intrepid of apostles. His greatest
happiness was to come and take a little rest in the
Brothers house, and then, it gave him great pleasure to
encourage them with his burning and stirring words :
" You are ", said he to them, " like the gleaners who
follow the steps of the reapers, to pick up, here and
there, the neglected and trodden ears... If you ascend
neither the altar nor the pulpit, if you enter neither
the tribunal of penance nor the baptistery, if your
functions do not put the thurible into your hands to
offer incense to the Most High in His temple, at least
you have the honour of preparing living temples for
Him and of working for the salvation of abandoned
youth. If your ministry is the least brilliant, it is also
the least exposed. If there is any in the Church more
honourable, there is scarcely any more useful. "
At the same time that he sent Brothers to Calais,
John Baptist De La Salle entrusted to his dearest dis
ciple, Gabriel Drolin, the mission of founding an estab
lishment in Borne. The founding of a school in the
centre of Catholicity, under the very eyes of the Vicar
of Jesus Christ, satisfied the ardent wishes of the Broth
ers and their superior. The Saint saw at once, by this
step, the means of founding his work on the immovable
rock of the Church, and thus expressing the attachment
of his heart and soul to the Boman faith, and finally,
116 DEVELOPMENT AND OPPOSITION
that it would lead, when it would be God s pleasure, to
the obtaining of the approbation of the Rules of his
Institute as well as the authorization to make the three
vows of religion.
Brother Gabriel Drolin, accompanied by an incon
stant confrere who soon abandoned him, set out about
the month of June 1700; he w r as poor, without expe
rience, but had a heart full of hope. Five years passed
before he was able to open a gratuitous school for poor
boys : being the only Brother in the city, a stranger,
an object of suspicion, obliged to beg food and lodging
from a French family whose children he educated,
often denounced to his superior as unfaithful to his
Bules, though he remained faithful to the spirit of his
Institute, Brother Gabriel was preparing in humiliation
and tears the success that his Congregation was to have
in Rome. It was in 1710, that he obtained one of the
" Pope s schools "; till then lie had to hide his name,
and had even been obliged to have recourse to a third
person to communicate with his superior. The latter,
though at a great distance, anxiously followed the
work of Brother Gabriel, and sent him from time to
time, hearty words of encouragement and comfort, such
as : "I assure you that I have great tenderness and
affection for you, and often pray to God for you. " If
Brother Gabriel had not the happiness of seeing his
dearly loved father again, lie had at least the consola
tion of contributing to the granting of the Bull which
was delivered January 26th 1725. More fortunate than
Nicolas Vuyart, whose fall we shall soon see, he contin
ued faithful and steadfast till the end, and, having
returned to France in 1728, made his religious pro
fession at Avignon, into the hands of Brother Timo-
THE SCHOOLS AT TROYES AND AVIGNON 117
thee. What a sympathetic soul that good Brother
Gabriel possessed : his memory is still held in benedic
tion and deservedly honoured in the Institute.
Eight months after Brother Gabriel s departure for
Rome, John Baptist De La Salle signed a contract, by
which he bound himself to give Brothers for the Saint-
Nizier school, at Troves. The salary, indeed, was not
liberal, since it was scarcely two hundred and sixty
livres for two Brothers; but the Saint accepted these
conditions, says the biographer, " for fear of losing
the opportunity of instructing the poor of so large a
town, througli too much regard for a vile interest;
provided the Brothers had what was necessary, he was
satisfied. "
About this time also, he received a letter from the
South, inviting him to open a school at Avignon. It was
the lord of Chateau -Blanc, the Pope s treasurer in the
Comtat-Venaissin, who appealed to his zeal to instruct
the poor. Our Saint eagerly accepted this proposal :
his great desire was to work in the territory of the
Roman Pontiff; from Avignon, he could easily enter
into the provinces of the South. Three Brothers were
sent, and opened the first school in 1703. The new
masters soon gained the confidence of the people and
the sympathy of the most respectable persons of the
city ; so that, in a short time, the classes were too small
to contain the pupils, and, in the month of March 1705,
the lord of Chateau -Blanc bought a house for the
Brothers, large enough for twenty persons.
The establishment at Avignon soon became as a
second centre for the Institute. From there, the work
was to spread over the neighbouring provinces; the
Brothers of the South went there to hold their assem-
DEVELOPMENT AND OPPOSITION
blies and for the renewal of their vows. It was through
Avignon that the Saint was to send his letters and
monetary assistance to Rome ; it was at Avignon that he
was to get his books approved and printed, and from
there they were to be sent forth into the schools. On
his visits to Provence and Languedoc, Avignon was to
be as his place of retreat after his apostolic journeys.
But let us not anticipate the future, and, since the Saint
was to earn all his successes with sufferings, let us
turn back to assist at the beginning of his many and
great trials.
JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE IS CALUMNIATED
WITH THE ARCHBISHOP OF PARIS, AND DEPOSED
FROM HIS OFFICE OF SUPERIOR
1702
During the forty years that he consecrated to the
work of the gratuitous schools, John Baptist De La
Salle had to suffer constantly; a work of this import
ance could not be achieved without much opposi
tion and deception. But in 1702, the difficulties in
creased, a powerful opposition rose against him, and
treachery began; the Saint entered upon the way of
sorrows which he was never to leave. If it be true that
all great religious enterprises are founded on the cross,
then the Institute of the Brothers reposes on a solid base.
The first difficulties arose from a difference with
M. De La Chetaj$e.
The parish priest of Saint-Sulpice, a man of profound
piety, austere and hard for himself, did not approve the
severity of the Rules of the Institute. On several occa-
JOHN BAPTIST IS CALUMNIATED 119
sions, he had begged the founder to mitigate the Rules
of the Brothers and novices, and to moderate the im
prudent ardour of the master of novices as well as that
of the director of the schools. John Baptist De La
Salle, always humble and deferential in things permit
ted, showed himself very courageous in defending the
Rules of the Institute, so convinced was he that the
stability of the regulations was absolutely necessary for
the solidity of the work. His firmness was attributed
to obstinacy, and the imprudences of his subordinates
were imputed to him. To judge him incapable of gov
erning his community was the next step : and that step
was taken.
Two acts of indiscretion caused the storm to burst.
Two young Brothers, considering themselves to have
been rather harshly treated, one by Brother Michael,
the master of the novices, and the other by Brother
Ponce, director of the school of the rue Princesse^
carried their grievances to the pastor of Saint-Sulpice.
If John Baptist had been present, his meekness would
have calmed their anger, and nothing of these regret
table indiscretions would have transpired; but he was at
that time visiting the schools of Ghartres. M/. s De La
Chetardye received the complaints of the two malcon
tents with so much the more readiness, as they confirmed
the idea that he himself had already formed of the
extreme severities of the house, and of the superior s
powerlessness to put a stop to them. Perhaps the
desire he had of having all the schoolmasters in his
parish directly under his own authority influenced the
resolution he then took.
He wrote out a Memorial respecting the incrimin
ated acts as well as the general conduct of the commu-
120 DEVELOPMENT AND OPPOSITION
nity of the Brothers, and put it into the Archbishop s
hands. M. Pirot, vicar general, was charged by the
Archbishop to make an inquiry into the state of the
Grand Maison. In a few days after, John Baptist went
to payliis respects to the Cardinal De Noailles, and was
astounded when he heard these startling words : " Mon
sieur, you are superior no longer. I have provided
your community with another. " This, indeed, was as
humiliating as it was unexpected, and there was yet
enough of pride left in our Saint to feel the affront.
But if nature was not dead in him, it was at least under
control. So he humbly bowed his head under the deci
sion that struck him ; he did not complain; he asked
for no explanation ; he attempted no justification of his
conduct; on the contrary, he rather felt the joy of deliv
erance. During sixteen years he had made vain efforts
to be delivered from the superiorship ; and now Provi
dence intervened, by legitimate authority, to satisfy the
aspirations of his humility. Far from complaining, he
had no other anxiety than that of preparing the Brothers
to receive the new superior, sent by the Archbishop.
We shall let the parish priest of Villiers-le-Bel relate the
painful scenes that took place at the Grand Maison on
the occasion ; he gave a very touching account of them
in a letter addressed to M. Guiart, pastor of Saint-
Pierre de Laon.
He wrote : " In a second visit, M. Pirot introduced to
them, on the part of His Eminence, M. 1 abbe BricocL to be
their temporal superior. On hearing the word superior,
the majority of the Brothers cried out that they recog
nized no other superiors than His Eminence and M. De
La Salle. The vicar general reminded them that they
should obey His Eminence and, showing them the order
THE BROTHERS REFUSE ANOTHER SUPERIOR 121
signed by the Cardinal, which if they refused to obey,
said they should be punished as rebels. The Brothers
replied that they honoured His Eminence very much,
but they could not agree to accept any superior but
M. De La Salle, that they would sooner die than have
any other, that they were ready to go to prison, even to
leave the country and go wherever it would please His
Eminence to send them, and even to death.
" The vicar general tried to calm them and to persuade
them to alter their determination, by pointing out to
them the good qualities interior as well as exterior of the
new superior; but the Brothers answered that M. De La
Salle had not only all these qualities, but many others
also, more excellent still. And they commenced to
enumerate them and to say, among other things, that he
was kind and gentle to others, but severe for himself;
that he ordered them nothing that he would not do
and did not do himself, and it would be impossible to
give them any one who could equal him, either in the
art of governing or in all his other excellent virtues and
qualities.
While the said Brothers made these replies, M. De
La Salle was present, and earnestly begged them on his
knees, with tears in his eyes and hands joined, to
submit to the orders of the Cardinal, which had just
been intimated to them by the vicar general ; but they
replied that though they were ready to obey him in
everything else, yet in this particular, they could not
and would not. The vicar general, seeing that he could
not change their minds, or induce them to obey the
orders of the Cardinal, either by his reasoning or by the
entreaties of M. De La Salle, but that he rather irritated
them more and more and made them more and more
Life and Virtues.
122 DEVELOPMENT AND OPPOSITION
determined in their resolve, retired along with M. Bri-
cot, the new intended superior, quite covered with shame
and confusion. M. De La Salle accompanied them to
the door, his eyes filled with tears at seeing the dis
obedience and stubbornness of his Brothers (if one may
so call their zeal and affection for M. De La Salle, and
their determination and constancy to maintain him in
his authority of superior) ; he begged his pardon and
made him a thousand excuses for their unwillingness
to submit. For he would have wished to be relieved
from the office of superior, and it would have given
him great pleasure and quite an extraordinary satis
faction.
" The vicar general had scarcely returned, when he
commenced to publish and praise the zeal and affection
that the brothers had for M. De La Salle, saying to the
Cardinal : " If all the members of religious communities
were so united to their superiors, and had such affection
for them as M. De La Salle s Brothers had for him, we
should not see so much disorder in Paris. " He then
related all that had happened, and that the Brothers
refused to listen to any reasoning with regard to ac
cepting the new superior.
" This irritated him so much, that he sent at once to
the court of justice to ascertain how to deal with this
matter, and to punish the Brothers for their want of
submission to his orders.
" Some time after this, the vicar general came to tell
M. De La Salle that if he did not make his Brothers obey
the Cardinal s orders, he was commanded to announce
to him his exile. M. De La Salle replied that he, the
vicar general, was well aware of the efforts he had
made to induce them to obey, but without success. With
A NOMINAL SUPERIOR IS ACCEPTED 123
regard to his exile, he was quite ready to go wherever
His Eminence might be pleased to send him ; what
consoled him was that he would find God everywhere,
that it would be a happiness for him to suffer, and
that, as to food and clothing, he could not have less
than he actually had.
" The vicar general left him... without having execut
ed his orders, admiring his disinterestedness and
indifference. The brothers, having learned this news,
resolved to pass the whole day and night, without
eating or drinking, in prayer, to implore the assistance
of Heaven in their anguish and aftliction. They made
up their minds the following day to leave the schools
and to abandon the house in Paris. As they were
preparing for the execution of their resolve, news of it
reached the parish priest of Saint- Sulpice, who went
immediately to see M, De La Salle and begged him to
dissuade them from their project and prevent their
leaving. At the same time, the Cardinal sent an order
to the higher court not to pronounce the sentence of
banishment, but to leave things as they were.
" From this time, M. De La Salle and his . Hrothers
were left in peace for a considerable period. Never
theless, during this interval, several interviews took
place between M. De La Salle and some of his principal
Brothers at the vicar general s house, and also with
several ecclesiastics sent by the vicar general or by the
pastor of Saint-Sulpice to M. De La Salle s residence,
who spoke and conferred with each of the Brothers in
private.
" Some eight or ten days after, on January 9th 1703,
the vicar general and M. 1 abbe Bricot came again to
M. De La Salle s house, caused the Brothers to be assem-
424 DEVELOPMENT AND OPPOSITION
bled, made them a thousand promises, among others,
that they could always keep their Rules, that M. De La
Salle would not be taken from them, but that it would
be necessary to obey and accept the said abbe for their
superior, that they would always have the consolation
of having M. De la Salle, and that the said abbe would
come to the house only once a month. They accepted
him on these conditions, or, at least, they did not resist
as on the first occasion ; and if it be true that " silence
gives consent ", then they consented to the election of
this abbe, for not a single Brother objected.
" This is how things stand at present," adds the author
on finishing his letter. " No one believes that this
state of affairs can last, and it is to be hoped that it will
have no serious consequences. A first step has been
taken, and it seems that they want it to be maintained
for some time ; all that can be done is to make the best
use of favourable opportunities to endeavour to undeceive
His Eminence, and to commend the qualities of M. De
La Salle. It is for this I have worked and I shall follow
it up on every occasion that Providence will supply.
I owe him this as a simple act of justice, and, moreover,
the share that you take in it, urges me to work at it
with increased zeal. "
Here ends the touching narrative of the pastor of
Villiers, a painful drama, in which we see the humility
of John Baptist De La Salle contending with the invin
cible affection of his children ; in this struggle which does
such credit to the sons of the Saint, victory remained
with the Brothers. M. Bricot was only a nominal su
perior, who, embarrassed by the role he was obliged to
play in this matter, very soon withdrew entirely; the
real direction was always in the hands of the founder.
JOHN BAPTIST OVERWHELMED WITH TRIALS 125
But the unchained tempest was not to come to a sudden
lull. It seemed as if this violent crisis had opened the
door to all kinds of misfortunes, so much did they all
seem to fall at the same time upon the victim marked
out by Providence for suffering.
JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE IS OVERWHELMED
WITH TRIALS
1703
Scarcely had M. Bricot retired, when another nominal
superior was forced on the community. He was received
with honour, and no one showed him more respect
than John Baptist. But he was an indiscreet man, who,
on coming into the house, seemed to have no other
purpose than to sow discord and reap ruin. Insidiously
and by the most flattering promises, as well as by the
most odious detraction against the person of John
Baptist De La Salle, he strove to detach the Brothers
from their real superior. His venomous discourses
produced, at the outset, an effect quite contrary to his
expectations; the more their father was calumniated,
the dearer he became in their estimation, and the more
they attached themselves to him. It is impossible to
express the profound grief that these well-known in
trigues caused to the heart of the Saint. Tired with
these base practices, and fearing to be an obstacle to good
even in his own house, he resolved to resign into the
Cardinal s hands the power to hear confessions which he
had received from him. By this voluntary resignation,
he wished to abandon even the appearance of the supe-
126 DEVELOPMENT AND OPPOSITION
riority that was so bitterly disputed. But the Cardinal
would not consent, and made John Baptist understand
that he should keep the government of the Institute.
Other crosses then came to him from the part of the
Brothers , for the bad leaven could not fail fermenting
in a few weak souls. Certain dissatisfied members,
among whom were some who should have been the
ramparts of the Institute, withdrew under conditions
most painful to the heart of the superior, since they
tried to defeat his work by means of rival schools, or
by schools which he had already engaged to conduct.
Brother Michel himself, who had been the director of
the novices, and whose indiscreet ardour had lately com
promised the Institute, deserted his master for a time;
but he soon returned repentant, and, like the prodigal
son, threw himself at his father s feet, and repaired his
fault, in the schools of Chartres, by two years of work
and by a courageous death.
No defection , however, was so embarrassing to John
Baptist as that of the two Brothers of the Sunday school.
They were particularly capable masters; for their supe
rior had spared neither trouble nor expense to prepare
them to teach the higher branches. When they had
deserted their posts, the Saint begged an intelligent
Brother to study mathematics and drawing, in order to
continue the Sunday school. But the Brother excused
himself, alleging as motive, that two Brothers had
already lost themselves there, and that his conscience
shrank from putting his vocation in peril and thereby
his salvation. This Brother imparted the same feelings
to the others , and all together drew up a Memorial on
the dangers of higher studies.
In what an inextricable difficulty was John Baptist
JOHN" BAPTIST OVERWHELMED WITH TRIALS 127
going to find himself! On the one hand, he knew that
M. De La Chetardye was greatly attached, and not without
reason, to the Sunday school; to suppress it would be
to incur the displeasure of the parish priest of Saint-
Sulpice. On the othor hand, the Brothers 1 refusal put
him in the impossibility of continuing it. What better
could he do than go and expose the situation to M". De La
Chetardye? The pastor received him very coldly, and
imputed to him the departure of the two masters and
the resistance of the Brothers ; he even accused him of
being the author of the Memorial. And as the Saint
defended himself, he went into a fit of uncontrolled
impatience, so far as to treat him as a liar. M. De La
Salle preserved his usual calmness and respectfully
replied : " Sir, it is with this lie on my lips that I am
just going to say Holy Mass." He gained by this humil
iation; for a compassionate Brother, seeing him crushed
under the burden of so many crosses, offered himself to
study the specialities in question and thus the Sunday
school was soon reopened. This institution was trans
ferred to Charonn^towards the end of 1701* , and was
closed soon after, in consequence of the attacks of the
writing-masters.
Rut John baptist was yet to drink a much more bitter
cup, when the treachery of Nicolas Vijy&rt, about 1705,
brought about the ruin of the long desired training
school of Saint-Hippolyte.
Nicolas Vti^fcrt, one of his two most cherished dis
ciples, who was bound to the Institute by solemn
engagements, betrayed his master for money, and,
by his infidelity, destroyed the work for the country
schoolmasters. In order to assure the existence and
continuance of this important foundation, the pastor of
/I
128 DEVELOPMENT AND OPPOSITION
Saint -Hippolyie, feeling his end approach, had willed
him his fortune, and did not hesitate to appoint Nicolas
ViXykrt as his legal heir, and so died without any
anxiety for the future of the work.
What was not John Baptist s surprise, when, after the
death of the parish priest, he came to make arrange
ments with Brother Vuyart, and found him completely
changed! A few days had sufficed to fill the heart of
the religious with cupidity. Blinded with avarice,
Vuyart disowned his father, denied his superior, and
haughtily answered that the money was his, and that he
knew very well how to dispose of it according to the
intentions of the donor. The Saint, with a heart deeply
wounded, retired; he complained to no one; took no
steps to recover the legacy of which he had such pressing
need. What was the loss of the money to him, when
compared with the defection of a son whom he loved
so much, and the ruin of so important a work! For
Nicolas Vuyart, no matter what he might do, being now
no longer a Brother, could not possibly hold either the
school or the training college of Saint-Hippolyte, against
the attacks of the writing-masters. Later on, when
remorse had seized the heart of the deluded man, the
Saint, who loved him still, would have received him
again with open arms, if lie had not been deterred by
wise and prudent counsel.
In this avalanche of trials, Heaven itself seemed to
take part with the enemy, for death made many victims
in the Institute. During the epidemic of purpura,
which was prevalent at Chartres during the year 1705,
five Brothers died in the exercise of their devotedness.
However pure the victims of this sacrifice, John
Baptist wept for them, both as father and superior : his
THE BROTHERS LEAVE THE GRAND MAISON 129
fatherly heart was wrung by the death of his children ;
the superior lacked labourers for many pressing works
in hand.
v>^L^<- / /%&
THE REGRET OF JOHN RAPTIST DE LA SALLE
FOR LEAVING THE GRAND MAISON.
HE FIXES HIS RESIDENCE IN THE FAUBOUR^
SAINT.- ANTOINE
1703-1704
In the midst of these overwhelming tribulations, John
Baptist found an asylum within his own heart; as long
as he was the tranquil possessor of the Grand Maison,
he and his Brothers were at liberty to give themselves
up to the consoling exercises of prayer and mortification
without fear of disturbance. But that pleasant retreat
was not left to them long ; they were obliged soon to
leave it and lead a wandering and uncertain life.
The Brothers had already besought him to quit that
place, in order to escape from the importunate visits
of an official superior who came among them to sow
discord and to spread a bad spirit. But the Saint was
attached to that house, because it was spacious and
commodious, and within easy distance of all the
schools ; perhaps he also loved it because it had been
the theatre of his humiliations and of his bitterest griefs.
However that may be, he did not wish to leave it,
and he had ordered a daily procession to obtain the
grace to be allowed to fix his abode in that cherished
place.
He believed for a while that his desires had bean
130 DEVELOPMENT AND OPPOSITION
granted. For when the property was put up for sale, a
very considerable sum of money had been willed to
him for the purchase of the house and for the estab
lishment of his novitiate, But secret intrigues diverted
the legacy from its proper destination , and the Grand -
Maison passed into the hands of another purchaser.
John Baptist vainly endeavoured to be allowed to remain
at least as a tenant. This was conceded, but only for
a term of six weeks, and on August 20th, he transferred
his community to the rue de Gharonne, in the faubourg
Saint -Antoine.
The house in the rue de Gharonne could be only a
temporary refuge. It was large enough to accommodate
the novitiate and even the Sunday school ; but it was
inconvenient, as it had not been designed and built for a
community. As if he had a presentiment that he should
soon be driven from his new home , the Saint made no
arrangements for a chapel. With the priests who had
followed him from the rue de Vaugirard, he went to say
Mass in the convent of the " Sisters of the Gross ",
fervent Dominicanesses, whose convent was just opposite
his new home : and there, too, each morning, the novices
assisted at the holy sacrifice. The nuns were soon
struck with the piety and modesty of those young men,
and the striking holiness that shone on their superior s
countenance. Learning of their distress, they hastened
to assist them ; and the motherly solicitude of which
they then gave such touching proofs, never flagged;
for, afterwards, when John Baptist found himself in
necessity, he had recourse to his benefactresses, saying :
" Let us go to the Gross. " These pious nuns heartily
desired his counsel on their interior, and even to con
fide to him the direction of their conscience. Despite
JOHN BAPTIST AT THE RUE DE CHARONNE 131
che repugnance he had to exercise a ministry foreign to
his work, he accepted to pay in the spiritual order, the
temporal service which he received from this commu
nity in his extreme necessities.
Moreover, his zeal was always in readiness for all
kinds of devotedness, and often an act of charity, hegun
with the greatest simplicity, resulted in a deed of
true heroism. One day, he was called to hear a priest s
confession; this poor man had been condemned to the
Bastille for some political offence; he was in a most
unfortunate and lamentable condition, just as wretched
from a physical point of view as he was morally discour
aged ; a ragged soutane barely covered a shirt that was
all torn and black with disgusting vermin. Moved
even to tears at so heartrending a sight, John Baptist
embraced the poor prisoner. Then, having closed,
with fraternal compassion, the gaping wounds of his
soul, by means of the sacrament of penance, he
resolved to relieve his body also. He immediately
changed clothes with the prisoner; and he who was
so delicate, clad himself in these rotten and vermin-
covered rags, and in this state left the prison, hiding
from view the joy he felt at having alleviated a suffering
member of Jesus Christ.
These acts of charity scarcely encroached on the time
required by the duties of his state ; for, at the rue de
Gharonne as elsewhere, he husbanded his time and
slrenglh in view of his commiinil\ . Though Ilic house
was far enough from the faubourg Saint- Germain, yet
the Brothers of the schools of Saint-Sulpice came every
Thursday and Sunday to rest their wearied bodies, and
to invigorate their piety and religious spirit in his
presence ; he received them with paternal kindness, and
132 DEVELOPMENT AND OPPOSITION
thanked God for the fervour that still reigned in his
Institute, notwithstanding all the obstacles it had to
encounter. .Besides the novitiate and the Sunday school,
he had to open a gratuitous school for the poor children
of the faubourg Saint- Antoine; by a creation so conform
able to his vocation, he had besides, the advantage of
gaining the good will of the parish priest of Saint-Paul s,
who was then justly preoccupied with the Christian
education of his parish.
What the Saint relished above all, in the midst of
these apostolic occupations, was the solitude of the
place. At the rue de Charonne, he lived as in a land of
exile, far from intercourse with the world and the
tumult of the large city. Doubtless, calumnies did not
cease to pursue his memory, because his quitting the
Grand Maison had provoked the most wicked interpre
tations ; but all these rumours had vanished before
reaching the rue de Charonne. For several months he
enjoyed absolute silence so dear to him, and he profited
thereby to give more time to mental prayer. lUit after
that short repose sent him by Providence, fresh storms,
roused by the schoolmasters, burst forth to trouble and
disperse the community of the faubourg Saint-Antoine.
VIOLENT PERSECUTION BY THE
SCHOOLMASTERS AND WRITING-MASTERS
1704-1706
From the moment of his arrival in Paris, John J3aptist
De La Salle carne into collision with the powerful cor
poration of schoolmasters, whose jealousy had armed
itself with specious pretexts. As a rule, the gratuitous
schools received none but poor children. So rare and
PERSECUTION BY THE SCHOOLMASTERS 133
so badly managed were such schools in Paris, that those
children who were not altogether indigent frequented
the pay-schools and paid the fees. But as soon as the
Brothers appeared and the gratuitous schools mul
tiplied, and, above all, when it was seen that they were
irreproachable and even superior to the pay -schools,
many poor families who till then had made heavy
sacrifices for the instruction of their children , hastened
to confide them to the Brothers, and profited doubly by
doing so. From that sprang the complaints of the
schoolmasters and of the writing-masters, two rival and
powerful corporations, by whose united efforts it was
thought the work that they feared would be crushed out
of existence.
In 1690, after the opening of a school in the rue du
Bac, the masters of the " pctites ecoles " laid their
complaints before the precentor of Notre -Dame, their
head superior : we have already shown how the provin
cial Parliament had quashed the precentor s judgment.
In 1(399, seeing that the schools continued to multiply,
they renewed their attacks, and furiously rushed
upon the school of the rue Saint -Placide, determined
to avenge themselves. Just as they were seizing and
throwing into the street the furniture of the classes and
the objects for the use of the masters and pupils, John
Baptist presented himself before these furious vandals
and calmly said to them : " Here, take me also. " The
invaders, assuming a feigned air of cordiality in his re
gard, replied : " We wish no harm to you, but to your
Brothers. " They forgot that by attacking the Brothers
they were attacking their chief also. The precentor,
before whom the Brothers were accused of receiving
school fees from families in easy circumstances, con-
134 DEVELOPMENT AND OPPOSITION
demned them. But when the case came before the
Parliament, M. De La Chetardye defended them before
the magistrates; it was he that had been assailed in
his right to educate the children of the poor in his
schools. As the debated question appeared to him to be
of the greatest importance, he did not fear to call to
his assistance the powerful influence of Madame De
Maintenql, who wrote a significant note to the
President De Harlay on the subject. Besides, the
justice of John Baptist s case would have sufficed to
gain the victory for him , because he defied his adver
saries to prove that the Brothers had ever accepted
school lees, offering to close all his schools, if his rivals
succeeded in showing that they were not absolutely
gratuitous schools. Unable to accept this proud chal
lenge thrown down by charity, the accusing masters
withdrew, crestfallen and nonsuited.
The intervention of the pastor of Saint- Sulpice, on
this occasion, had been all-powerful. Checked by his
authority, the schoolmasters did not attempt to annoy
the Brothers again for several years. But in 1704,
when John Baptist De La Salle had transferred his
novitiate and had opened a school in the rue de Cha-
ronne, and when it was evident that the pastor of Saint-
Sulpice, whose enthusiasm seemed to have cooled, had no
longer the same interest to protect the gratuitous schools,
they reopened fire. The corporation of the writing-
masters, more noisy and violent than that of the school
masters , was the first to enter the field, and soon both
acted together. That M . De La Ghetardye might not again
interfere in their quarrel, they attacked only the schools
of the rue de Charonne and Saint -Hippolyte : the day
schools, the Sunday school and the masters training
PERSECUTION BY THE SCHOOLMASTERS 135
school, which they denounced to the authorities as so
many encroachments, and demanded their immediate
suppression.
On February 7th 1704, at the petition of the writing-
masters agent, a seizure was made in the rue
de Charonne, of all the ohjects used for writing, -
copyhooks, pens, models, etc., and the Brothers received
orders to appear before the police-court of the Chatelet.
Instead of presenting his defence, John Baptist permitted
himself to be condemned by default on February 22nd
following. The judgment was that all the writing objects
that had been seized should be confiscated, and that the
Brothers be condemned to pay a fine of fifty livres; at
the same time it ordained that " only those pupils
whose fathers were really poor should be admitted in
the charity schools, and that they should be taught only
such subjects as suited the profession of their parents. "
John Baptist De La Salle, who had done nothing con
trary to his right, did not feel himself bound by the
terms of this judgment; consequently, he told the
Brothers to continue their classes, and he did not pay
the fine. This noncompliance w r ith the law brought
on a new suit, and a fresh condemnation, more severe
than the former, which ran as follows : " The Brothers
of the charity schools are forbidden to live together, or
to unite for any business until they shall have obtained
permission by letters patent from the King, and shall
have had them registered ; all this under pain of a fine
of three hundred livres. " This judgment, aimed against
all the Brothers schools, was to be posted up " at the
entrances of the said schools and wherever necessary. "
This severe judgment, though posted up in all the
thoroughfares of Paris, was not enforced with the same
136 DEVELOPMENT AND OPPOSITION
rigour everywhere. The parish priests of Saint-Sulpice
and Saint- Hippolyte maintained the Brothers for the
direction of their schools, and their right was, fora
time, respected. But, at the rue de Char&e, the
classes were literally pillaged by the public officers :
the forms, the desks, the books, the writing materials,
and the drawing models, were all carried off; and
even the signboard of the school was pulled down.
The indignation of the people, who could not understand
what this brigandage meant, did not stop them in their
plunder ; the complaints of the poor who were directly
affected in the persecution of their teachers, were not
listened to. Might triumphed : the charity school and
the Sunday school were closed, and the superior and
his Brothers were thrown into the street.
After the devastation of his school, John Baptist had
nothing to do but to retire from the faubourg Saint-An-
toine. He got his furniture secretly removed into a shed
that was offered to him by a compassionate person, and,
without any disturbance, withdrew with his novices to
the Brothers house in the rue Princesse.
Bat even here, he did not find absolute security; for
he feared both the displeasure of the pastor of Saint-Sul
pice, and that the animosity of the schoolmasters might
be excited anew. So, when the parish priest of Saint-
Roch offered him to open a gratuitous school in his
parish, at the beginning of 1705, he eagerly profited
by the opportunity to retire, in order that the Brothers
might be delivered from the annoyances that his pre
sence might draw upon them. He resided three years
at the community of Saint-Roch, rue Saint-Honore,
near the celebrated convent of the Jacobins.
His going away did not save the Brothers of the rue
PERSECUTION BY THE SCHOOLMASTERS 137
Princesse. For, during the year 1705, the schoolmas
ters and the writing-masters did not cease to trouble
them with their visits, and to worry them with their
reproaches. They shamelessly entered their classes,
inspected the lists of the pupils, closely scanned the
children to ascertain if they were all really poor, and
caused disgraceful and violent scenes, if they found a
pupil that was well enough off to frequent the pay-
schools. On August 4th 1705, the whole school was
sacked; the furniture was seized, and would have been
carried away, if the proprietor had not interfered,
and declared himself the guardian of the furniture.
Until about the middle of the year 1706, the Brothers
were not left a moment in peace; it was only a time of
seizures and insolence on the part of the lay masters , and
of humiliating condemnations on the part of the Parlia
ment, that sustained the ambitious pretensions of the
enemies of the Brothers.
At last, having lost patience and courage, the Brothers
resolved to give up the unequal struggle and leave the
place free. They, therefore, besought their superior
to recall them from the schools of Saint- Sulpice, and
to send them to new foundations. For, the parish of
Saint -Sulpice was not the boundary of the Institute;
the large expansion which.it had already attained, gave
the Brothers hope that he would be able to find shelter
for them elsewhere, and that they would be protected
from the incursions of their rivals as well as from the
annoying protection of the pastor of Saint- Sulpice.
After having sought the advice of prudent men, John
Baptist complied with their desires and assigned them
occupations in the schools outside the capital, in the
month of July 1700.
138 DEVELOPMENT AND OPPOSITION
Then were heard loud complaints among the poor
of the faubourg Saint-Germain : their teachers gone,
what was to become of them? An effort was made, but
all to no purpose, to lind new masters for the poor
schools; those who presented themselves, being but
former Brothers unfaithful to their vocation, it was at
once seen that these cast-off members of the Institute
would be both a dishonour and an expense for the
charity schools. So negotiations were undertaken to
have the Brothers return. John Baptist replied to M. De
La Ghetardye s advances with a condescension worthy
of his great heart; for, he asked only that efficacious
measures should be taken to assure tranquillity for
his schools in the future.
Certainly, this condition was not onerous. In order
to fulfil it, M. De La Chetardye made a sort of comprom
ise with the lay masters : these latter engaged to leave
the Brothers in the peaceful exercise of their functions ;
the pastor of Saint- Sulpice promised that he would not
admit into the parish schools any but children known
to be really poor, and provided with a certificate tes
tifying that they were indigent. In this way was ter
minated, at least in Paris, that hot contest between
earthly interests, said to have been injured, and the
aspirations of zeal that sought only the happiness of
peaceable devotedness. These rivalries must not be
regarded as preludes to the combats between secular
and religious education, because, at that epoch, all
teachers equally desired to form Christian children.
And yet, if the war declared in our days with regard
to education seems to be limited to the religious ques
tion, would it not be easy to find behind this question
the same interests and the same appetites?
CHAPTER VII.
THE ESTABLISHMENT
AT ROUEN
AND DIVERS SCHOOLS
1705-1712
THE SCHOOLS OF DARNETAL AND ROUEN
1705-1707
The persecutions, open or hidden, which the com
munity of Paris suffered, did not stop the development
of the schools elsewhere. For it was during the severest
stage of the storm raised by the lay masters , and at the
very time that John Baptist was forced to leave the rue
de Gharonne and felt that his presence compromised
the Brothers of Saint- Sulpice, that overtures were
made to him in view of opening a school at Rouen.
The first proposal came from M. Des Hayes, parish
priest of Saint- Sauveur at Rouen, a former companion
of Saint- Sulpice. He was asked to send two Brothers
to direct a school at Darnetal, a populous industrial
district situated at the gates of Rouen.
140 ESTABLISHMENT AT ROUEN AND OTHER SCHOOLS
The material conditions were very moderate, for only
one hundred and fifty livres were offered as the salary
of the two Brothers; but, said the Saint, " we shall
easily agree; you know we are not exacting. " Though
he was disinterested in money matters, yet he was very
tenacious of the preservation of the Rules of the Ins
titute. There must be at least two Brothers in a school,
because, said he, "You know we could not send a Broth
er alone." The Brothers are to be the masters of the
schools, but neither singers nor sacristans ; he desires
to be informed if they shall be obliged " to sing and
assist the pastor in his functions " : for" you know very
well", added he," that our Brothers do neither the one
nor the other. "
The school of Darnetal which was opened in the
beginning of February 1705, soon attracted attention;
it brought about the transformation of the poor children
of the village so promptly, that the citizens of Rouen
very strongly expressed their desire of participating in
the like advantages. This was just what John Baptist
De La Salle wanted. A secret instinct urged him
towards Rouen, whence his vocation came. He hoped
to continue there the work of Madame Maillefer, of
Father Barre, and of Adrian Nyel , and the charity
schools of Rouen seemed to call him. He would follow
the Brothers there, and would no longer be trouble
some to his numerous adversaries in Paris; he would
transfer his novitiate to a more hospitable region.
These plans .were realized about the end of March 1 705,
when the charity commissioners of Rouen, at the
request of the vicars general, Archbishop Colbert, and
of the first President Camus De Pontcarre, agreed that
the Brothers might come from Paris to take charge of
THE SCHOOLS AT ROUEN 141
the charity schools of the city. It is true that the com
missioners proceeded very slowly and almost with
distrust : they desired only two Brothers to make a
beginning ; these two Brothers, lodged and boarded in
the hospital, should, when not in class, be employed in
the service of the paupers; they were to be paid thirty-
six livres each, to keep themselves in clothing. John
Baptist accepted these conditions, however onerous;
lie was but too happy to enter Rouen even at this
price.
He left Paris in the month of May 1705 with the two
Brothers who were to direct the school. Their journey
was made on foot, and was a kind of retreat; all the exer
cises of piety were made at the hours marked by the
daily regulations; silence was observed except during
the vocal prayers and the exhortations of the Saint.
They went indeed on their mission as sent of God.
Their efforts were so blessed by Heaven, they estab
lished such order in the schools of Saint-Godard and
Saint- Maclou, that they completely won the confidence
of the commissioners; in consequence of which, two
more Brothers were asked for the schools of Saint-
Maclou and Saint-Eloi. The inhabitants, on their part,
openly testified their approbation of the new masters;
the three hundred and fifty pupils, who soon were in
attendance at the Brothers schools, were an evident
proof of the parents esteem. This success aroused
the jealousy of the writing-masters to such a point,
that they laid their complaints before the charity com
missioners , and in order to pacify them, it \vas decreed
that no child not having a certificate of indigency,
should be admitted to the Brothers schools. John Bap
tist De La Salle did not think that he should protest
142 ESTABLISHMENT AT ROUEN AND OTHER SCHOOLS
against this order, though it was quite contrary to the
idea lie had of his work : lie desired that the Brothers
should everywhere keep gratuitous schools, so that
everywhere the children of the poor might receive a
Christian education; it never entered his mind to refuse
admittance to the children of well to do parents , and
much less to examine into the social standing of the
pupils. Sooner or later, his idea was to triumph over the
sordid preoccupations of interest.
Notwithstanding the means taken to satisfy the jeal
ousy and demands of the writing-masters, the work
of the classes weighed heavily on the four Brothers.
These humble religious were subjected to unheard-
of hardship, acting at the same time as hospital nurses
and as teachers of the schools. In the morning, they
had to preside at the rising of the poor of the hospital,
to assist them and get them to say their prayers.
At eight o clock, they went to their respective schools
to instruct the poor children of the city. When they
returned at noon, their first duty was to wait on the
old men ; the meal of the poor being finished, they took
their repast quickly so as to be at school in good time
in the midst of their scholars. They returned from
their schools only at six o clock in the evening, and
their first work was to help the poor to their supper,
instruct them and get them to say their night prayers.
Such a daily regulation, which seemed to make no
account of the limit of human endurance, could not
possibly be followed without seriously affecting the
health of the Brothers, and notably prejudicing their
religious fervour. True, the former masters had
been subjected to the same work; but they lightened
its weight by neglecting the work of the schools. The
THE SCHOOLS AT ROUEN 143
Brothers whose zeal was equally divided between the
care of the paupers and the instruction of the children,
could not support such a task very long. Several sank
under the burden. At the end of two years, being
unable to hold out any longer, they drew up a Memorial
on the necessity of withdrawing from the charity com
missioners employment, where their virtue risked as
much as their health.
John Baptist De La Salle, who was much alarmed at
the situation, and who regretted to see his disciples sub
jected to, and even overcome by so much hardship, and
above all, their being deprived of the fortifying assistance
of community exercises, proposed an arrangement to
the commissioners that would enable the Brothers to
live according to their Rules and in their own house.
He offered to keep the four charity schools of the city
and that of the hospital by putting two Brothers in
each of them. As to the salary, he would leave that to
the generosity of the commissioners. Could he have
made a more disinterested offer?
The commissioners accepted this exceptional oppor
tunity at their meeting of August 7th 1707; but, taking
advantage of the condescension of the Servant of
God, they allowed a sum of only six hundred livres
a year, as the salary of the ten Brothers. This sum
was contemptible, seeing that John Baptist generally
asked three hundred livrcs for each master, not includ
ing house acccommodation. When lie would have paid
three hundred and ten livres as the rent of a house,
there would remain for the support and clothing of the
Brothers only an insignificant sum, so that he himself
would be obliged to bear nearly the whole of the
expense.
144 ESTABLISHMENT AT ROUEN AND OTHER SCHOOLS
In return for his charity, abusive language was less
spared lhan money. Especially in the beginning, the
patience of the Brothers was put to the severest tests.
The people in the streets, astonished at the singularity
of their dress, insulted them in a thousand w r ays, and
the better class contemplated with malicious pleasure
the bad treatment that these humble religious had to
bear. John Baptist De La Salle shared the humilia
tions of his Brothers; but, instead of complaining, he
rather rejoiced to gain, even at this price, the blessings
of heaven, which he expected for his work in Rouen.
He was not deceived in his expectations; for, sympathy
and even veneration succeeded the bad treatment, and
Saint- Yon was to become at Rouen, an active centre
of life and development for his Institute.
SAINT -YON : NOVITIATE, BOARDING SCHOOL,
REFORMATORY
1705-1709
In the montli of May 1705, John Baptist De La Salle
proposed to the Archbishop and to the first President
his plan of establishing his novitiate at Rouen. His
novitiate was crumbling in Paris ; during two years it
had wandered from one house to another; with very
great difficulty could it find that recollection or the
recruitment which it needed.
M. Colbert and M. De Pontcarre cheerfully accepted this
proposal, and even engaged to defray all the expenses
of the transfer. The Archbishop at once pointed out
the house of Saint- Yon, in the faubourg Saint- Sever of
THE NOVITIATE AT SAINT-YON 145
Rouen, as the most convenient for a novitiate and to
become the mother -house of an Institute. It was a
manor house, surrounded with a park of about seventeen
acres. This district of Saint-Sever which is to-day so
populous, was at that time a very quiet place ; the large
number of religious houses in the immediate vicinity
of the property helped to maintain that silence so con
genial to meditation.
As soon as the house was hired, John Baptist brought
his novices to it. All was executed so promptly, that
the community had already been established at Rouen,
before his departure was known in Paris ; in the face of
an accomplished fact, opposition, if there was any,
found itself disarmed.
There were only six novices, so unfavourable had
the circumstances been for recruiting; but, in the year
after the arrival at Saint-Yon, more than twenty
subjects presented themselves, and thus, the Saint
was rewarded for so many trials, patiently borne.
Brother Barthelemy, the novice master, a very pious
and clever man , was destined to be the pillar of the
Institute. He entered the Institute in February 1703,
after having victoriously triumphed over very painful
interior difficulties ; he soon gained the full confidence
of his superior, and became his right-hand man until
he succeeded him.
John Baptist, however, carefully watched over the
life of his novitiate. When lie was not detained by
business in Paris, he would come and shut himself up
with the novices in the solitude of Saint-Yon. This
retreat pleased him, because, therein, he could indulge
his taste for mental prayer. No importunate visitor
came to disturb him ; the only person that was admitted
Life and Virtues. 7
146 ESTABLISHMENT AT ROUEN AND OTHER SCHOOLS
was the president, De Pontcarre, friend and protector
of the Institute, who loved to come there to be separated
from the din of the outside world.
In the month of September 1705, all the Brothers of the
Society were called to Saint- Yon, and thus the retreats
in common, which had already done so much good at
Vaugirard and at the Grand Maison, were re-established
to preserve fervour in the communities. The Saint
introduced at this time the custom of making the after
noon meditation on " the school duties ", and the in
structions that he gave on this subject have been con
densed in the precious book entitled " Meditations for
the time of the retreat, for the use of all persons employed
in the education of youth, and particularly for the
retreats which the Brothers of the Christian Schools make
during the vacation." This book is not a guide on peda
gogy like the School Management, but a manual of apostle-
ship, in which the author teaches his disciples, whom
he calls " the co-operators with Jesus Christ " and " the
guardian angels of youth, " the art of exercising a moral
ascendency over the children to make them good
Christians.
The Brothers docility to these lessons produced per
fect masters. From the confidence which they inspired
as educators sprang three new works at Saint -Yon.
The first began in the end of 1705, at the earnest
request of the merchants and manufacturers of Rouen.
There was not at that time any kind of education
suitable to the wants of the middle classes. The nobility
and rich citizens could choose from among hundreds
of flourishing colleges; for the labouring classes, there
were numerous schools, either paying or gratuitous;
but the middle classes, for whom primary education
THE BOARDING SCHOOL AT SAINT -YON 147
was not sufficient and classical studies only a useless
luxury, called for an intermediate education in which
practical instruction should predominate. For this
purpose, certain families of Rouen in easy circum
stances petitioned John Baptist to take their^sons as
boarders, and to give them a training to suit their
condition.
Without neglecting his principal work of the popular
schools, the Saint heartily welcomed this appeal to his
zeal, thus giving another proof of the broadmindedness
with which he regarded his vocation, and of the elasticity
with which he accommodated his idea of education
to the wants of the times and to the expressed wishes of
the parents. Neither did he despise the material advan
tages that would accrue to him from a boarding school ;
for, with the income derived from Saint- Yon, he would
be enabled to support the miserably paid masters of the
gratuitous schools.
A boarding school was therefore opened at Saint- Yon ;
the children of the middle classes Hocked to it, and,
according to a biographer, pupils came from all parts of
the country. From the very beginning, John Baptist
drew up very wise regulations, the spirit of which, in
spite of the thousand variations of time and place, still
continues to govern the boarding schools of the Broth
ers. Religion occupies the place of honour; it is
taught by the lessons of catechism carefully given, and
practised in the various exercises of piety in which the
pupils make it a point of honour to take part. It trains
them to virtue ; for the founder desires that the children
should be " educated and trained to innocence; " hence
the exact supervision which preserves the pupils from
all moral danger. But profane instruction was not at
148 ESTABLISHMENT AT ROUEN AND OTHER SCHOOLS
all neglected. An ancient catalogue of Rouen summa
rizes the programme in the following terms : " All that
concerns commerce, finance, the army, architecture, and
mathematics, in a word, all that a young man may learn,
with the exception of Latin, is taught at Saint-Yon. "
This wise organization caused Victor Duruy to say in an
official report of March 2nd 1867 : " From this first essay-
sprang an education which, if it had been made general,
would have advanced by a century the organization of
adult schools and also that of special secondary educa
tion. "
Alongside of the boarding school, which served as
model for so many others in the XVIIlth century, more
turbulent colonies came to establish themselves within
the walls of Saint- Yon. The Brothers exercised such an
ascendency over unmanageable characters, that un
governable youths, and wayward, incorrigible children
were confided to them . For these classes Saint- Yon was
a house of correction , and they were often returned
to their parents quite converted and changed.
After some time, M. De Pontcarre asked the Brothers
to receive young criminals condemned to prison, because
he looked on the prison as an immoral place for them
on account of their being brought into contact with old
offenders, and also because of the absence of all moral
izing influences. With the simplicity that was worthy
of his great faith , John Baptist followed all these provi
dential indications and placed at the service of these
several enterprises the most disinterested devotedness.
It is true that he did not escape criticism in all these
works. About the year 1708, there was a movement of
opinion against Saint- Yon : the Brothers were represent
ed as incapable masters , and prejudicial to those of the
SCHOOLS OUTSIDE OF THE CAPITAL 149
teaching profession ; they were accused of poorly
feeding the boarders, though paid large fees. M. De
Pontcarre, hearing these accusations, did not think that
they should be allowed to pass. unanswered ; he invited
the governor of the city to go with him to Saint-Yon,
personally to satisfy himself with the actual state ot
affairs. The result of the inquiry was of course in the
Brothers favour, and the first president said to the
governor : u Well, Sir, did I not tell you that you would
go away much more satisfied than you came? "
THE OPENING OF SCHOOLS OUTSIDE OF THE CAPITAL
1705-1711
While John Baptist De La Salle was dividing his time
between Paris and Rouen, he did not neglect the foun
dations that had been already made, or discontinue to
open new schools. The years that immediately followed
the opening of the schools in Darnetal and Rouen were
the most prosperous of his life; for, in six years, Broth
ers had been sent to twelve different towns. We shall
not conduct the reader through the history of each of
these foundations : it will suffice to mention them. In
1705, Dijon and Marseilles; 1707, Valreas (Gomtat-
Venaissin), Mende, Alais and Grenoble; 1708, Saint-
Denis, school and masters training college; 1709,
Macon; 1710, Versailles, Boulogne -sur-Mer and Mou-
liris; 1711, les Vans (Ardeche).
All these schools were the offspring of the same
Christian inspiration, and all, in their development,
passed through nearly the same phases.
150 ESTABLISHMENT AT ROUEN AND OTHER SCHOOLS
The great movement of Christian charity that sprang
up in the XVIIth century stirred in the hearts of gener
ous souls compassion for all kinds of sufferings. Poor,
abandoned children, given over to ignorance and vice,
roused heartfelt sympathy and stimulated a spirit of
burning, apostolic zeal in many breasts. Everywhere,
but especially in the towns and cities, the instruction
and moralization of the poor occupied the public mind ;
gratuitous schools rose to admit them. It was the
great preoccupation of the Bishops also.
At Mende, for example, the Bishop exhorted his
priests " to provide good masters for the schools; "and
as a proof of his zeal for his episcopal city, he left a sum
of money the interest of which would suffice to endow
two charity schools, one for boys, and one for
girls.
Marseilles already possessed three gratuitous schools ;
but there was a district of the parish of Saint -Laurent,
where the poor were totally abandoned. This district
was wholly inhabited by sailors whose children went to
sea at nine or ten years of age; at a rnaturer age, they
were unable, on account of their lack of education,
to obtain suitable employment. These poor youths,
having grown up in ignorance, remained lawless and
incorrigible subjects; and, having received neither a
moral nor a religious education, they wallowed in
disorder, and they often apostatized in the Mussulman
countries which they visited. To receive and form these
children, a charity school was opened at the expense
of the Christian families in the quarter occupied by
sailors.
In the diocese of Alais, where heresy had implanted
itself by means of schools, the Bishop was convinced
SCHOOLS OUTSIDE OF THE CAPITAL 151
that nothing but the schools would finally triumph over
Calvinism. He ordered the following note to be written
to John Baptist De La Salle : " There is question of
destroying heresy in this country, and of establishing
the Catholic religion; the work is great, good w r orkmen
are required... I assure you that we have more need
of good schoolmasters than of any other kind of
workers. "
Zeal for the poor has always developed the spirit of
sacrifice; as the schools must be gratuitous, the teachers
must be cared for by voluntary contributions. In one
place foundations, in another voluntary subscriptions
assure a respectable subsistence for the teachers. At
Vans, the abbe Du Roure, seigneur de Saint-Jean, willed
his fortune for the establishing of gratuitous schools,
and he respectfully asked the Bishop of Uzes and his suc
cessors to protect the foundation, " so useful and neces
sary for the well-being of the Catholic religion and for the
public good of the said town of Vans, the needs of which
were so pressing on account of the state in which it was
with regard to religion. " The schools of Grenoble and
Marseilles were assisted by subscriptions : at Marseilles,
the most prominent men of the city subscribed ten livres
each yearly; at Grenoble, the subscriptions varied from
twenty to fifty livres, according to the subscribers
means. If the revenues from charitable sources were
not always equal to the wants of the schools, there was
no hesitation in stirring up zeal by means of an
extraordinary appeal ; at Dijon, for example, a touching
letter, signed by the poor of the town, had just prompted
the generosity of the rich : " You are ", said they to
them, " our resource and our aid in the benefit that
you wish to procure for us in perpetuity, but which
152 ESTABLISHMENT AT ROUEN AND OTHER SCHOOLS
will certainly fail us unless your charitable hands come
to sustain it. "
For these religious undertakings, it was more diffi
cult to find masters than money. The ecclesiastics
themselves often took charge of them, at other times
they were confided to pious lay men. In neither case
was the stability guaranteed, and it was felt that the
charity schools were in a precarious condition for want
of special institutions that could take over the responsi
bility once for all. For this reason, the Institute of
the Brothers was in such demand as soon as it became
known ; for its mission was precisely to provide masters
for charity schools.
At Moulins, a truly apostolic priest, Louis Aubery,
had opened a gratuitous school in 1682; he himself
taught it during fifteen years; then he united with some
clerics; but he felt uneasy for the future of his work,
which he saw to be very uncertain notwithstanding his
resources; a journey to Paris brought him into contact
with the founder of the Brothers. He exposed his
trouble regarding his school, and as soon as he was
assured of always having religious masters, he began to
feel at ease about the continuance of his work.
The Bishop of Mende, when beginning his charity
schools, announced with great pleasure that the masters
would be " those that were trained in Paris for the
instruction and education of youth; they are ", added
he, " the most famous in the kingdom, and with whom
young people make the greatest progress in virtue. "
A former companion of Saint-Sulpice wrote from Alais
to John Baptist De La Salle : " I have learned that you
have resigned your canonicate and devote yourself to all
sorts of good works, among others, to that of forming a
SCHOOLS OUTSIDE OF THE CAPITAL 153
community of schoolmasters, who have already done
much good wherever they have been established. We
are in need of such teachers in these parts, where
we have great trouble in finding Catholics to whom we
can intrust the education of our youths. "
The Brothers, when once in charge of a school,
everywhere gained the approval of the population : the
children crowded their classes; the prominent men
rejoiced at the moral good that was effected; the work
increased, and additional masters were required for
these new necessities. " We have here ", wrote the
Bishop of Alais to the superior, " your Brothers as
schoolmasters with whom we are very much pleased;
this makes me desire to have several others for our
towns of the Cevennes and other large districts. If I had
thirty, I could find employment for them all... I am
doing my best for them, and I shall continue to do so;
they are doing an immense good. " The Bishop of
Mende wrote : " No one could be more pleased than
I with the Brother you sent me... I shall be much
obliged to you if you will send him a good com
panion, who will be compelent to teach writing and
arithmetic; because by this means we shall attract all
the youths, and so be able to impart to them the first
principles of Christian piety. "
So many new foundations were not begun and did
not prosper without difficulties and trials. Sometimes
it was necessary to reckon with the lowest possible
resources, and the masters were often reduced to a
degree of poverty bordering on privation; at other
times they were subjected, as at Vans and Alais, to the
attacks of the irritated Huguenots. And, at times,
even the religious authority, by meddling with the
7*
154 ESTABLISHMENT AT ROUEN AND OTHER SCHOOLS
direction of the Brothers, almost paralysed the central
administration. It was so at Versailles; the parish
priest of Saint-Louis, insisting on keeping a Brother
whose fervour had relaxed, was thus the involuntary
cause of the loss of a vocation, and nearly brought
destruction on the school itself.
But the prudent founder watched with such unremit
ting solicitude over his flock , that he assured the pros
perity of his schools by the exact fidelity of all the
masters to their community exercises.
THE FAMINE OF 1709 - - RETURN
OF THE NOVITIATE TO PARIS
1709
When John Baptist Do La Salle began the foundation
at Rouen, in 1705, he had taken up his residence in the
parish of Saint-Roch, Paris. Whenever his business
called him neither to Rouen nor to Champagne, it was
there he lived during the three following years. But, in
1708, a difference having arisen with the clergy of
Saint-Roch, who asked certain services of the Brothers
which the founder judged incompatible with the Rules
of the Institute, John Baptist abandoned the school, and
retired with his Brothers, who had charge of it, to the
house that had been lately opened, near the Sevres
Gate.
This house , situated in the rue de la Barouillere, had
been hired the preceding year by M. De La Chetardye,
to lodge all the Brothers that were teaching in the
several schools of Saint-Sulpice. Till then, these Broth-
THE NOVITIATE RETURNS TO PARIS 155
ers had lived in the schoolhouse in the rue Princesse ;
but their health declined for want of air, and the noise
of so populous a quarter was a great obstacle to the
religious life. Their new residence, only a quarter of an
hour from the schools, was a large property, well aired,
isolated , favorable to recollection and large enough to
receive, in case of necessity, all the Brothers for the
annual retreat.
It was well seen , during the famine of 1709, that this
house had been prepared by Providence in view of the
future. The calamities that then weighed heavily on
France were keenly felt in the different communities
of the Brothers; for these humble religious, having
scarcely enough to live upon in ordinary times, suffered
all the privations of hunger during the dearth. John
Baptist made the greatest efforts to lessen in his com
munities the sad consequences of the public misery;
with very limited resources, he succeeded in saving their
lives at least, and their schools were not interrupted.
In no other part of the country was the distress so
poignant as at Rouen. The schoolmasters received
but a pitiful salary. Saint -Yon, which supported
them in ordinary times, could now give no help;
benefactors fell off, and the humble superior became
a beggar for his Brothers, and often experienced painful
refusals even in the most opulent houses ; in fine , the
Archbishop, M. D Aubigne, who had recently succeeded
M. Colbert, and who had shown himself so compas
sionate for the poor of the city, failed in sympathy for
the Brothers, believing lie had done enough for them
by tolerating them in the diocese. Under these most
painful circumstances, John Baptist left the Brothers
in their classes, but transferred his novitiate to Paris*
156 ESTABLISHMENT AT ROUEN AND OTHER SCHOOLS
He thus largely augmented the Paris community
which now counted nearly forty members ; but he hoped
that Providence would raise up devoted benefactors. In
fact, Madame De Maintenon, Madame Des Voisins, the
Sisters of the Gross, Cardinal D Estrees, and other
friends, answered his expectation.
This assistance, however, did not suffice for all the
needs; and there was great suffering at the Sevres Gate.
The Brothers were huddled together rather than lodged ;
for beds, they had only miserable straw mattresses,
stretched on the floor; they were badly protected against
the rigorous cold by their poor bedclothes. As to the
nourishment, we know what that was from one of the
Saint s letters : Here we eat brown bread. The Brothers
receive two ounces at breakfast and five at dinner.
I cannot send you any pictures ; I have not wherewith
to buy bread for the forty persons that are here. "
By a miracle of Providence, the Institute passed
through the famine of 1709, not, indeed, without
suffering, but yet no one died, and, wonderful to say,
they did not go into debt. The Saint used to recall this
period with a certain air of triumph : " Who were
poorer than you ", said he to the Brothers, some time
after, " and who found more assistance in their poverty
than you did ? How many wretchedly poor people ap
peared to be forgotten by Providence, while it seemed to
care only for you? Several communities, rich or fairly
so, were ruined or incurred heavy debts. Behold how
you have been treated during this trying period. If you
have nothing, neither do you owe anything; and what
is more wonderful still, your numbers have increased
during these unfortunate times." Never, not even when
the famine was at its worst, did he refuse to receive a
THE FAMINE OF 1709 157
postulant, thus showing his absolute confidence in the
protection of God. Some of the subjects that entered
at this time, persevered ; but others left. And, when it
was said, that perhaps hunger had been their only
vocation, he was content with saying : " They made a
good retreat, which will be useful for their salvation. "
No sooner was the Paris community delivered from
the hardships of the famine, than it almost succumbed
to assaults more frightful than the famine itself.
The Brothers health had suffered so much from pri
vation, that an epidemic of scurvy broke out among them,
and several of the principal Brothers were attacked
by it. The loss of these Brothers would have led to
the complete disorganization of the schools. Under
these circumstances, John Baptist s charity displayed
the greatest activity: he isolated the sick Brothers and
intrusted them to a specialist, who, touched by the
fervour and the poverty of the Brothers, gratuitously
lavished upon them his most assiduous care and atten
tion. Health was regained by dint of prayers and re
medies.
But now there burst out among the Brothers a violent
crisis of bad spirit. Its principal cause was the relaxa
tion that had been introduced into the Paris community
during the long absences that the Bouen foundation had
imposed on the superior ; for, when he returned, it was
found very hard to induce them to resume the regularity
and the practices of mortification to which he held
with so much reason : it was nature resisting grace.
However, the Brothers would have been very docile, if
the revolt had not been stirred up from without. They
were told that it was not just that the money paid to
the school Brothers should be used to support the
158 ESTABLISHMENT AT ROUEN AND OTHER SCHOOLS
novices also : if this were not done, they would be in
fairly good circumstances, but with the charge of sup
porting the novitiate, they would be reduced to extreme
want, prejudicial to their health. Besides, why should
not the Brothers of Saint -Sulpice form themselves into
a separate community and be self-governed ? Why
remain under the government of a superior, a stranger
to the clergy of the parish? It was, as we see, a
conspiracy to cause a schism in the Institute.
A daring and restless individual offered himself to
facilitate its execution, and he worked hard to gain
accomplices. His first attempts had some success,
when one of the Brothers, struck with remorse, exposed
the secret before the whole community, and accused
himself of having promised to aid an enterprise that had
for end to overthrow the superior s power and author
ity. The Brothers present were horror-struck by this
revelation. What amazement for those who had heard
nothing of the plot ! What confusion for those impli
cated in the affair! They all then saw to what excesses
relaxation would lead them. The most guilty had to leave
the house; and, thanks to the happy reaction produced
by repentance, all the other Brothers courageously
resumed their fervent state of life. With the calm and
paternal goodness with which he acted on this occasion,
John Baptist drew the hearts of his children to him
more closely than ever. God permitted that the bonds
of the community should be all the more strengthened
by the very shock that had almost broken them.
THE TRAINING SCHOOL AT SAINT -DENIS 159
A TRAINING SCHOOL FOR MASTERS AT SAINT -DENIS. -
THE CLEMENT LAWSUIT
1707-1712
Though John Baptist Be La Salle was almost over
whelmed with these internal difficulties, yet he lent a
hand to a foundation that was to end in a most humiliat
ing catastrophe : we allude to the Training School for
country schoolmasters opened at Saint -Denis, and of
the shameful lawsuit that it caused.
While always attending with the greatest care to his
novitiate of the Brothers, the Saint never lost sight of
the project for training lay masters for country schools.
Since the failure of the Training School of Saint-
Hippolyte, through Nicolas Vuyart s infidelity, he
projected another. He kept in reserve for this under
taking, an important sum of money which the needs of
the Institute enabled him to save. It seemed to him,
in the spring of 1707, that Providence offered him the
occasion to realize his plan.
He was, about this time, visited by a young cleric,
named Clement, the son of a celebrated surgeon of
Paris. Of an ardent temperament and impetuous
zeal, exceedingly anxious to found a new work, Clement
came to ask John Baptist for two Brothers, in order to
establish a school for apprentices, in which boys from
the age of seven to twenty should be instructed in some
trade. Like a prudent man who did not wish either to
discountenance the undertaking or incur any risks, the
Saint answered that he would willingly aid this work,
160 ESTABLISHMENT AT ROUEN AND OTHER SCHOOLS
but only in so far as it would contribute to the object of
his Institute. After many interviews, Clement modified
his plan so as to carry out the views of John Baptist and
his own at the same time: he resolved to open, in the
same house, a school for masters and a school for
apprentices. The project was all the more advanta
geous, since the masters would have at hand a prac
tising school.
However, John Baptist seemed in no hurry; he tem
porized for more than a year, before complying with
Clement s wishes. He wanted to assure himself of this
young man s constancy, to obtain the Archbishop s
approval, and to study the material conditions for the
execution of the work. After eighteen months reflec
tion, on October 23rd 1708, he signed the contract
which engaged him in the foundation. By this con
tract, young Clement agreed to purchase for thirteen
thousand livres, a house, situated at Saint-Denis. The
deed was passed in the name of Rogier, an intimate
friend of John Baptist, who had joined with many others
to ask him to accept Clement s ofTer. John Baptist paid
down the five thousand two hundred livres that were
required as the first payment; but Clement, the real
purchaser of the house, signed the receipt for the sum
advanced.
As soon as the house was arranged, in the spring
of 1709, the Brothers took possession of it; some young
men immediately presented themselves to learn the art
of becoming good schoolmasters. Organized like those
of Bheims and Saint- Hippolyte, the new school went
on well and promised good results : the Cardinal ex
pressed his satisfaction ; and the King granted favours.
Clement, delighted with his foundation, often visited the
THE CLEMENT LAWSUIT 101
Brothers and testified his liveliest attachment to them.
On several occasions, he proved by his acts that his
heart was in the work; and he even indignantly rejected
his father s advice to abandon it.
But, in course of time, riches and honours came to
dazzle the young founder : towards the close of 1709, the
rich abbey of Saint-Calais was conferred on him, with a
canonry in the cathedral of Le Mans; in 1711, his father
received a patent of nobility from Louis XIV. Un
consciously at first, his mind was subjected to a slow
infiltration of the sentiments of interest, pride and
ambition. He no longer felt the same lively interest in
a work so modest as that of a school for the training of
country schoolmasters. Great moral force is necessary
to love things obscure in the midst of grandeur. The
abbe Clement lacked this strength of soul. Under the
pretext of dignity, he stooped even to the lowest
degree of baseness. For, he not only took no further
interest in the work of the schools, but he went so far
as to refuse to refund the money for which he had
signed the receipt; he did not blush to deny the debt.
He soon pretended that he had given the foundation of
Saint-Denis only forced co-operation; and at the insti
gation of his father, he went so far as to accuse John
Baptist De La Salle of having suborned a minor by-
making him sign a promise of money.
When the Saint learned of this new, odious trachery, he
hastily returned from the South, where he was visiting
his schools, hoping that an honest explanation would
bring out the truth, save the endangered work of Saint-
Denis and clear his honour of the accusation that
he had suborned a minor. But the Clements, so lately
risen from the people, understood nothing of the noble-
i62 ESTABLISHMENT AT ROUEN AND OTHER SCHOOLS
ness of his proceedings; the son maintained his calum
nious accusations, and the father, casting aside all
means of settlement, laid the affair before the civil lieu
tenant of the Cliatelet. On January 23rd 1712, the
magistrate cited before him the victim of such crying
dishonesty.
Obliged to make his defence, John Baptist proceeded
with as much moderation as disinterestedness. Having
got together all the papers which clearly demonstrated
his right, he drew up a Memorial justifying himself,
which he put into the hands of trustworthy persons.
Tlien, full of confidence in the justice of his case, he
departed once more for the South.
But he had not reckoned with treason. The abbe
Clement, now become his enemy, intrigued against
him ; Rogier, disowning his friend, declared himself an
aggrieved party in the case, and demanded that the
house of Saint -Denis should be adjudged to him; the
persons in whose hands the Saint had placed his
defence deserted him, for they did not make use of
their great influence to prevent such great wicked
ness.
The judgments pronounced by the Chatelet were
such as one could expect under similar circumstances :
John Baptist was condemned to return the receipt for
five thousand two hundred livres to the abbe Clement,
and also to restore to him the sum of two thousand three
hundred livres that he had put into the work of Saint-
Denis; at the same time his honour was blighted for
suborning minors, and he was warned against " using
such means " in future. The house at Saint-Denis was
handed over to Rogier, who, however, had advanced no
money at all, and the Brothers were enjoined by the
THE CLEMENT LAWSUIT 163
tribunal to quit within eight days; if not, the furni
ture would be thrown into the street.
All the papers, writs and judgments being sent to
John Baptist, he was thrown into a profoundly dejected
state. He was wounded in his rights, and his name
was infamously stigmatized. And, however, neither
injustice, nor humiliation troubled him so much as the
fear of being abandoned by his Brothers. The Brothers
had sent him, without commentary or protestation, the
papers of the suit : had they not perhaps been already
separated from him? This bitter question tormented
his fatherly heart for a long time.
CHAPTER VIII.
SOJOURN IN THE SOUTH
1711-1714
JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE VISITS THE ESTABLISHMENTS
IN THE SOUTH
1711-1712
If trials and humiliations wounded the heart of John
Baptist, they, however, in no w r ay altered his love for
his Institute, nor weakened his courage. He watched
over all his foundations with indefatigahle activity, and
provided for the temporal and spiritual wants of the
Brothers. At the commencement, he had established
the regular visits of the schools and of the communities,
and this because he was so thoroughly convinced that a
paternal and vigilant inspection is sovereignly effica
cious for the maintaining of men and institutions in
good order. For a long time he himself performed this
essential duty. But when the schools had multiplied,
he was obliged to divide the work : in 1708, for exam
ple, Brother Ponce was charged with the inspection of
VISITS IN THE SOUTH 165
the schools of the South, and Brother Joseph got
those of the East, whilst he reserved for himself those
of Paris, Ghartres, Dijon, Calais, Darnetal and Rouen.
Since the founding of the school in Avignon, in 1703,
he was anxious to visit the South. The Brothers schools
were in full prosperity in these parts ; his children
ardently desired to see him; the benefactors of the
schools wished for his presence among them ; and
he himself had conceived in the secret of his heart,
the idea of opening a novitiate in Provence. At last he
made up his mind to undertake this long journey, and
started off in the beginning of the year 1711.
This first absence did not last eight months; for he
left Paris on February llth, and returned about the end
of September of the same year. We know very little of
this rapid journey, and even the itinerary of it is
unknown.
Everywhere, his arrival was an agreeable surprise for
the Brothers ; for his coming had not been announced.
The Bishops of the cities through which he passed,
received him with distinction. His name was already
known and venerated; he was welcomed by the inhabi
tants as the messenger of God. As he was not come to
seek honours, he knew how to avoid public ovations,
and hid himself with the Brothers in the solitude of
their residence. His presence brought the benefit of re
treats for his disciples; arid during the recollection of
eight days, he studied not only the wants of their souls,
but also the manners and customs of the country, in
order to adapt to them his methods of instruction ; he
also studied the prejudices and the faults of the people
in order to remedy them.
At Avignon, his influence with the principal men of
160 SOJOURN IN THE S OUtll
the city must have been of great weight in bringing
to a happy issue a lawsuit brought against the Brothers
by the writing-masters. The magistrates, who were
greater lovers of liberty than those of Paris and Rouen ,
did not require that the Brothers pupils should be pro
vided with a certificate of indigency, but left the pri
mary education of the city to open competition. This
was to permit the writing-masters to increase the num
ber of their clients and to merit the confidence of the
families, by means of their moral and pedagogic value.
Such a liberal solution of the difficulty sheltered the
Brothers from those vexatious attacks to which the
Institute had been subjected in Paris, and prepared
beforehand the triumph of the gratuitous system.
From Avignon, John Baptist went to Marseilles. The
reception given him there was so flattering and apparentl y
so cordial, that he resolved to open his projected novi
tiate in this city. But he had not then the time to go
about its foundation; for he had been suddenly recalled
to Paris on account of the disgraceful affair of the abbe
Clement.
His journey through the provinces of the South,
whilst showing him the wants of the people of the towns,
excited his soul to extra zeal, if possible, for the
schools. The poor children, deprived as elsewhere, of
Christian masters, were here particularly exposed to
the allurements of frivolity and the seductions of heresy;
they were souls that must be saved from the Huguenot
peril, as well as from ignorance and vice. He also
found that the people were openhearted and the clergy
sympathetic. A fertile field, that urgently required to
be preserved from receiving bad seed, lay open before
him. To found a large number of schools there, and
VISITS IN THE SOUTH 107
to form native masters in a novitiate, such was the holy
ambition of his heart.
He, therefore, hurried to set in order the affairs
that had called him to Paris. As soon as he had
arranged, and put into trustworthy hands the papers
relating to the lawsuit, he started for Provence, thus
showing that he cared more for the interests of God and
for the development of his Institute than he did for the
defence of his personal reputation. And, because lie
had a presentiment that his absence would be prolonged,
he provided for the government of the communities of
the North; by an authenticated document, dated Novem -
ber 16th 1711, lie named Brother Joseph, Visitor; to
Brother Barthelemy there was confided the care of
maintaining order and regularity during his absence,
without, however, publicly establishing him his official
representative. He no doubt thought of guiding him
by frequent correspondence. It is certain that the
Institute would have been regularly governed, had it
not been for the misunderstanding caused by the Clem
ent lawsuit. In any case, this arrangement incon-
testably proves that John Baptist s departure from Paris
had, in no possible sense, the character of a flight: he
neither feared his enemies, nor abandoned his Broth
ers : he simply went where the voice of God called
him.
He left Paris in March 1712, and visited Avignon,
Alais, Les Vans and Mende.
During the month that he passed, with the Brothers
in Avignon, he was not ashamed to teach the very
youngest children, and to conduct them through the
streets to church. One day, a gentleman who had
witnessed this act of humility and afterwards saw him
168 SOJOURN IN THE SOUTH
at the altar in a glow of piety, wished to know who this
priest was; and, when he was told that lie was the
founder of the work of the schools : " I am not sur
prised ", said he, u because his countenance and gait
clearly manifest that he is a holy priest. "
To visit Les Vans and Mende, the Servant of God had
to cross the mountains, of which the crags and precipices
were less dangerous than the fierce Huguenots that
infested them ; but when there was question of bringing
joy to his isolated Brothers by his presence and encour
agement, no dangers could stop him.
A rather delicate question had j ust arisen with regard to
the school of Vans. The Bishop of Uzes who appreciat
ed the Brothers of this school, entertained pretensions
concerning them, that would have been very awkward
for the administration of the Institute. He wished to
lay down a rule that no Brother should be changed with
out his consent; it was, he said, to assure the stability
of the successful masters, which stability was essential
to their influence on the children and on the families.
John Baptist did not hesitate to travel to Uzes to repre
sent to the zealous prelate that, in a Congregation, the
superior must have absolute power to dispose of the
subjects who compose it; of course, the superior would
always consult the principle of stability, but he alone
could see to the general interests of the Institute and the
particular advantages of each community. The Bishop
of Uzes, convinced by this reasoning, allowed him to
make at Vans the changes he had contemplated, and
bestowed on him many testimonies of his kindness.
From Uzes, John Baptist went to Marseilles, where he
was impatiently aAvaited.
THE NOVITIATE AT MARSEILLES 169
JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE AT MARSEILLES.
HIS NOVITIATE. -- TERRIBLE PERSECUTION RAISED
AGAINST HIM.
1712-1713
The Saint went to Marseilles with a heart filled with
hope; such ardent sympathies called him there, that he
counted on making a rather long stay, and on working
efficaciously at the propagation of his beloved work of
the schools.
He met with very much attention at tlie beginning.
Those who passed as the most fervent of the clergy
desired to speak to him; they eveu invited him to hon
our with his presence the conferences which they fre
quently held among themselves. The Bishop, Xavier
De Belzunce, showed him and the Brothers the greatest
kindness, and did not hide from him his intention of
handing over to his care all the charity schools in
the city.
But it would he necessary first to train subjects be
longing to the same region, and who would, of course,
be acquainted with the language and customs of Pro
vence. Thus the creation of a novitiate became a ne
cessity. This undertaking was effected as if by magic,
for nearly all the parish priests of the city wished to
contribute towards its establishment: some advanced
the initial expenses, others gave assurances for the
future; the laity felt themselves drawn into the good
work by the enthusiam of their clergy. A convenient
house was hired, without delay, in a quiet quarter, and
was soon furnished. The recruiting of novices was at
Life and Virtues. 8
170 SOJOURN IN THE SOUTH
once begun in different districts, and, in a short time,
the number of postulants far surpassed the expectation
of the Servant of God.
In order to be at leisure to train these young men,
John Baptist retired with them into complete solitude.
There, away from all the vanities and illusions of the
world, he revealed to them the secrets of religious per
fection, nourished their hearts and souls with his
fervent exhortations, and encouraged and animated
them by his example. He devoted himself all the more
exclusively to this work of the interior life, as he had
then broken off almost all correspondence with the
communities of the North; because it was at this time
that he had some doubts as to the perfect attachment of
the Brothers of Paris. But if the Clement lawsuit gave
him great affliction, the happy enthusiasm for his works
at Marseilles gave him, in return, great consolation.
However, remarks his biographer, the complete
success of his undertaking was still a source of
anxiety ; he who had been accustomed to sow in tears ,
feared that so rapid a growth would never come
to maturity. Alas ! this was no idle presentiment ; for,
with a sudden change of opinion, the burning ardour
that Marseilles had for his work now turned against him
in paroxysms of violent persecution. Whence this
change, so sudden and so radical? We must look for
the cause of it in John Baptist s unchangeable opposi
tion to the Jansenist party.
The Jansenist struggle was at this time at a white
heat in France; and nowhere was it greater than at
Marseilles. One of this party s clever tactics was by
slow seduction to gain over to Jansenism those men
whose intellectual talents or moral works made them
PERSECUTION AT MARSEILLES 171
the most conspicuous. The conquest of so considerable
a man as John Baptist De La Salle seemed worthy of all
tlieir efforts; therefore, lie met with great attention, was
assisted, flattered and powerfully sustained in his en
terprises. Though the snare was cunningly and insid
iously laid, yet our Saint saw it and so escaped it. At
the conferences to which he was invited, he heard the
severest criticisms uttered against the Roman Pontiff;
in his presence were sustained propositions in which
those who did not accept the doctrine of Jansenius were
ranked among the Pelagians. The Catholic sentiment
of his soul was indignant at this attitude; and he at
once and entirely broke with protectors who did not
profess the same faith as he. Rather than tarnish the
purity of his belief, and rather than that there should
be any doubt as to Ids real sentiments, he preferred to
expose, by an open and frank confession, his cherished
works to certain ruin.
The Jansenists, despairing of gaining him, and irri
tated at finding in him a courageous censor, treated him
thereafter as an enemy, and tfoe war was waged with
desperation.
It was opened by refusing him the charity school of
Saint-Martin, just at the moment when he was about
to take possession of ft for his Brothers. Intrigue set
itself to work for the purpose of inspiring diffidence in
the methods of the new masters, and the donors were
drawn off, and even the Bishop himself was won by the
Saint s enemies. John Baptist, on hearing this, uttered
no complaint ; he calmly repeated : " May God be blessed !
it is apparently His will that this foundation should
not be made. "
By means of perfidious insinuations, the two Brothers
172 SOJOURN IN THE SOUTH
who taught the school of the young sailors, in the
parish of Saint-Laurent, were detached from him. The
Saint insisted that these two religious should daily come
to the novitiate to renew their fervour by taking part in
the exercises of piety; but, through the influence of the
benefactors of the school, they succeeded in shaking
off a duty that weighed on them, and went so far as
to say one day to their holy founder : " that he was
come into Provence only to destroy and not to build
up."
The novitiate was the Saint s principal work: and it
too was attacked. Pecuniary assistance was at first
suppressed. But this produced no effect on a man
accustomed to support hunger and thirst, and who
knew how to inspire his disciples with the love of the
most painful privations. Seeing that this fortress could
not be reduced by famine, the enemy resolved to enter
it, and sow therein the spirit of dissension. And, in
fact, several novices were seduced and left. These poor
deserters became instruments of persecution in the
hands of the Jansenist party. The practices of the
novitiate, grossly deformed by their description of
them, and thus misunderstood by the public, furnished
matter for a libel against the Saint. He wrote, but in
vain, a Memorial in self-defence; his answer did not
arrest the calumny. Tilings take their course in this
way every time that scandal happens : the ear listens
with curiosity to the accusation , while indifference is
shown for the defence.
The result of this odious campaign was disastrous.
The Servant of God lost the esteem of a great number
of persons ; he saw his novitiate depopulated and almost
ruined. To add to his sorrow, certain Brothers of the
PERSECUTION AT MARSEILLES 173
South profited by the confusion to exempt themselves
from regularity. It was then that, in order to calm his
enemies, the Saint resolved to leave. But what was he
to do?
He had wished, for a long time, to visit Rome : did
not the present occasion appear propitious to go and
pray at the tomb of the Apostles, and to cast himself
at the feet of the Vicar of Jesus Christ to give a proof
of his sincere attachment and submission? In union
with Brother Gabriel, his beloved disciple, he would
solicit the approbation of his Institute, and, fortified with
the pontifical approval, he would defend his cherished
work of the schools with renewed courage and more
certain hope of success. The Bishop of Marseilles,
hearing of his intention, stopped him, and invited him
to stay and take possession of the school of Notre-Dame
des Accoules. " May God be blessed " ! said the Saint
simply, " here I am already back from Rome. It is
not His will that I should go to Rome ; He desires that
I should be employed otherwise. "
The illusion was of short duration; for, all the
affection of the Bishop could not protect him from the
fury of the Jansenists, and the school des Accoules fell
through, as had that of Saint- Martin. Troubled with
all these failures, the Saint fell into a painful perplexity ;
he asked himself : " whether a work that everyone
opposed might not be the fancy of his own mind. "
In this state of anguish, meditation failed to be his
attraction; heaven seemed shut over his head. He
retired from Marseilles, saying : " I am persuaded that
my absence will calm the agitation of my enemies, and
inspire them with peaceful thoughts for my dear chil
dren. " Thus, after a year s hard work in this large
174 SOJOURN IN THE SOUTH
city, he seemed to have done nothing, and he left in
sadness. Yet it was impossible that the soil that had
been watered with so many bitter tears could remain
sterile; according to the assurance given him by a
devout servant of God, the Brothers would yet multiply
in this place, and their schools flourish.
After leaving Marseilles, John Baptist retired to the
desert of Sainte-Baume ; and, after forty days of penance
and prayer, he felt comforted. It was then that his
unflagging love for his Institute urged him to go to his
children at Grenoble, whose schools he had not yet
visited.
JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE AT GRENOBLE.
- HE VISITS THE GRANDE -CHARTREUSE
AND MAKES A RETREAT AT PARMENIE
1713-1714
The little community of Grenoble was living in reli
gious peace; for the troubles of Marseilles had not
made themselves felt there. John Baptist stayed there
about six months, from the end of summer 1713 until
the spring of the following year. Being with disciples
whom he found very fervent and tenderly attached to
him, he gave full vent to his attraction for prayer and
mortification.
He selected the most solitary and inconvenient room
in the Brothers house, and there he lived, separated
from the world, as a religious in his cloister. Though
he had friends among the clergy of the town, he
abstained from all visits and remained hidden in the
JOHN BAPTIST AT GRENOBLE 175
voluntary obscurity in which lie enveloped himself.
The hours of the day and of the night which he conse
crated to prayer appeared to him the best proof that he
could give of his devotedness to his Institute.
It was not to abandon his retreat, but rather to increase
his love for it, that he visited the Grande -Chartreuse,
where he spent three days, sharing the silent and
penitent life of the sons of St. Bruno. He was very
careful to conceal his identity in a house which would
have loaded an ancient Canon of Rheims with honour.
However, from his distinguished appearance arid from
the holiness that shone in all his person, the prior was
convinced that he was not an ordinary visitor, and he
pressed him to remain with them for a longer time.
But all his efforts were in vain : for John Baptist did not
allow himself to be persuaded either by the prior s
pressing invitations or by his own attraction for solitude :
his chartreuse was his cell in the midst of his Brothers.
He returned and resumed with them his austere habit
of penance and prayer.
He sent the Brother Director of Grenoble to visit the
schools of the North, of which he desired to know the
situation otherwise than by letter, and lie himself re
placed him in the school. But lie would take only the
youngest children who were learning their a b c, and
especially the least talented, and who through lack of
intelligence and memory tried the master s patience
the most. His humility drew him to this thankless
work, and, as a reward for his condescension, God gave
him a special grace to cause the most ignorant and the
most troublesome to advance. As he used to do in
Paris, Rheims, and Avignon, here also he conducted the
children in ranks through the streets to hear Mass
176 SOJOURN TN THE SOUTH
every day after the morning class. The people of Gre
noble learned to know him then, and they conceived
for him a lively feeling of respect and admiration ; they
distinguished him from all the clergy of the town and
called him " the holy priest ".
During his stay at Grenoble, lie had another attack
of rheumatism , hut of such violence as to put his life in
danger. This caused great anxiety among the inhabitants
of the town, and his dear disciples were in great fear
that he might be taken from them : the sympathy
shown for him was so profound, that everyone seemed
to be as much alarmed as if threatened with the loss of
one of his own family. John Baptist alone remained
calm in the midst of his sufferings, and used to say
with Job : " May God be praised! May His will be
done, and not ours ! If we receive health from Him, it
is only just that we should accept sickness with con
stancy. May His holy name be blessed for ever! " All
the cares that were lavished on him were ineffectual.
Then out of love for his children and his work, he sub
mitted again to the painful remedy which had been
used at Vaugirard, and for which his poor body
had an instinctive dread. Once more he extended his
crippled members on a sort of gridiron, and odoriferous
plants were ignited beneatli him; and during all the
time that his flesh was being impregnated with the
burning fumes , the Saint did not heave a single sigh ;
he contented himself with saying to God that he desired
to suffer for his dear work.
The remedy was efficacious, and the rheumatism passed
away ; but his strength returned only slowly. To hasten
his convalescence, he agreed to go to Parmenie for a
few weeks ; the abbe De Saleon , John Baptist s friend ,
JOHN BAPTJST AT GRENOBLE {77
and vicar general of Grenoble, had his country house at
Parmenie, which was situated about seven leagues from
Grenoble, on the right bank of the Isere, and was a
steep hill terminating in a narrow plateau, where the
neighbouring villagers had come for ages to honour
and venerate the Most Blessed Virgin in an humble
sanctuary. This place of pilgrimage had lately been
restored by a poor shepherdess, remarkable for her
simple, pure life, and known in the country by the name
of Sister Louise. This pious maiden had acquired
an extraordinary reputation for holiness, and she had
a special gift for the discernment of spirits; by a
singular favour of Heaven, she was able to see into the
recesses of the heart and exercise over souls a sovereign
influence by which they were won to God. She was
sixty -eight years of age, when John Baptist arrived at
Parmenie, in the month of February 1714.
During the fortnight s rest and retreat that he enjoyed
in the hermitage of his friend De Saleon, he had several
conferences with Sister Louise and consulted her as an
oracle of God. He related his life to her, he made
known the Institute and the work of the schools ; he told
her how lie had been driven away from Marseilles, and
that he felt lie was better fitted to destroy than build up
a work. Would it not be better for him and the Insti
tute, if lie were to end his days in solitude, and think
no more about anything but the salvation of his soul?
" Such is not the will of God ", replied Sister Louise;
" you must not abandon the family of which God has
made you the father. Work is your lot and you must
persevere in it till the end of your days. "
Strengthened by these words, in which he believed to
hear the voice of God, John Baptist returned to Grenoble,
178 SOJOURN IN THE SOUTH
where fresh struggles were in store for him. The Bull
Unigenitm, which condemned Jansenism anew in the
Reflexions morales do Quesnel, had just been promulgat
ed by the Bishop of Grenoble; this document which, in
the mind of Pope Clement XL, was to put an end to
all disputes and calm men s minds, gave the rebels an
occasion to stir up revolt. But John Baptist, who was
not content with a personal submission to the Bull,
believed it to be a sacerdotal duty to denounce with zeal
the condemned doctrines. He assembled the Brothers
of Grenoble, expounded to them the Bull, and clearly
explained the hundred and one propositions, extracted
from Quesnel s book. He manifested his sentiments
with such fearlessness, that it was a great happiness
for the faithful Catholics of Grenoble to find themselves
supported by one whose holiness was known to all.
A devout person who had a copy of the condemned book
received a severe remonstrance from him. " What " !
said he, " you keep the book which has just been
condemned by the Church! " The Jansenists did not
pardon his zeal ; however, the calumnies they published
against him had no effect in a town where he was
venerated for his personal virtue, and highly esteemed
for the work of the schools.
While he was at Parmenie, God sent him Lieutenant
Dulac De Montisambert, a young man predestined to
become a Brother, and to embalm the Institute with
the perfume of his virtues.
WHAT TAKES PLAGE IN THE NORTH 179
WHAT TOOK PLACE IN THE NORTH DURING
THE ABSENCE OF JOHN BAPTIST. THE BROTHERS
RECALL THEIR SUPERIOR IN THE NAME OF OBEDIENCE.
1712-1714
The absence of John Baptist was not without producing
some confusion in the communities of the North, espe
cially in Paris. It is certain he had not gone away
without organizing the government, since he had
appointed a Visitor and confided the authority to Broth
er Barthelemy; he had also kept up frequent corres
pondence with the principal Brothers. While he was
at Grenoble, he deputed the Brother Director to visit
the communities of the North, so that he might be
rightly informed by him of the state of the Brothers
there. His departure had not been a flight, nor was
his prolonged, voluntary exile a desertion or a sign of
indifference.
However, the Institute would have suffered real
injury in his absence, if the hand of God had not
safeguarded it. At the commencement especially, the
Brothers of the North heard very little of him. The
majority did not follow his movements, and so did not
know in what retreat he had taken refuge. Some mali
ciously disposed persons circulated the news that he had
abandoned the Institute through sheer discouragement.
Several letters that had been addressed to him did not
reach him; and, perhaps, he did not reply to all he
received. Why then seclude himself in such disquiet
ing silence? Did lie wish to oblige the Brothers to
180 SOJOURN IN THE SOUTH
live without him, under the authority of a superior
chosen from among themselves? Or did he keep a
reserve that he thought was warranted by the apparent
defection of the Brothers of Paris? We cannot say.
What we know is, that in the South lie worked only for
his Institute, and was preoccupied with all his founda
tions, those of Paris included.
On the other hand, Brother Barthelemy lacked prestige
and authority to govern the Institute under such critical
circumstances. He was a kind, conciliating man, loved
by all; but he was too timid and too modest to make
use of a power with which his Superior had not
officially invested him. To the sovereign and uncon-
tested authority of the founder succeeded the badly
defined and purely provisional authority of Brother
Barthelemy.
His virtue inspired such veneration, that the majority
of the Brothers, both of Paris and elsewhere, submitted
to his authority. But several subjects lost their first
fervour and with it their vocation ; and it was found
necessary to expel a few disobedient ones.
The Saint s enemies took advantage of his absence to
carry out their long contemplated plans. What the
Saint had always rejected, Brother Barthelemy was
about to agree to. They succeeded in persuading him
that it would be very much to the advantage of the
Institute, if the Bishops of the dioceses in which there
were Brothers, were to appoint an ecclesiastic as their
superior : this was the new form of government that
M. De La Ghetardye had been thinking of for ten years.
Influenced by suggestions coming from prominent
persons, the humble Brother Barthelemy, by an act of
weakness for which he should not be too severelv
WHAT TAKES PLACE IN THE NORTH 181
condemned, wrote to all those Bishops who had Broth
ers in their dioceses, praying them to provide an
ecclesiastical superior lor the Brothers.
The Bishops were amazed at this proposal, because
they had found it just that the Brothers should live
under the same Superior General and be entirely depend
ent on him; it scandalized and irritated the Brothers,
because it appeared to them to be in opposition to one
of their fundamental Rules and would bring on the ruin
of the Institute ; John Baptist s friends were alarmed
at it, for they regarded it as an act of grave imprud
ence which would destroy his work by breaking its
unity.
Nevertheless, a few ecclesiastical superiors were
appointed, and we must pay homage to the delicacy
they employed in the exercise of their powers; for, by
a special grace of God, they had no other concern than
to see that the Rules were observed according to the
spirit of the Institute.
There was one exception however, and it was in Paris.
M. De Brou, a priest of Saint-Sulpice, was not satisfied
with merely nominal authority. " You call me your
superior ", said he to the Brothers one day, " you
should give marks of it. " The first mark he exacted
was an official nomination, signed by the Brothers; but
this act, obtained by moral violence, which the Brothers
promptly regretted, was torn out of the register of the
house, as soon as John Baptist returned. M. De Brou,
after his official nomination, made a new copy of the
Rules, according to his ideas, and presented them to
Cardinal De Noailles for his approbation. But the
Cardinal, having kept the new Rules during nearly
eight months, linally caused M. De Brou to be informed
182 SOJOURN IN THE SOUTH
that he did not judge it necessary to change the Rules
and Constitutions of the Brothers.
During this time, the Brothers took all possible
means to protect their threatened Institute : they multi
plied their prayers, they gave themselves to a stricter
observance of their Rules, they attached themselves
closer and closer to Brother Bartheiemy, whose advice
in future was for them a command ; but, above all, they
wrote to their dearly beloved father, in his solitude at
Grenoble, to convey to him their fears, and to implore
him to return to them.
At the first news of these attacks on his work, the
Servant of God contented himself with his usual aspi
ration of faith : " May God be blessed ! If it be His
work, He will take care of it. " More pressing solici
tations poured in on him from day to day, and as the
Servant of God seemed in no hurry, the principal Broth
ers of Paris and Saint -Denis, addressed the following
letter to him on April 1st 1714 : " To our very dear
Father : We, the principal Brothers of the Christian
Schools, having in view the greater glory of God, the
greater good of the Church and of the Society, recognize
that it is of the utmost necessity that you should resume
the care and government of the work of God, which is
likewise yours, since it has pleased the Lord to make
use of you to establish and guide it for so long a time.
Everybody is convinced that God has given and still
continues to give you the grace and the talent necessary
for the right government of this new Company, which
is of such great utility to the Church ; and it is with
justice that we testify that you have always guided it
with great success and edification.
For these reasons, Sir, we most humbly beseech you>
THE BROTHERS RECALL THEIR SUPERIOR 183
and command you in the name and on behalf of the
Body of the Society, to which you have promised obe
dience, to take up immediately the care of the general
government of the Society. "
This touching injunction, coming from his children,
stirred the heart of the father, and the appeal made to
his vow of obedience dispelled all hesitation. " I wish
to obey the Brothers ", said lie to those who tried to
detain him; " they command me to return to Paris. "
Without delay, he bade farewell to the Brothers of
Grenoble, as well as to the benefactors of his schools in
that town.
However, before taking the road for Paris, he went
to Mende, where some serious discord claimed his pres
ence. Here lie was so badly insulted by a Brother,
that his fatherly heart was profoundly grieved, but the
humble patience which he showed on this occasion
obtained the guilty Brother s repentance, and for the
foundation of Blende the blessings of God by which it
was ever afterwards successful.
As soon as lie had accomplished this mission, lie
hastened to respond to the call of his Brothers and
children. He arrived in Paris August 10th 1714, about
forty days after the death of M. De La Ghetardye. He
presented himself less as a master wishing to assert his
authority than as an interior ready to obey the Brothers
who had called him. " Here I am ", said he, " what do
you desire of me? " They had already expressed very
explicitly in their letter the reasons they had for calling
him : it was that he would resume the government of
the Institute. He, on the contrary, aspired to the
lowest rank. In his humility, he looked on himself as
beino thenceforward hurtful to the Institute, and he
184 SOJOURN IN THE SOUTH
wished that, to repair what lie was pleased to call his
faults, another superior should take his place. The
Brothers, who had suffered so much by his absence,
and who so much feared the changes with which their
Rules were threatened, refused to relieve him of his
burden, and, on their knees, and with tears in their
eyes, begged him to continue to govern them.
The Servant of God did not resist their prayer, nor
did he insist on the election of another superior, because
he saw and understood that the hour of Providence
had not yet come. But lie behaved in such a manner,
that the new situation should serve as a transition
between the old state of things and the definitive term
at which he aimed. While Brother Barthelemy attended
to affairs, presided at the common exercises, resolved
ordinary difficulties, in a word, filled the office of
superior, the humble Superior, who was still the soul
of the Institute, kept himself in the background, divid
ing his time between prayer and the writing of works
of piety. In this way he accustomed the Brothers to do
without him.
CHAPTER IX.
LAST YEARS
1715-1719
JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE TRANSFERS
HIS NOVITIATE TO SAINT-YON. REVISITS
BOULOGNE AND CALAIS.
1715-1716
After a year s stay in Paris, John Baptist resolved to
transfer his novitiate to Saint -Yon, and to go there
himself that he might be in a more favourable position
to prepare for death. His novices had considerably
diminished in numbers, because the annoyances of the
preceding years had been disastrous to the recruiting
of subjects for the Institute. The troublesome meddling
of the ecclesiastical superior in Paris with the govern
ment of the community was not less hurtful to its
development than to its liberty of action in other re
spects. It was therefore thought opportune to deliver
the very heart and soul of the Congregation from this
interference. Besides, Louis XIV. died in the month of
186 LAST YEARS
September 1715, and by bis deatli Madam De Main-
tenon lost the powerful influence which she had so
liberally used in favour of the Institute ; this sudden
diminution of material resources imposed on the superior
the necessity of dividing the community.
The novitiate was therefore removed from Paris in the
month of October 1715, and two months later, John
Baptist himself started for Rouen.
During six years, John Baptist had made only rare
and short apparitions at Saint- Yon. Great progress
had been made there in that interval. The kindness of
the first President M. De Pontcarre had not cooled for
an instant; Canon Blain, the future historian of the
Servant of God, exercised with as much discretion as
zeal his role of ecclesiastical superior of the Brothers.
Under the prudent direction of Brother Dosithee, all the
different works had developed : in view of the novices
return to Saint -Yon, an isolated building had been
constructed for them ; the boarding school had been
better organized; and at the instigation of M. De Pont
carre, a Reformatory had also been opened.
While following his bent for solitude and prayer, and
attending to the composition of his Meditations, John
Baptist watched with the utmost paternal care and
solicitude over these several establishments.
Although Brother Barthelemy was an excellent master
of novices, the Saint actively occupied himself with
them. He lived among them, took part in their exer
cises of piety, and mixed in their conversations; he
studied their defects, and made himself acquainted
with their intellectual and moral powers. In the
public conferences, he excited them to fervour; and
in his private conversations with them, he formed them
THE NOVITIATE AGAIN AT SAINT-YON 187
one by one and trained them in the art of conquering
themselves. By a special gift of God, he accommodated
himself to the wants of each ; full of condescension for
the beginners, and of goodness for the timid, he urged
on the lukewarm , humiliated the proud , and encour
aged and strengthened the wavering.
The hoarding school received from John Baptist
those wise regulations which fixed both the course
of studies and the disciplinary organization, which
have scarcely suffered any modifications in modern
establishments of a similar kind. To the masters in
particular, he gave those exalted principles of Christian
education which have lost nothing of their actuality.
" As, concerning the pupils ", he says, u the first duty
of the master is to give them a religious and civil
education, they should watch over themselves so that
there will not appear anything in them but examples of
virtue, union and perfect accord; they must be pious,
charitable, just, gifted with great evenness of temper,
zealous for forming their children in goodness , and for
developing their aptitude and talents according to the
different states for which they may be destined by their
parents. They will vainly endeavour to gain their
esteem, their attachment, their entire docility to the
lessons given in class, unless they themselves give
open proofs that they are inspired at all times by reli
gion, reason, equity and decorum, which render them
irreproachable. It is absolutely essential that a master
never give a lesson, or any instruction whatever, with
out having thoroughly prepared it, and so be able
to do it well. "
It is easy to understand that the counsels of so
enlightened a man were sought for from all parts. The
188 LAST YEARS
Brothers, overjoyed at having found their father,
consulted him either by letter or orally; and, in spite
of his desire to keep in the background, the Saint
could not escape their filial importunities.
Illustrious visitors desirous to hear him , came to
Saint -Yon. The first magistrates of Rouen and the
most prominent ecclesiastics made it their pleasing
duty to call and see him. MM. Gense and De La Coche-
rie, the principal benefactors of the schools of Calais
and Boulogne, wished to pay their respects to the
founder of the work of the schools; the Saint on the
occasion permitted himself such heartfelt expansiveness
as he would never have done except in the company of
his most intimate friends. " If God ", said he to them,
when He let me see the good that the Institute could
realize, had at the same time made known to me the
difficulties and the crosses that should accompany it,
my courage would have failed, and, far from having
taken it on me, I should not have dared to touch it even
with the ends of my fingers. Exposed to opposi
tions, 1 saw myself persecuted by prelates from whom
I had expected assistance. Some of my own children
rose up against me, and added to the crosses from
without those much heavier ones from within which
are the most painful. If God had not upheld this
edifice in a visible manner, long ago would it have
been buried under its own ruins. "
MM. Gense and Gocherie invited him to come and
see for himself the prosperity of his schools at Calais
and Boulogne, and, though quite unwell at the time,
he set out in the month of July 1716.
His uriobtrusiveness was alarmed by the extraordi
nary honours awaiting him at Boulogne; the people
JOHN BAPTIST VISITS BOULOGNE AND CALAIS 189
turned out to see the man whose name was blessed by
all the poor since his disciples had taken charge of the
schools ; the Marquis De Golembert, who was command
er of the place, lavished on him marks of the most
respectul sympathy; M. De La Gocherie made it an
honour to receive him as his guest; but none felt such
great happiness as the little community of the Brothers.
John Baptist was not less honoured at Calais.
M. Gense offered him the hospitality of his house.
One day as he was at table with his generous host , he
detected an artist painting his portrait, which so
annoyed him that he would never accept another invi
tation from M. Gense. The delicate attentions of which
he was the object, altered neither the firmness of his
character nor his apostolic liberty. While officiating at
Calais, on the feast of the Assumption, he noticed that
the dean made no allusion to the feast of the day in his
sermon. Suspecting that some Jansenistic influence
had been the cause of this reticence, he, with much
simplicity, made an observation to the dean regarding
his silence about the feast. The dean, struck with the
reasons which the Saint gave him in favour of devotion
to the Most Blessed Virgin, humbly promised to repair
his fault on the following Sunday : God so blessed this
truly sacerdotal deference, that his audience were
profoundly moved by the sermon.
100 LAST YEARS
JOHN BAPTIST RESIGNS THE OFFICE OF SUPERIOR.
- ELECTION OF BROTHER BARTHELEMY.
1716-1717
On his return to Saint- Yon, John Baptist prepared to
put into effect the project which he had formed two
years before.
His increasing infirmities announced his approaching
end, and he took them as the warnings of Providence,
inviting him to resign the office of superior. During
thirty years he had desired to leave the first place, that
he might have .a better opportunity for the practice of
obedience, and might have more time to devote to
prayer and to a life hidden in God; could he not be
relieved of the office of Superior now, at least, when
the shades of life s evening were beginning to envelop
him, in order to recollect himself in silent preparation
for death ? Besides the interests of the Institute demand
ed that, while he was yet living, a Brother Superior
should be elected, because then the transfer of power
could be effected without trouble; whereas, after his
death, a thousand obstacles would be sure to spring up.
The Brothers were so moved by this well-founded
consideration to which the failing health of John Baptist
gave additional weight, that he gained their adhesion
to it. Their great fear so far was to be deprived of the
guidance and advice of their dearly beloved father; but
since he had assured them that he would be entirely
with them and would always treat them as his children,
why not consent to the change which he proposed?
The Brothers who were present agreed to his idea,
THE GENERAL CHAPTER OF 1717 191
and John Baptist set to work for the election of the
new Superior . He made all the arrangements with
a regularity that revealed consummate prudence and
very uncommon practical sense : from the way in
which the preparations had been made, all the Brothers
ratified the election in advance.
On December 4th J 716, he assembled the six prin
cipal Brothers of Bouen , and they unanimously
agreed to delegate Brother Barthelemy to visit all the
communities, to explain to them the situation and to
get their adhesion to the projected election. Invested
with this authority, Brother Barthelemy visited the
twenty- two houses of the Institute and heard the
opinions of all the Brothers. When he returned, five
months after, he brought with him twenty -two au
thentic documents, bearing ninety -nine signatures, by
which the said ninety -nine Brothers unanimously
agreed that an Assembly should be held at Saint-Yon
to elect a new Superior and make a revision of the
Rules.
Strengthened by this consent, John Baptist convoked
all the Directors for May 16th 1717, Pentecost Sunday.
Only sixteen attended, but all the Brothers were present
in heart and in will, since they had, in advance, given
their adhesion to the acts of this General Chapter.
The assembly was opened in the form of a retreat ;
for the holy founder desired that his disciples should
be in close union with God and in total dependence on
the Holy Ghost. He gave, with his usual paternal
solicitude, the counsels that he believed to. be oppor
tune for their having perfect purity of intention, and
for the regulating of the order that should be followed
in the deliberations and in the election ; he even com-
192 LAST YEARS
posed a prayer for the occasion to be recited several
times a day.
Tuesday May 18th was the day appointed for the
election. Notwithstanding the pressing solicitations of
the Brothers, John Baptist declined to preside in order
to give them entire liberty for their vote. When he
had learned that Brother Barthelemy had been elected
to be his successor, lie manifested no surprise, and
contented himself with saying : " He lias fulfilled the
duties of superior for a long time." This choice,
which was according to his wishes, surprised no one.
For, Brother Barthelemy, by his kindness, devoted-
ness and supernatural spirit, had won every one s
sympathy; and the Brothers, the majority of whom had
been formed by him, would not find the least difficulty
in obeying his orders.
He alone strongly protested against the honour that
had been conferred on him, and besought the Brothers
to permit him to decline; but the election, made accord
ing to the spirit of God, was maintained. The newly
elected Superior was given two Assistants to aid him in
his many and increasing duties : they were Brother
John, the Director of the Paris community, and Brother
Joseph, the Director of the schools in Rheims.
Who shall say what was the Saint s joy on this
occasion ? The future of his dear work was assured by
this election , and the whole weight of the administration
no longer pressed on his feeble shoulders ; the projects
of his adversaries were baffled, and he could, at last,
and without prejudice to his Institute, follow his
attraction for obedience and the hidden life. Certain
discontented persons censured his resignation : some
accused him of having lost courage; others were so
THE GENERAL CHAPTER OF 1717 193
ungracious as to see in his retirement the desire of
being remarked and of making himself conspicuous.
These foolish criticisms exercised his patience and
satisfied his desire for humiliations; but no regret
troubled his peace of mind.
With what joyful alacrity, from that moment, lie
took the rank of an inferior and gave himself up to the
practice of obedience !
Nothing appeared in his conduct that could give the
least indication, or arouse the faintest suspicion of his
having ever commanded; in him there remained, even
in his tone of voice, nothing of that which sometimes
remains imprinted on the characters of those who have,
at some time, exercised authority. He hid, as much as
he possibly could, his dignity of priest, so as to be the
equal of the Brothers; one would have said, on seeing
him so humble and ashamed of himself, that he was a
priest condemned to do penance in some monastery. He
did his best to rid himself of that moral influence which
his character of founder gave him; for he told the
Brothers who continued to address themselves to him in
confidence and ask his permission : " Go to the Brother
Superior, I am nothing... I do not wish to meddle witli
anything any longer, except to prepare for death and to
weep over my sins. " He pushed his humility to such
a length that he did not wish to be reckoned among the
superiors of the Institute, and asked that Brother Bar-
thelemy be inscribed at the head of the list, as if he
had essayed to efface all remembrance of himself from
a work which will always bear his vigorous impress and
will ever live up to the apostolic spirit with which he
so thoroughly filled it.
Brother Barthelemv rivaled his beloved father in
Life and Virtues.
494 LAST YEARS
his humility; he never failed in respect towards him,
but on the contrary, he at all times, showed him the
most filial deference. By this respectful conduct he so
conciliated the affection of all the Brothers, that the
change of administration was effected without the least
disagreeableness, and when, two years later, the Saint
died, the Institute suffered no dangerous shock.
But the General Chapter of 1717 was, after having
elected a Superior, to proceed Avith the revision of the
Rules. It did, in fact, devote several sessions to the said
revision. The text that John Baptist had prepared in
1695, and which he had retouched from time to time,
was most minutely examined by the Directors. The
Saint desired this careful examination by the principal
members of the Institute, that the Rules might thus
receive more authority, having been discussed and
fixed by those who had lived a long time under
them.
After the Brothers had maturely deliberated, their
observations were submitted to the Founder, so that they
might be revised in the manner that would appear best
to him. He worked at this revision with the greatest
care. Several parts were added to the first copy of the
Rules, particularly what concerns modesty and regu
larity : for these additions , John Baptist took his inspi
ration mostly in the Constitution of the Company of
Jesus. As soon as the Rule had been re-examined by
its author, it was initialed and signed by Brother Bar-
thelemy, and a copy was sent to each of the commu
nities. To this text sent forth in 1718, succeeding Gener
al Chapters have added only modifications of minor
importance, so that the actual Rules and Constitutions
of the Institute faithfully represent the first institution,
JOHN BAPTIST AT SAINT-NICOLAS DU CHARDONNET 195
and the Brothers, by observing them, are not animated
with any other spirit than that which animated their
father.
JOHN BAPTIST S STAY
AT SAINT -NICOLAS DU GHARDONNET.
HIS RETURN TO SAINT-YON
AND THE HOLY LIFE HE THERE LEADS
1717-1718
John Baptist had finished the work of the revision
when, in the autumn of 1717, he accompanied Brother
Barthelemy to Paris. He was called there to receive a
legacy yelding two hundred and sixty livres a year that his
old friend Rogier had willed to him at his death. Ro-
gier, in his last moments, remembered his infidelity to
the Servant of God; his conscience reminded him that,
in the house of Saint-Denis, which was handed over to
him by the judgment of the Chatelet in 1712, there was
a sum of money to the value of five thousand two hun
dred livres that belonged to John Baptist De La Salle.
Our Saint, as usual, had quite forgotten all about this.
Worldly interests moved him so little that at the news
of this tardy, though necessary restitution, he exclaimed :
What was he thinking about when he made a will in
my favour; was he not aware that I have renounced all
worldly goods, and am no longer permitted to have
anything as my own ? "
His humility had all but deprived the Institute of this
just restitution. Because he was named in the will
Superior of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, he
196 i LAST YEABS
refused to sign the receipt until the title which was no
longer his, had been erased. He made it a point of
honour not to tolerate the least equivocation ; and his
delicacy on this point was so extreme, that he would
have sacrificed the money rather than tarnish his hon
esty.
This money came just when it was urgently needed;
for, the property of Saint-Yon, having been put up for
sale, the Brothers found themselves in a position to
purchase it. In consideration of their poverty, the
lowest price asked was fifteen thousand livres. In view
of this purchase, John Baptist had already placed six
thousand livres in local securities; some charitable
friends of the Institute made important donations ; but
the total required could be realized but by means of
Rogier s legacy; the executor of this will, when he
learned the embarrassment in which the Brothers were,
handed over to them the whole capital , five thousand
two hundred livres instead of the annual interest lie
was directed to pay them.
While the Saint remained in Paris, he did not lodge
with the Brothers at the Sevres Gate ; but it was prud
ence that hept him away from the house of his chil
dren. He was their superior no longer, he thought that
his presence might give rise to umbrage. Fearing to be
treated with too much honour, he carefully avoided all
those marks of respect and obedience which he deemed
should be henceforth paid only to Brother Barthelerny.
Besides, all the antipathy against him had not yet
entirely disappeared; to avert new difficulties for the
Brothers, he questioned himself whether it would not
be more prudent to live far from them ?
Full of these humble thoughts, the Saint chose for his
JOHN BAPTIST AT SAINT-NICOLAS Dl* CHAtlDONNET 19"
temporary dwelling the fervent community of Saint-
Nicolas du Chardonnet, where the Brother Procurator
paid his board and lodging. He lived there five months,
giving full scope to his attraction for solitude and
prayer; he produced such an impression of holiness on
all the seminarians, that the superior, writing three years
later, testified to it in the following letter : " We had the
honour and the advantage ", said the superior of Saint-
Nicolas, " of possessing this holy priest in our semi
nary, from October 4th 1717 till March 7th 1718. This
time was, as you see, very short; but it was long enough
to recognize in him those particular gifts which God
had bestowed on him, and also the graces which he
endeavoured to hide from men. We remarked above all
his zeal and extraordinary fervour for his own perfec
tion, his profound humility and great love of mortifi
cation and poverty. Not content with being present
every day at all the exercises of piety, lie admitted to
me that he devoted two and a half or three hours each
day to meditation. He was always the first at every
exercise, and there was no regulation that was not of
importance to him. He did nothing without the advice
or counsel of others, which always appeared to him
better than his own. During recreation, he was always
more willing to listen than to speak , and he was never
heard to speak to his own advantage. His mortification
confounded and at the same time edified us. Whenever
he came to the seminary, he would never accept a room
having a fire in it, and, instead of warming himself
with the others during the time of recreation, he pre
ferred to converse with some seminarians either in the
halls or in the garden, so as to have an occasion to, in
spire them with a holy maxim or the detachment from
198 LAST YEARS
terrestrial things; and as his modesty, his recollected
appearance and the unction of his conversations left no
doubt that lie practised much more than he inspired, it
would be impossible to express in words the amount of
good he did in this seminary. "
This was the first time in forty years that John Baptist
enjoyed real repose. He would very willingly have
prolonged it; the desire of his heart was to finish his
days in this community of Saint-Nicolas, so much the
more, because by prayer he continued to live with his
children and for them; he deemed that they could now
expect nothing from him but his prayers. But the
Brothers did not understand things in this way : it
appeared to them that as long as their father did not
live in their midst, he was theirs no longer; that he be
longed to them, and it was to them therefore that he
should give examples of virtue and counsels full of
wisdom; and they asked themselves whether the world
would not be right in criticising them, if they left
their holy founder to finish his days in a community
that was not his. To appease their filial anxiety and to
respond to their legitimate desires, Brother Barthelemy
begged John Baptist to return to Saint-Yon ; and as it
was a great sacrifice for the Servant of God to leave a
solitude where lie had at last lived unknown, the Di
rectors of Saint- Nicolas had to intervene to remind him
that this sacrifice was for him a duty of obedience. At
the word obedience, all reluctance vanished, and the
Saint started for Saint- Yon.
The thirteen months of his sojourn there were only
a slow preparation for death.
He was peacefully approaching his last hour, drawn
as he was towards it less by the weight of nature than by
JOHN BAPTIST AT SAINT- YON 199
his desire for heaven. The better to prepare for the
supreme journey, he disengaged himself from all ob
stacles; he made every possible effort to detach himself
from the world, from his family, and from his disciples
themselves.
With that spirit of order in affairs that he had dis
played all his life, he regulated in detail all that con
cerned the properly of the Society, so that his death
should not create any temporal embarrassment for the
Brothers.
He broke the last links of the chain that bound him
to his relations; lie had already ceased to correspond
with his brother Louis, whose appeal from the Bull
Unigenitus had deeply wounded his heart; he sent the
following note to a niece, who had asked him to assist
at her religious profession : " I pray you to be satisfied
with the promise to unite myself with you in this holy
action. "
Though he always had the greatest love for his work,
he now endeavoured to make himself appear as a
stranger to it. To those who wrote to him, he sent
answer that he was " only a poor priest of Saint- Yon. "
To the Brothers who consulted him, he said: " Address
yourselves to the Brother Superior; as for me, I am
nothing. If you desire the success of what concerns
Saint-Yon and our Institute, it is of importance that I
should not interfere in any way whatever, because
I am more capable of destroying than of building up. "
The remainder of his life, however, was entirely de
voted to the Institute and the Brothers. It was for his
dear work that he passed long hours in prayer, in that
solitary oratory situated at the other extremity of the
enclosure, the floor and walls of which had been often
200 LAST YEARS
reddened with the bloody disciplines of the humble
penitent. It was also for the Brothers that, after his
coming forth from those fervent prayers, he wrote his
enlightened Explanation of the Method of mental
Prayer. It was love for souls that urged him to hear
the confessions of the Brothers and novices, to confirm
them in their vocation by means of spiritual conver
sations, to visit and console the young prisoners in the
house of correction, to speak to the children of the
boarding school, who listened to him with the greatest
attention and showed him the most touching marks of
their respectful affection.
God, who did not will that an iota of the life of His
great servant should be lost, rendered it fruitful even to
the last moment.
THE LAST STRUGGLES AND TTIE LAST TTOUR
1719
The closing days of John Baptist were, in miniature,
a faithful likeness of his struggles and of his virtues :
his faith continued to shine with undiminished bright
ness, he drank the chalice of humiliation to the dregs,
his poor body was delivered over to sufferings, and his
soul flew at last to God in an ecstasy of piety, and in the
exercise of charity.
The Jansenists of Boulogne, having written his name
on the list of appellants, gave him another opportunity
of openly professing his faith. Rather than that there
should be the faintest shadow of a doubt about his belief,
lie broke the silence in which his humilitv would have
THE LAST STRUGGLES 201
wished to envelop itself. "I have too much respect for
our Holy Father the Pope ", he wrote in a letter dated
January 28th 1719, " and too much submission to the
decisions of the Holy See not to acquiesce in them. It
is enough for me that he who sits to-day in the chair of
St. Peter has spoken by a Bull, which has been accept
ed by nearly all the Bishops in the world, and has
condemned the hundred and one propositions extracted
from Quesnel s book. After such an authentic decision
of the Church, I say with Saint Augustine : "The cause
is finished. " Such a strong and open declaration was
calculated to make enemies for the Brothers; but the
Saint preferred to expose himself to open persecution
rather than leave the least doubt hanging over his faith.
His sons have ever since followed and practised this
great lesson given them by their father.
Having avenged his faith, he entered anew into soli
tude and silence : humiliations still continued to track
him. Some of those who were in immediate relation
with him, were guilty of disrespectful language in his
regard; a Serving Brother so far forgot himself as to say
to him that he " in quality of a poor priest and no
longer useful for anything, was supported in the house
through charity. Such remarks which were less
malicious than inconsiderate, repaid him for all the testi
monies of veneration which he was receiving at Saint-
Yon. Much more painful were the Archbishop s pro
ceedings towards him. M. D Aubigne was very strict
with all the priests of his diocese, but particularly hard
with John Baptist De La Salle. Not content with the
rebuffs with which he treated him in several visits to
the archiepiscopal palace, he cast a gloom over his
last days by inflicting on him disciplinary punishment,
0*
202 LAST YEARS
which would have remained as a mark of infamy on
any one less holy than John Baptist. The origin of
this was a difference with the parish priest of Saint-
Sever.
In 1706, the parish priest of Saint-Sever, seeing that
the works at Saint- Yon flourished, determined to attacli
this establishment to his parish, and succeeded in
getting John Baptist to sign an agreement which obliged
all the inmates of Saint- Yon to attend the services in
the parish church. This agreement had been faithfully
observed for a while; but the opening of the house of
correction in 1715 had necessitated a change. As it
was found impossible to conduct the young prisoners
through the streets, the religious services had to be
celebrated at Saint- Yon, as was done in all the prisons
of the kingdom. But the pastor of Saint- Sever had
strongly protested against this state of things; he had
denounced to the ecclesiastical court this pretended
violation of the agreement. John Baptist, when he was
called upon to explain , did so with all moderation ; the
ecclesiastical judge rejected his reasons and did not
fear to accuse him of falsehood. This ungrounded
accusation, having been brought before the Archbishop,
thereby assumed consistency, and it was to punish the
alleged untruthfulness and violation of an agreement
that the prelate notified John Baptist De La Salle, three
or four days before his death, that his faculty for hearing
confessions was withdrawn. The humble, dying priest
accepted the blow without a word of complaint, and not
one of those who surrounded him, knew, at that time,
what a bitter chalice had been presented to him in his
agony. Such an event is not unheard of in the lives
of the Saints ; but God permits such errors only when
THE LAST SICKNESS 203
He wishes to accomplish a great work of sanctilication
in the most faithful of His servants.
Sickness had already wrought great ravages in the
body of John Baptist, and the soul, freeing itself by de
grees from its prison of flesh, was about to wing its free
flight to heaven.
His rheumatism had been tormenting him now for
more than a year, and all remedies failed to assuage the
pain ; the humble patient was wholly resigned, and was
never noticed to be happier than when he suffered
most. Towards the end of February, the disease be
came complicated with a violent attack of asthma that
several times threatened to suffocate the holy patient.
His disciples became so alarmed, that they conjured him
to interrupt his severe Lenten austerities ; but lie mildly
replied that " as the victim was on the point of being
immolated, it was now necessary to work the more at
its purification. " He submitted however to the slight
alleviations imposed by obedience. But the hour of
deliverance having struck for him, other infirmities
supervened that baffled the filial solicitude of his dis
ciples : two accidents that happened one after the other,
produced an abscess in the head which soon festered,
while, at the same time, acute pains were felt in the
side.
The doctor, being satisfied that his patient was cour
ageous enough to hear the truth, announced to him
that the illness was without hope; John Baptist, far
from manifesting either surprise or fear, on the con
trary, accepted the news with joy. A ray of heavenly
happiness shone on his countenance; he was about to
quit the earth and he united with Jesus Christ ! As
long as the will of God desired him to work, he had
204 LAST YEARS
done his duty; but now that his mission was accom
plished, what a happiness to die ! " I hope ", said he,
" that I shall soon be delivered out of Egypt, and be ad
mitted into the true Land of Promise. " Though he took
the prescribed remedies through obedience, he begged
the Brothers not to incur further useless expenses; he
desired, he said, nothing more now than to -have
recourse to the sovereign physician of souls, who alone
could give him the relief that he desired with all his
heart.
Contrary to all expectation, he was able, on the feast
of St. Joseph, to ascend the holy altar and there
immolate once more the August Victim to whom he
was soon to be united eternally. The Brothers, seeing
him at the altar, believed that a miracle had restored to
them their father. But the deception was only all the
more bitter when they beheld the holy patient reduced
to the weakness of the previous days. While awaiting
the fatal end, they had but to receive his last counsels.
On Monday of Holy Week, April 3rd, John Baptist,
whilst in the full possession of his mental faculties,
made his last testament; it is an act of humility and
faith, in which the holy founder of the Institute recom
mends his Brothers: " to be entirely submissive to the
Church, to acquit themselves of their several duties
with zeal and great disinterestedness, and to be inti
mately united among themselves and blindly obedient
to their superiors. "
The next day, Holy Tuesday, M. Du Jarrier-Bresnard,
parish -priest of Saint -Sever, came to visit and exhort
him. And when he told the Saint that his end was
imminent : u I know it ", said the Servant of God
calmly, " and I submit in all things to God s holy will.
THE LAST HOURS 205
My lot is in His hands; may His will be done. " The
holy patient asked the Viaticum for Holy Wednesday.
His faith inspired him to rise to receive his Master, and
he was vested with a surplice and stole. As soon as
lie heard the bell that announced the approach of the
Most Blessed Sacrament, he, to the great surprise of all
present, fell on his knees, and, gathering what little
strength he had, he prostrated himself before his God.
This movement of fervour was so prompt, that the assis
tants were deceived, and some of them seemed surprised
that Holy Communion under the form of Viaticum , was
given to one who appeared to be full of vigour.
The Saint, who was not mistaken with regard to his
state, asked that he might receive the sacrament of
Extreme Unction on the following morning, Holy
Thursday : and it was also the pastor of Saint-Sever who
administered the sacrament of the dying to him. After
this he entered into a state of profound recollection and
silence which continued during seven hours, occupied
only with the graces God had just bestowed on him. In
the afternoon, being pressed with questions by those of
his children who stood around his bed, he lent himself
to all their desires, and gave each the advice he needed.
To some of them he revealed the most hidden secrets ot
their hearts.
Towards evening, his voice grew weak and speaking
became more difficult. Seeing that he was near his
agony, the Brothers threw themselves on their knees to
receive Ids last blessing. Brother Barthelemy, in the
name of all, begged him to bless not only those present
but also all the Brothers of the Institute. " May God
bless you all, " said he. Then he added : " If you wish
to persevere and die in your vocation, never have any
206 LAST YEARS
intercourse with people of the world ; for, little by little,
you will acquire a taste for their habits and be drawn
into conversation with them to such an extent, that
through policy you will no longer be able to refrain
from applauding their language, however pernicious it
maybe; this will lead you into unfaithfulness; and being
no longer faithful in observing your Rules, you will
grow disgusted with your vocation, and finally you will
abandon it. " These words were expressed in a firm
tone, and required such an effort that a cold sweat
interrupted him and he entered into an agony. From
midnight till two o clock, he was a prey to the painful
anguish of the last struggle. About two o clock, seeing
that there was an instant of relief, Brother Barthelemy
suggested to him some pious thoughts, and helped him
to recite the prayer Maria, mater gratise, which he
loved to say with the community every night. He
then asked him if he accepted with joy the pains he
was suffering. " Yes ", replied the Saint, " I adore
in all things the designs of God in my regard. "
These were his last words, and his whole life was
summarized in them. His agony recommenced at three
o clock, and, notwithstanding the struggles of the last
moment, his countenance never for a moment lost its
usual calmness and confidence. At four o clock, the
Saint made an effort to rise and go to meet some one.
He was going to meet Our Lord Himself; for, having
joined his hands and raised his eyes to heaven, he
expired. It was Good -Friday, April 7th 1719. He was
sixty -eight years of age, less twenty -three days.
The news of his death spread quickly next morning
through Saint-Sever and Rouen. The sad announce
ment elicited lively sentiments of regret among the
THE LAST HOURS 207
people, which showed what esteem and love they had lor
the founder of the Brothers. The only thing heard in
Rouen that morning was : "He was a saint, the Saint is
dead. " The clergy and nobility, the rich and poor, all
desired to take a last look at the mortal remains, and to
offer at his funeral couch, together with a last prayer,
a testimony of respect and gratitude.
While the crowds, in serried ranks, passed before the
catafalque, there was a strife for the objects that be
longed to him as for precious relics. From all the
towns in which the Brothers were employed, there
came the most sincere and consoling sympathies to
alleviate the bitterness of the sorrow that they felt at
Saint- Yon.
The Saint s body was at first interred in the chapel of
Sainte-Susanne in the church of Saint-Sever, but was
transferred to the chapel of Saint- Yon in 1734. The
holiness of the Servant of God was soon manifested by
miracles at his tomb, and, since 1888, the date of his
Beatification, these precious relics, preserved at Rouen,
receive the honours they merit in the chapel of the
Brother s boarding school .
1 The holy I elics of St. John Baptist De La Salle were transferred
in 1904 from Rouen to the chapel of the Mother-House, established
at Lembecq-lez-Hal , Belgium;
CHAPTER X.
THK MAN
INTRODUCTION
After having followed John Baptist De La Salle through
all the thrilling incidents of his long career, it will be a
pleasure for us to arrest our steps for a while , and fix
our gaze upon this noble and sympathetic man, in order
that we may more deeply engrave his image on our
minds. If we carefully examine the gifts of nature and
grace which he had received from God, we shall distin
guish in him the man, the Christian, the priest and the
founder of a Religious Order. These elements in him
were not separated, which would have caused him
to act sometimes as a man and at other times as a
Christian ; on the contrary, these natural and superna
tural gifts were so wonderfully blended in the same
person, that all his words were equally stamped with
the mark of reason and faith, and all his actions,
without losing the characteristic imprint of his nature,
proceeded from the spirit of God. But our mind, being
too weak to take in at a single glance the entire being,
THE NATURAL QUALITIES 209
succeeds in knowing it only by analyzing its component
parts.
In the first place, we shall examine what kind of man
John Baptist De La Salle was ; because his natural qual
ities to which grace adapted its gifts, had a profound
influence on his whole life. If it has pleased God, for
the better display of His power, sometimes to achieve
great things by means of instruments humanly speaking-
worthless, he has, on the other hand, often chosen
highly gifted natures to accomplish His most important
designs. This choice is, on His part, no more than the
exercise of pure logic ; for could we possibly conceive
that He would bestow His highest gifts on certain
natures, in order afterwards to reject them ? Is it not just
and proper that, if they remain faithful, they become His
chief instruments of action on the world? What rich
and powerful natures were St. Paul, St. Augustine,
St. Francis of Assisi, St. Dominic, St. Ignatius,
St. Francis of Sales and St. Vincent De Paul ! Is it
not a fact that these great Saints were also great men ,
and that God had proportioned their natural gifts to the
importance of their supernatural mission ?
John Baptist De La Salle belonged not only to the
family of great Saints, but also to the family of great men.
God had so fashioned his human nature that he might,
under the action of grace, bring to a satisfactory end the
providential work that absorbed his whole life. And,
for this reason, we shall begin by considering in him
the gifts of nature, which are, not less than super
natural gifts, a benefit of God.
210 THE MAN
PHYSICAL PORTRAIT
John Baptist De La Salle s stature was a little over the
average. In his youth , his constitution was very deli
cate; but, with riper age, it became vigorous enough,
so that he was able to endure rude macerations and
penances, as well as the most painful privations. His
bearing was serious, but without stiffness, which
announced the man of good breeding and family. He
held his head inclined a little forward. His countenance,
fair at first, assumed a tinge of colour in time, bordering
on swarthiness, owing to his many fatigues and weary
journeys, and yet it always presented those delicate lines
that expressed affability ; his forehead was lofty, and he
possessed an abundance of hair which was prematurely
whitened by cares rather than by age ; the nose was
regular, the lips slightly projecting, and the mouth
always had an amiable smile. Bright eyes, almost
blue, a candid and profound look animated this counte
nance, so well adapted exteriorly to reflect his interior
holiness.
Standing in front of the faithful portrait that has been
left us by Pierre Leger, and which has been exactly
reproduced at the head of this book , we feel ourselves
instinctively attracted with love for the Saint : there is
so much delicacy and distinction in these lines, so much
nobleness in the attitude, such a captivating charm in
this half-formed smile and in the sweet calm that covers
his countenance ! And at the same time that lively look,
so firm and yet so good, that speaks so eloquently even
THE QUALITIES OF HIS MIND 2H
when the lips are silent, goes to the depths of your soul
like an arrow, paternally examines your thoughts and
wishes, and sheds on you, with all the tenderness of his
heart, the expressions of the hope that you caused him
to conceive of you , or the anxiety you may have given
him.
From this resulted that powerful influence which he
ever exercised over souls. In the classes, the children
had as much love as respect for him ; they went to him
quite naturally ; even the most timid approached him ;
and those who were the least gifted, did not feel humil
iated in his presence : the very benevolence of his
countenance helped to fix his lessons in the minds of
all. He had not less ascendency over the young men
who were drawn by vocation to the Institute ; his man
ners, always gracious, tempered for them the first
impressions of an austere Rule, and his look, the image
of paternal kindness, brought light and peace to their
troubled souls. And those turbulent and indocile
youths who were handed over to him by disconsolate
and alarmed parents, were at once seized by his kind
and noble appearance ; who shall tell us the number of
souls that were won and converted by the exterior virtue
that emanated from him ?
These exterior gifts were however only the radiance
of profound qualities which gave to his mind and will
their power and value.
THE QUALITIES OF HIS MIND
If the intellectual gifts of John Baptist De La Salle
seemed to be effaced by the lustre of his moral virtues,
212 THE MAN
we must not, on this account, conclude that they were
only ordinary and without influence on the great works
that he accomplished. On the contrary, the natural gifts
of his mind had so large a part in whatever he under
took, and so powerfully concurred in its success, that it
is but simple justice to make them conspicuous.
His love of books manifested itself from early child
hood, and urged him on to serious studies. At the
University of Rheims, where lie received a high literary
education, lie was ranked among the most brilliant of
the students , and the hopes which were already enter
tained of him inclined the aged chancellor Dozet to
resign his canonry in his favour. After having com
pleted an extensive course of humanities, such as were
taught in the seventeenth century, he went to Paris to
follow the courses of theology that were there given by
the most eminent professors that France possessed at
that period : while lie was a student at Saint-Sulpice, he
was admitted among the elite group that followed the
theological course at the Sorbonne. When, after a short
time, he was recalled to Rheims by the imperious
necessities of family duties, he did not neglect his stud
ies, even in the midst of distractions caused by the
preoccupations of business, for he successfully under
went the examinations for the degree of Master of Arts
and that of Doctor in Theology. Though very learned,
yet he was never satisfied with the amount of knowledge
he had acquired, and intellectual work was full of
attraction for him to the end of his life. He was then
attracted to the purely religious sciences by his tastes
and the duties of his state : he lived chiefly with the
Fathers, the theologians and the mystics ; by this daily
intercourse with books, his cultivated mind preserved
- THE QUALITIES OF HIS MIND 213
its fruitful activity, which produced so many useful
works.
By a providential disposition, the bent of his mind
was in harmony with his vocation. He did not possess
the exuberant imagination of the poet, though his style
does not lack colour. Neither had he the fiery enthu
siasm of the orator, though his discourses, such as they
have been 1 landed down to us by his biographer, are not
wanting either in vigour or in warmth. He was parti
cularly noted for his power of penetration and good
sense; this penetration enabled him justly to appreciate
all things and so gave him such vividly clear expressions
of his ideas; this good sense preserved him from any
error in his thoughts or exageration in his words; it
guided him with security in his enterprises, enabled
him to discover the errors of the then existing methods
of teaching, and, at the same time, revealed to him the
means to remedy them. If these qualities are not such
as throw lustre in literature, they possess at least
the advantage of giving a solid foundation to lasting
works, and they should be the fortunate adjunct of all
men of action. And it is because John Baptist was
gifted in an eminent degree with this power of penetra
tion and equilibrium of mind, that the creations of his
genius have resisted the test of time, and been so inva
riably successful.
The whole life of the founder of the Brothers was
enlightened and governed by calm deliberation, which
resulted from the correctness of his ideas and from the
prudence that this sound judgment produced in him.
Though naturally quick and penetrating, and able to see
at a glance into the depths of men and things, yet he
214 THE MAN
was too prudent to be precipitate, too sensible not to
know that a wise delay enlightens decisions and permits
us to seize the most favourable opportunities of success.
If, before acting, he always took time to reflect in medi
tation and to consult competent men, it was not to streng
then his courage against hesitation, but to submit his
ideas to the control of the judgment of others. His intel
ligence and humility seem to dispute for the prize in
this wise conduct. Examples of this mode of acting,
are met with at each step of his long career. In his
first interview with Adrian Nyel, he clearly saw how he
must proceed in order to avoid the touchiness of the
schoolmasters , and of the town council ; nevertheless ,
lie assembled in his house the men best qualified to give
him advice, he exposed to them his sentiments and
acted only after having obtained their approval. When
he saw that his work required that the masters should
live in his house, that he should resign his canonry,
that it would be necessary to despoil himself of his rich
patrimony, lie still sought advice, and was always ready
to sacrifice his personal views to the counsel of those
whom lie esteemed more enlightened than himself.
Even in the writing of his Rules, he submitted to
members of different Religious Orders, the points that
he thought of serious importance. While he was a very
sure and prudent adviser to those who consulted him,
he himself would not undertake anything without
having had recourse to the wisdom of others.
Thanks to this prudent course, he displayed un
common ability in the management of affairs. While
still a young priest, he most happily succeeded in
arranging the conditions of the religious of the Holy
Child Jesus, by obtaining Letters Patent for them. If he
THE QUALITIES OF HIS MIND 215
was never guilty of those acts of imprudence which
uselessly shock men and compromise good works, it was
because he was condescending without being weak, and
knew how to impose his will without being trouble
some. He never, through lack of tact, widened the
impassable gap that lay between him and his adver
saries.
Gutting words and unkind behaviour were repaid
with kindness and devotedness : this way of acting was
as reasonable as it was Christian, and was the fruit of a
will that was master of itself, and at the same time the
act of a man who foresaw the painful consequences of
even the most justifiable replies. This clearsightedness
of the pilot, who knew the sea, enabled him to steer the
frail bark of the Institute, through innumerable dangers
and under the attacks of the most furious tempests.
Often, however, such well-balanced minds lack bold
ness in conception ; by remaining too much attached to
the traditional forms of action, they lessen by routine
the powers that initiative would have greatly developed.
It was not thus with John Baptist De La Salle, for, while
profiting by the precious lessons of the past, which he
respected, he still had enough of independent judgment
to be, in the good sense of the word, an innovator. The
rare competency which he had acquired in the questions
which occupied him for more than forty years, made
an eminent educator of him, and gave him the right
to follow out the inspirations of his genius in a field
that had as yet been very little explored. He formed
such a correct judgment of all that he examined, that
his creations have received from time the sanction of
durability, and have served as guides and models to the
216 THE MAN
many praiseworthy undertakings in favour of youth since
his days.
If he was not the creator of primary education, since
the petites ecoles were in existence before his time,
lie was incontestably its organizer and lawgiver, He
unreservedly established the gratuitousness of the
schools intended for the people, and the charity schools,
which before his time were so scarce and so neglected ,
now began to multiply and flourish. As soon as he took
charge of a school, he arranged and organized it accord
ing to the order and method that prevailed in his mind.
With him, those crowds of children who frequented the
schools, settled down at once to order and work : he
divided them into groups, and gave a master to each;
according to their proficiency, the pupils of each group
were subclassified into three sections by the master, and
each section worked separately. But all the pupils of
the same section were obliged to follow the same lesson ;
this new method of simultaneous teaching awakened
interest and produced emulation and progress. Instead
of wasting their youthful years reading the Latin lan
guage which they would never learn, and of which they
did not understand a single word, the children of the
poor began to learn to read their mother-tongue, with
which of course they were familiar. By means of this
intelligent discipline, silence was maintained in the
class, and application became possible, progress soon
became evident, and the children, now better governed,
were less insolent in the streets and more obedient at
home : the well ordered school moralized those little
beings, who would otherwise have been corrupted, and,
perhaps, would have become dangerous criminals by
their roaming through the streets.
THE QUALITIES OF HIS MIND 217
John Baptist had the intuition of continuation schools,
and his Sunday school, where he received two or three
hundred apprentices and working boys, was the pioneer
of our modern patronages. But, from the start, this
undertaking, somewhat original at the time, took the
character of usefulness, which assured its success, and
without which our present attempts will have only
partial results. The Sunday school not only protected
the young men from the dangers of the streets, and the
wicked suggestions of idleness, but also completed their
religious instruction as well as their intellectual and pro
fessional education. To moralizing recreation and
sanctifying religious exercises, it added practical studies
capable of humanly interesting and attracting young
men, who had to work to earn their living.
The pensionnats d enseignement moderne do not
prove in John Baptist De La Salle less sagacity. He
understood that the ancient languages were useless for
the middle classes of society, and that the petites
ecoles were not sufficient. He opened a boarding
school at Saint-Yon, near Rouen, in which the instruc
tion was both theoretical and practical ; sufficiently
theoretical to assure a sound liberal education for mind
and heart, and practical enough to prepare young men
of the working class for their respective callings. The
outlines of the much sought- for modern intermediate
teaching were traced by John Baptist De La Salle s own
hand.
His organization of the training school for lay masters,
without his having had any precedent to guide him,
may be taken as a model for our present-day training
colleges. He not only taught the young masters the
different branches and gave them special instruction
Life and Virtues. 1
218 THE MAN
in pedagogy, but he was also careful to have, at Rheims
and Paris, a school for children which would serve as a
practising school for the normal students. In this way,
the young teachers learned the art of their profession
under the eyes of a clever mentor : this fertile idea,
which was quite original in the seventeenth century, has
not, even in our own times, become commonplace.
The creation of his Institute was naturally his master
piece. In this powerful and admirably constructed or
ganism, life circulates abundantly and freely through
nearly twenty thousand members scattered throughout
the whole world. The Rules of the Society, the fruit botli
of long meditations and of forty years experience, are so
foreseeing and so pliant, that it lias not been necessary
to remodel them , and they are not less adapted to the
requirements of our time than they were to that of
Louis XIV.
All these works, of which the history of education in
France should be proud, do honour to the educational
genius of John Baptist De La Salle. His fertile mind,
always happy in its conceptions 3 lias left its faithful
impress on all the books which his zeal for the schools
dictated to him. All his writings, like his whole life,
have but one object, education: masters and pupils
are the only ones for whom he writes.
He addresses himself, however, principally to the
Brothers, these privileged men, whom God had associat
ed in his work and life. Not content with having in
structed them during their novitiate, and in the annual
retreats and visits, he follows them into their commun
ities and schools, and by his letters and books becomes
their fellow -worker. His letters, of which only a few
THE QUALITIES OF HIS MIND 219
have been preserved, are generally short, precise, rich
in practical counsels, and full of the spirit of God. As
he was convinced that piety is the guardian of virtue
and the food of zeal, he multiplied for this purpose, the
books that would be capable of keeping this religious
spirit of the Brothers full of life and vigour : the works
include instructions and prayers for Holy Mass, Confes
sion and Communion ; short treatises on Christian per
fection grouped under the title of Collection of short
Treatises; Explanation of the Method of mental Prayer ;
Meditations for Sundays and Feasts, as well as for the
time of the retreat, in which the masters can learn how
to unite their obligations as Christians with their duties
as teachers.
This is not all ; for his foreseeing mind follows his
disciples even into their classes. There, nothing is
left to caprice or indecision; by his book on the
" Management of the Schools ", which is at once so
simple and original, so full of ingenious observations
and precious lessons, he guides the young master as by
the hand, and initiates him in the delicate art of training
children. For the use of the children, he composes
a b c books and spelling books, in which his practical
mind is revealed in the smallest details; his other
works for the pupils are a Treatise on Politeness, in
which good manners are taught as Christian virtues ;
and the Duties of a Christian, an abridged theology, in
which the children, while learning to read, learn their
religion at the same time.
All these books, written in very correct style and
recalling the classic period, and without pretension to
literary research, are distinguished for the clearness of
the ideas, the wisdom of the observations, as well as
220 THE MAN
for the seasonableness of the counsels and the perfectly
good sense of the methods they contain, so that John
Baptist De La Salle appears therein, such as he was in
all his actions, clear-headed, an observer, practical,
always thoughtful, thoroughly versed in theology and
asceticism, bold in initiative, and successful in all that
concerned education.
HIS MORAL CHARACTER
Character is the expression of the moral man, the
exterior sign of his interior worth, the stamp that im
presses its image on a man and on his works. There
are indifferent characters that leave no trace on what
they toucli. Among the well-marked characters, there
are two that are easily distinguished, according as their
lines are harmonious or discordant : the former are
noble and beautiful, the latter, base and despicable.
John Baptist De La Salle s was certainly not insignifi
cant, for its outlines stood out in strong relief : he pre
sented in all his words and actions an air of nobleness
and elevation, which never contradicted themselves.
It is true that nature and grace had united to prepare
its elements; but free will, which gives character its
special stamp, knew how to utilize in the best possible
manner the gifts he had received from God.
Honesty, that virtue of prime importance, and
without which no honourable man would dare to put
himself before the public, had attained such a degree
of delicacy in John Baptist, that he would not have
HIS MORAL CHARACTER 221
allowed a shadow, however light it might appear, to
overhang and darken his crystal -like transparent soul.
It was altogether too little for him simply to avoid the
appearance of untruthfulness, not to fail in an engage
ment, not to practise those acts of duplicity and cun
ning by which sincerity too often makes vain efforts to
escape unsullied ; lie regarded it as an imperious duty to
put his thoughts, words and actions into perfect accord,
and would expose himself to serious losses rather than
lie to his conscience. As he was incapable of exhibiting
feelings and sentiments which he did not possess, so,
on the other hand, he never hid those thoughts which
circumstances required to he exposed to the light.
Though he observed the most prudent reserve in all
tilings, human respect never swayed his conduct.
With his early education , sincerity entered and formed
as it were a constituent part of his moral nature :
whence sprang that almost unlimited confidence he
inspired in all those who -had any intercourse with
him.
It was particularly in the struggle against Jansenism
that his loyalty was seen to shine forth. When he was
in Paris, he could have obtained the favour of the Car
dinal De Noailles, who esteemed him, by dissimulating
his open opposition to the innovators; but he took very
good care not to give an erroneous idea of his senti
ments : by his not visiting the Archbishop in 1715, he
took a very significant attitude which, without being
offensive, was equal to a declaration of his feelings.
As soon as he discovered that his benefactors at Mar
seilles, in 171U, had proposed to draw him into the
revolt, he immediately broke with them, though by so
doing, he clearly saw that his sincerity would let loose
222 THE MAN
upon him and his works a furious tempest. It was
entirely repugnant to his nature to obtain peace and
prosperity by means of equivocation. When he learned,
just a few months previous to his death, that his
name had been inscribed on the list of the appellants
by the Bishop of Boulogne, he showed himself not less
categorical ; he protested his absolute submission to the
Bull Unigenitus, with all his might, though to do so, lie
was obliged to break the silence in which his humility
loved to hide itself. Such was his love of truth and his
horror of disguise, that he would have sacrificed his
life and his works rather than fail in uprightness.
There never was a humiliation more unjust or one more
keenly felt than that to which he was subjected, when he
heard from the lips of a priest whom he greatly respect
ed, these words : " You are a liar, Sir. " God permitted
such an affront because He knew what profit His ser
vant would draw from it.
It is the same delicacy which respects truth under
the name of sincerity, and the goods of one s neighbour
under that of honesty ; disguised truth and all insincere
proceedings that border on injustice are the indices of a
low education. John Baptist was not less upright in
business affairs than in the manifestation of his senti
ments.
Gould it be conceived that this man who had so cour
ageously renounced his honourable prebend and dis
tributed his rich patrimony to the poor would be sus
pected of loving money? And if he was disinterested
enough to renounce all legitimate rights, and to have
no other endowment for his community than total aban
donment to Providence, should he not on all occasions
HIS MORAL CHARACTER 223
give marks of the most complete disengagement from
all earthly things? He could scarcely speak about pay
ment for his Brothers. Of course he was obliged by
the absolute necessities of life to treat of pecuniary ques
tions. But the sum of three hundred livres which he
asked as the salary of each Brother was barely enough
to support a poor man. And yet, he was often satisfied
with much less. " You know we are not exacting as
to the conditions, " he wrote to Rouen. Certainly, he
was not exacting; and even in the time of the famine,
and when hunger made itself felt, he would only go
timidly to claim the sums that were due. If such
reserve in the bashful poor sometimes betrays the high
spirit of the nobleman, it was, in John Baptist, but the
effect of disinterestedness.
He clearly showed, in certain disagreements, that
the bent of his heart was not towards money; for,
rather than go to law with the disputants, he preferred
to forego the claims that lie could have justly made. At
Rethel, he abandoned to carping heirs certain securities
that had been left him s by charitable persons for the
use of his schools; and, again, in 1703, when an
important legacy on which lie counted to buy the
Grand Maison, had been turned to other purposes, he
never uttered a complaint to any one ; and if the act of
infidelity of Nicolas Vuyart was a cruel blow to his
tender heart, it was not on account of the money of
which he had been despoiled, but because this treason
involved for him the loss of one of his most beloved dis
ciples. And yet God, in His mysterious and provi
dential ways of acting witli His saints, permitted that a
man so disinterested as John Baptist was, should be
condemned by human tribunals " for having extorted
224 THE MAN
money by suborning a minor. " John Baptist, who was
not at this time in Paris, kept silence as if he had been
justly convicted; and when, five years later, restitution
of the five thousand two hundred livres of which he had
been deprived by the strange judgment of the Chatelet,
was made, far from being in a hurry to secure his rights,
all was nearly lost by a new sentiment of delicacy ; for,
being named Superior of the Brothers in the document
which should be signed by him, he would have rejected
the offered sum, rather than receive it under a title
that he had renounced six months before.
With this virtue of probity is connected that of dis
cretion, which inspires the same respect for the secrets
and reputation of our neighbour, as we have for his
temporal possessions. There was never noticed in John
Baptist De La Salle that intemperance of language
which offends good breeding even more than it does
charity, and which is a proof in certain persons, who
are otherwise pious, of the lack of good education.
He was always so discreet in his words that never, not
even inadvertently, did he divulge the least secret; the
numerous confidences of which lie was made the guar
dian remained eternally buried in the depths of his own
heart; for, as much as he was faithful in remembering
in God s holy presence the souls that had confided
themselves to him, so much did he seem to have forgot
ten them, when speaking to men. Therefore with
what ease the conscience was laid open to him ! " He
was so reserved in his conversation ", says his biogra
pher, " so circumspect in his words, so attentive to speak
to the point, so exact in explaining himself in few
words, so modest in the tone and manner of giving his
advice, that one could easily see that he practised to
HIS MORAL CHARACTER 225
the letter this maxim inspired by the Saints, " to weigh
one s words, and not utter any that one should wish to
recall after having 1 spoken it. Discretion was so
dear to him, that, by his Rules, lie made it apart of
the Brothers conduct. " No Brother ", says he, " shall
speak of the affairs of the house wherein he lives, nor
of the conduct of any person; if any one should speak
to him of one or the other, or question him thereon, he
shall say that he may not answer such questions, and
that the person must address himself to the Brother
Director. "
He seemed to possess these virtues as part of his very
nature, and yet lie never lost any of their supernatural
merit before God; thanks to the excellent education he
had received in his family, he found no difficulty in
thek" practice : they formed part of that correct beha
viour and politeness to which he had been trained from
his very childhood. In him, as in St. Francis De
Sales, the most refined manners, by being- the orna
ment and exterior attraction in the man, were the
priest s recommendation and gained for him every one s
good will and respect. He always observed , with the
best taste of gracefulness and distinction, those rules
of propriety which lie has laid down in a truly Chris
tian book: it was never better seen than in his own per
son that politeness is the pure reflection of mortification
and charity.
He made to himself a law of the most inviolable
modesty, in order never to offend any one either by
his behaviour, or words, or actions. His clothes,
however poor they might be, were neither torn nor
dirty; his hair, while he conformed to the clerical regu-
10*
226 THE MAN
lation, presented neither too much care nor negligence.
His gait was neither careless nor affected; ease and
gravity gave all his movements their perfect graceful
ness. He exercised such vigilance over his words, that
he was neither dull nor laconic in conversation, nor
wearisome by long and fastidious discourses ; he never
offended any one by cutting remarks or indiscreet allu
sions. When obliged to reprimand, he chose the most
fitting moment, and employed the most insinuating
tone, so as not to irritate by imprudent observations
the wound he wished to cure. In his relations with
others, he always observed this tact of the well-bred
man : in spite of his love of solitude, he never omitted
visits of politeness or of gratitude; even when he knew
that he should be received with cold reserve, he still
acquitted himself of his duty. If he met so many ene
mies and persecutors in his career, he never provoked
them by lack of gentlemanly deference.
This same delicacy was not always meted out to him ;
but lie pushed his mortification so far as to support
without bitterness, if not without sensitiveness, and
with perfect equanimity of temper, the impoliteness
and rudeness, not to say outrages, which lie had to
suffer. If, under similar circumstances, worldly polite
ness imposes a bearing which at least saves appearances,
John Baptist s humility raised his good manners to the
height of a Christian virtue. To recount here the thou
sand occasions of mortification that put his patience to
the test, would require to go over the history of his
whole life.
Good education goes further still. It is not content
with refraining from offending others or showing
coldness for them; it invites the soul to forget itself and
HIS MOHAL CHARACTER
to make the first advances of affability. It makes the
features shine with attractive kindness; it inspires our
words with that pleasing charm which irresistibly gains
the heart ; it makes one obliging and attentive ; in a word,
it brings peace, comfort and happiness to souls. John
Baptist De La Salle s features well reflect that goodness,
condescension and inclination to confer happiness
which is the sweet perfume of Christian politeness; for
his benevolent traits are the reflections of a soul that
loves and thinks of nothing else than giving itself.
These attractive qualities were neither affected nor
disguised; they came from a heart in which their roots
were deeply fixed. It is advisedly we say from the
heart; for John Haptist could have repeated with St.
Augustine : " Love is the force that draws me ; where
ver I go, I am impelled by love. " It is true that his
heart did not always reveal itself at the first approach.
John Baptist, who was a man of punctilious exactness,
of tenacity in his decisions, invincible in adversity, a
clever and far-seeing organizer, seemed to have dead
ened all sensibility under the weight of administrative
preoccupations. Besides, that sensibility, such as our
sickly generation conceives and practises, was not con
genial to either the nature of his temper or the manners
of his time. But if you lay your hand, though ever so
lightly, on that breast, torn by the hairshirt and the
sharp points of the iron chain, you will feel the heart
of a man beating within.
Would you wish to know what flowers hide the most
honey at the bottom of their cups? Follow the bees
to the fields, lor instinctively they will go straight to
the source of their wealth. Look for no other sign
228 THE MAN
to discover kind hearted men; mark the direction
in which men s sympathies go, follow them, and be
certain that they go directly to the heart of him that
loves. If John Baptist had been wanting in tenderness
of heart, he would never have received those number
less proofs of warm and devoted sympathy which he
did. How lie was loved by his first Brothers, Jean
Francois, Nicolas Bourlette and others, Avho wore
themselves out by following him in the paths of divine
love and Christian perfection ! How those Brothers of
the Grand Maison cherished him, who pressed round
him and maintained him in his office of superior,
without ever thinking that they were braving the
authority of the Archbishop ! Was it not their love that
burst forth in those loud and determined protestations
which the pastor of Villiers so feelingly recorded :
" And they commenced to enumerate all his qualities
and to say, among other things, that he was kind and
gentle to others, but severe for himself; that he com
manded nothing which he would not and did not him
self do, and it was impossible to give them one who
could equal him, either in the art of governing or in all
his other excellent virtues and qualities. " If they did
not always act with the greatest delicacy towards him,
or always remain faithful to him, yet, in spite of all
this, they never ceased to love him; even the most un
faithful, like the prodigal son, never doubting his affec
tion, would return confidently to him and beg readmis-
sion into the Institute. The school children also were
all drawn to him in whom, by the sweetness of his
looks and words, they recognized a true father. It was
his kind heart that won those sinners and those way
ward youths, upon whom the arguments and threats of
IHS MORAL CHARACTER 220
others had no effect; he succeeded where others failed,
because his manner was not that of one who subdues
but of one who captivates. This current of sympathy
followed him even to his tomb ; the love of his children
has jealously watched over his memory and has illu
minated his brow with the halo of the Saints.
The secret virtue that emanated from him and re
vealed his heart, was goodness. This man, at first view,
apparently austere and hard, was kind ; one felt that he
was good, therefore lie was loved. He always had kind
thoughts, and always believed in the good faith and
intentions of his neighbours. He was never worried
either by jealousy or oversensitiveness; his self-love
was never saddened by the good accomplished by others,
but, quite the contrary, it gladdened his apostolic
heart; and he was the first to congratulate the success
ful workers; whenever any one failed in respect to him,
instead of being offended by the sharp words or the
unkind behaviour, he made himself more obliging and
courteous to those who had thus forgotten themselves.
Above all things, lie showed the kindness of his heart
in his generosity. What did he not sacrifice for the
love of souls? He renounced his fortune to become
like his Brothers; he gave the whole of his time for
forty years to the work of the schools; he exhausted
his strength in unremitting labours and in merciless
mortifications. In imitation of St. Paul, he expended
all his resources and immolated himself for souls. If
lofty conceptions are the apanage of powerful minds,
the generous giving of one s self and the making of
heroic sacrifices are the characteristics of great souls.
We willingly avow, however, that all John Baptist De
La Salle s actions were characterized by his strength of
230 THE MAN
will. But, though this will power was very strong in
him, yet il never concealed the heart, which was its
source and .aliment. Love was the motive power that
caused him to undertake so many works; for, according
to Holy Writ, " Love is strong as death. "
What is still more astonishing, and what appears the
most heroic in the life of the Servant of God, is the
wonderful consistency of his thoughts, and the invin
cible perseverance which he brought to their realiza
tion. A simple transitory act of courage is within the
reach of every generous man ; but to keep one s self for
forty years on the same path , strewed with all kinds of
obstacles, and to advance therein without ever faltering,
shows that such a man must have possessed uncommon
firmness of will. On several occasions, John Baptist
humbly declared that, if he had known at the beginning
how far he would be drawn, and to what martyrdom he
was devoting himself, he should never have undertaken
the work of the schools. But God developed in him,
in proportion as it was required, that strength which
he had not at first, so that his magnanimity was never
unequal to the task.
It would seem that each day brought him some new
disappointment on the part of his Brothers ; sometimes
they were decimated by sickness, sometimes cast down
with discouragement, or wearied with their religious
practices; at other times some would abandon their
schools at the moment when their presence was the
most necessary ; several of those upon whom he had
built the greatest hopes betrayed him and turned
against him. All this mattered little to him personally.
He pitied the deserters, and together with those Avho
remained faithful, he courageously continued the work
HIS MORAL CHARACTER 231
God had given him to do. Sometimes ecclesiastical
authorities placed difficulties in his way, and even those
whom he considered protectors, often turned persecu
tors; rival masters madly contrived his ruin hy sacking
his schools, and by obtaining from the civil authorities
his condemnation. Even all this availed nothing ! He
hoped against all hope, and, as long as he had the
breath of life, he continued to work for the children
of the poor. Who shall enumerate all the moments of
harrowing anguish in his long and painful existence!
Yet, in spite of all these difficulties and obstacles, John
Baptist never deviated for an instant from what he con
sidered his path of duty. When he was away in the
South , and while his calumniators tried to convince the
Brothers of the North that he had deserted them, he
was living and working only for his Brothers and
among them. If after the violent persecution at Mar
seilles he hesitated for a moment, he soon found him
self on the right path again, after having prayed in his
dear solitude of the Sainte-Baume.
He was as impregnable as a wall of brass before all
who attacked his works or tried to modify his Rules.
What more firm and logical than his Memorial to
M. Baudrand on the Brothers dress ! The Bishop of
Chart res, Godet Des Marais, counted in vain on the
influence of his friendship to transform the Constitu
tions of the Institute; the founder listened respectfully,
but continued to maintain the practices of which long
experience had shown him the necessity. M. De La Che-
tardye, who considered him weak because he was kind,
thought it opportune to meddle with the. government of
the Brothers; the Saint preserved his usual calm attitude,
conceded nothing, and preserved his community, if not
232 THE MAN
from all anxiety, at least from all dangerous innovations.
While, in general, his charity rendered him conde
scending, yet when there was question of principle, he
was unyielding; he would never consent to send a Broth
er alone, nor admit that the Brothers should attend
to works foreign to their vocation, such as fill the office
of clerics or of sacristans in the parisli churches of
their schools; he insisted that the pupils should be
admitted gratuitously to the schools, lie guaranteed
community life for the Brothers by prescribing solitude
and exercises of piety for them.
The Rules which he composed bear the stamp of
this firmness, and everything they contain is ordered
with the view of preserving and developing the strength
of the soul. By faithfully observing them, not as
though they were idle formalities but as exercises of the
moral life, the Brothers will form their character on that
of their father, and will contract habits of regularity,
mortification and constant application by which their
ministry will be benefited.
If now, instead of considering the superior, we fix
our gaze on the private life of the man, we shall witness
the same force and logic in the acts of the will. He was
severe on his senses, and this austerity continued all
his life; he was given to long prayers, and he never
departed from this practice; the inclination he had for
the lowest place remained with him to the end. His
inviolable fidelity to God and to his conscience secretly
prepared him for that religious tenacity which he
brought to the government of his works.
CHAPTER XI.
THE CHRISTIAN
A man is never more a man than when lie is a good
Christian, and, we are pleased to say it, if John Baptist
De La Salle presented such noble and regular character
istics, it was because grace, in him, had admirably
repaired and transformed human nature. If it is true
that all virtues are Christian, because no good act is
accomplished in us without the aid of grace, there are
some, however, that are more properly Christian vir
tues, either because they have an object and a principle
exclusively supernatural, or because they have been
particularly taught us by Jesus Christ. Of this class are
the virtues that prompt and sustain the ascension of
the soul to God, such as faith, hope, charity and reli
gion ; and those others that facilitate our onward march,
by detaching us from earthly goods and ties, sensual
pleasures and self-will. By the practice of them, our
Saint attained the summit of Christian perfection.
234 THE CHRISTIAN
HIS FAITH AND LIFE OF FAITH
Faitli is a belief and a principle of life : a belief, by
which our mind gives its adhesion to all the revealed
truths proposed by the Church; a principle of life, by
which our soul receives from God the supernatural
graces that purify our intentions and sanctify our
actions. Faith must be pure, and the spirit of faith
must be active and practical. Such is the double point
of view under which the faith of John Baptist De La
Salle is presented to us.
He watched with jealous zeal over the integrity of his
faith, and his watchful solicitude guarded his commu
nity from all the occasions that might have endangered
the faith of the Brothers. He was chiefly on his guard
against the errors of Quietism and Jansenism, which at
the end of the seventeenth century excited men s minds
and put such divisions among them.
An ecclesiastic called his attention one day to a
sentence in the Brothers prayers which appeared to
savour of quietism : " I protest to Thee, my God,
that I would not cease to love Thee, even should there
be no other life after this to hope for. " Though the
observation was groundless, as the words in question
had no connection whatever with the condemned pro
positions in the book of the Maxime.s des Saints, yet
John Baptist modified the prayer, so much did he take
to heart that there should be no suspicion of his faith or
of his perfect submission to the Church.
He had above all to be on his guard against Jansenism.
HIS FAITH AND LIFE OF FAITH 235
For the abettors of this subtle heresy, which glided
craftily into souls under the cover of austere disci
pline, and had already gained many a partisan among
the clergy, tried to make it penetrate the soul of
John Baptist also, and to win over to their party a man
that was equally conspicuous for the holiness of his life
and the fruitfulness of his apostolate. But he did not
allow himself to be trapped in the snares that had been
cunningly set for him ; he indignantly scorned the
offers of money that were made him on condition of his
joining the Jansenist party ; he permitted the ruin of
his novitiate at Marseilles rather than keep it up at the
price of a suspicion being entertained with regard to
the purity of his faith. In presence of the decisions of
the Church, a respectful silence seemed to him to be
entirely insufficient; so, when the Bull Unigenitus
appeared, he publicly gave his adhesion to the Pope s
word. And as he had the sorrow to see his brother,
the Canon Louis De La Salle, join the ranks of the
appellants, he broke off all intercourse with the refrac
tory Canon whom he had not been able to move by his
fraternal supplications.
Those who consulted him about the par. y they should
side with in the discussions that troubled men s minds
at that time, received the following simple reply : " He
who is united to the Chair of Peter is of my party. By
these words, St. Jerome explained that only those
who are attached to the chair of St. Peter are the true
party. " He encouraged all who defended the J>ull :
u I have heard with great pleasure ", he wrote to
M. Gense, the chief benefactor of the schools of Calais,
" of the zeal you display to defend religion, which is so
much troubled at present in this kingdom ; you are
236 THE CHRISTIAN
very desirous, Sir, that 1 should unite with you for this
object, since God lias given me the grace to be so
employed until now. I shall not fail to pray to Him very
earnestly that He may deign to bless your zealous
endeavours with entire success, in order that you may
raise up a barrier against all the attempts of Satan to
disturb the peace of the Church in these times. "
With regard to faith, he had no rule but that of
obedience to the teachings of the Church, and he
impressed this principle on the minds of his disciples
as a preservative against doctrinal seductions. " Attach
yourself universally to what is of faith, " he used to say
to them, " fly from novelties, follow the traditions of
the Church, receive what she receives, condemn what
she condemns, approve what she approves, either by
councils, or by Sovereign Pontiffs; render her prompt
obedience in all tilings. It is she who must make the
truth known to us, and we must accept it from her
mouth without doubt or examination. The only thing
we have to say to what she proposes is : / believe, without
any hesitation and without the slightest doubt about it. "
" All you have to do ", he repeats in several of his
works, " is to try to become better, employ all your
knowledge to acquit yourself well of your duties, and
to become virtuous ; and for the rest to say : I believe
all that the Church teaches, and I submit to what she
decides by the mouth of the Pope. "
As we see, the Church was not for John Uaptist a
sort of abstraction, but a reality in the person of the
Pope. It was for this reason that he could never admit
the subterfuges that would appeal from the Pope to the
Church. " The Pope ", he was accustomed to say,
" being the Vicar of Jesus Christ, the head of the
HIS FAITH AND LIFE OF FAITH 237
Church and the successor of St. Peter, has an authority
that extends over the entire Church : therefore he must
be regarded by all the faithful as their father. And you
especially, whose duty is to teach the Christian doctrine,
must honour the Pope as the holy shepherd of the
flock of the Church, respect all his teachings; and it
ought to be enough for you that something has come
from him to be submissive to it. "
This fidelity to the Roman iaitli was the Saint s preoc
cupation until his last hour; and in his last testament
he says, speaking to the Brothers : " And I recommend
them, above all things, to be entirely submissive to the
Church and especially in these unhappy times; and to
give proof of this by never being at variance in anything
with our Holy Father the Pope, always remembering
that I have sent two Brothers to Rome to beg of God
the grace that their Society may always be wholly sub
missive to the Holy See. "
It was not enough for John Baptist that faith should
govern his thoughts by the purity of his belief; it w T as,
besides, the principle of life that animated him; it
inspired his judgment and his words, sustained him in
his works, rendered him strong in all his trials and the
difficulties of his undertakings.
Through his lively faith God was sensibly present
with him, and he well expressed the sentiments of his
heart when he said to his disciples : " Have you vividly
represented to yourself God s omnipresence ; and have
you, through a sentiment of adoration, interiorly
humbled yourself at the consideration of this presence?
There is nothing more agreeable to a soul that loves
God, than this attention to His holy presence; have
238 THE CHRISTIAN
you, like David, taken your delight in this holy exercise?
Through respect for the presence of the infinitely great
God, have you been careful to observe suitable modesty,
proportioned to some degree to His greatness? Your
Rules enjoin you to adore God s holy presence in
all places; have you carefully done so wherever you
have been? It is true that the Saints see God face
to face as He is, but we see Him here below only
by faith; this view of faith gives so much pleasure
and happiness to the soul that loves God, that it enjoys
even in this life a foretaste of the delights of paradise.
Is this the advantage that your souls enjoy? "
In this way, John Baptist saw God, not like a some
thing in the abstract, but like a real, concrete friend,
always present at his side, always living in him. He
did not seek Him in the distance; to find Him, he
retired, by recollection, into the interior of his heart,
according to the words of Holy Writ : " The kingdom
of God is within you. By faith, Christ dwells in your
hearts. " John Baptist also adored the holy presence
in the persons with whom he conversed; the respect
that lie entertained for them sprang from God s presence
which he recognized in them as in a tabernacle. He
venerated Jesus Christ in the humblest of the Brothers
as in the most exalted ecclesiastical superiors : and
hence that modesty, that reserve, that deference,
and that religious respect, as if he had been always
in a holy place. Hence also the reason why he so
earnestly insisted, both in his conferences and in his
writings, that the Brothers should make themselves
familiar with the holy exercise of the presence of God,
which is a sovereign practice to promote advancement
in perfection.
HIS FAITH AiND LIFE OF FAITH 239
thus penetrated with God, John Baptist judged
all things by the supernatural light of faith : he longed
for what it promised, he feared what it commanded
to be feared 3 and finally, he esteemed whatever it
esteemed, and despised all that it despised. He loved
poverty, because it is commended by faith ; lie rejoiced
in sufferings and humilations, because faith proclaims
those blessed who weep and are calumniated. " Perse
cutions sanctified by patience", he used to say to the
Brothers, " and accepted willingly and joyfully, become
dear and precious, and are the richest jewels in the
crown of glory; and those who humiliate you only
help to enrich your crown. "
His instructions were impregnated with such a per
fume of faith, that all the hearers were embalmed
therewith. It was by faith that he enlivened all his
thoughts and ideas ; and even those that were suggested
by his strong, sound sense, seemed to come from
heaven, so much did he clothe and enlighten them with
supernatural light. It was faith that directed his enter
prises. Before executing any plan, he submitted it to
the test of faith, and he would then adopt it and put it
into execution in so far as it would concur to the glory
of God and the salvation of souls. He permitted no
human consideration to vitiate the intentions of his
heart, and when charity made it a duty to condescend to
men s wishes, he did so with the view of pleasing God
alone. In the same way as he recognized God in events,
and received as coming from His hands troubles and
consolations, so likewise were all his works undertaken
only for God. This is why his whole life was the
living application of the fundamental rule he gave his
Brothers : " The spirit of this Institute is a spirit of
240 THE CHRISTIAN
faith, which should induce those who compose it not
to look upon anything but with the eyes of faith , not
to do anything but in view of God, and to attribute all
to God, always entering into these sentiments of holy
Job : " The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away;
as it hath pleased the Lord, so is it done. "
HIS HOPE AND CONFIDENCE IN GOD
The lively faith of John Baptist opened his heart to
hope by fixing his attention on God. It gave him
such profound sentiments of God s intimate presence,
that his hope was less an aspiration to a distant and
inaccessible object than a deep respiration of the soul in
the divine atmosphere which enveloped and penetrated
him. However, as he saw and possessed God only-
through the shadows of faith, he ardently longed for the
broad daylight to behold Him face to face and to be in
perfect union with Him. If he had not found the means
of working for God and souls during his earthly career,
life in this world would have weighed on him as a
painful exile. For, apart from the cause of God and
the service of his neighbour, nothing had any interest
for him here below, and the sacrifice of life, so painful
for the majority of men, seemed not to cost him any
thing.
This was well seen during the several attacks of
sickness that brought him to the brink of the grave; he
preserved such tranquillity of mind, such resignation
to the Avill of God, and he even felt and manifested such
frank and serene happiness, that one was convinced
HIS HOPE AND CONFIDENCE IN GOD 241
that his soul was entirely detached from this world and
fixed only on heaven. He spoke enthusiastically of
heaven, as the goal of his most ardent desires : " What
a happiness for the Saints", he would say, " to be made
like to (lod, by the participation of His nature and
perfections !... Ah ! what a thrill of joy you will expe
rience, when you shall hear those whom you shall have
led, as it were by the hand, say to you at the judgment,
and repeat in heaven during eternity : " These men are
the servants of the great God, who have taught us the
way of salvation. 51
Rut it is not in the expectation of heaven that hope
has its most glorious triumphs : for we well know that
in heaven full justice will be done. The touchstone of
hope without restriction is confidence in God even for
the present time, and abandonment to His Providence
for all things even those concerning terrestrial interests.
Very rare, at least in practice, is the heartfelt conviction
that \ve are in the hands of God and not in those of
men, that it is God who guides us through the most
apparently contradictory events, and that it is the
greatest wisdom to believe in His paternal solicitude.
John Baptist placed unlimited confidence in the gui
dance of Providence. He did not dispense himself from
acting, under the pretext that God was acting for him;
for, in him, hope never favoured idleness. But when
lie had exhausted his personal efforts for the success of
any business, then, after the example of St. Ignatius
of Loyola, it was from God alone lie expected the happy
issue of the undertaking.
His unlimited confidence in God was the foundation
and source of that wonderful tranquillity of mind which
he manifested in the midst of the strangest contradic-
Life and Virtues.
242 THE CHRISTIAN
tions and most cruel sufferings. " By whom ", asks his
biographer, " was he not insulted and ridiculed,
calumniated and persecuted, condemned, betrayed or
abandoned? We see among his persecutors his relat
ives, friends, compatriots, benefactors, protectors, supe
riors, directors and his own children : who did not raise
the stone to throw it at him, or who did not see it cast
without coming to his assistance, or daring to declare
themselves in his favour? " If lie had not abandoned
himself entirely to God s holy will, lie would have
a hundred times given up the perilous career in which
he was engaged.
Everything seemed to thwart him : among his
disciples, some deserted him, others compromised his
work, others in fine, and these the best, were snapped
from him by death ; the members of his family who
considered themselves humiliated in him, gave him
great annoyance by shunning and as it were disowning
him ; he was not always understood by ecclesiastical
superiors, some of them criticised his Rules and tried
to modify the Constitutions of his Institute, and even
went so far as to depose him from his office of superior ;
liis rivals raided his schools, sacked them and de
nounced him to the civil authorities; the tribunals sided
with his adversaries, and condemned and loaded him
with odious accusations; he was outraged by all, the
people insulted him in the streets, some of his unfor
tunate disciples reproached him with being fitter to
destroy than to build up. And he, in the midst of this
torrent of trials that rolled over him, was always calm
and undisturbed, not that he was enveloped in the
cold passiveness of ancient stoicism , but he possessed
in a sublime degree the virtue of resignation that
HIS HOPE AND CONFIDENCE IN GOD 243
characterizes the sincere Christian. He one day gave
this reply to a Brother who discovered to him his fears
and discouragements : " Do you believe in the Gospel? "
And when he learned at Grenoble that very serious
attacks had been made on his Institute, his only
reply was : " May God be blessed ! if it is His work, He
will take care of it. " And lie was not disappointed in
his hope.
Even with regard to temporal necessities, lie could
say that Providence never deserted him. In the
beginning -of his work, and when deprived of all
resources, with what blind generosity he threw himself
into the arms of Providence ! Following the advice of
Father Barre, he sold what he possessed, and distributed
the proceeds to the poor. What could be more contrary
to human wisdom than this? For, since he was weal
thy, why did he not employ his riches to endow his
schools? No, he would not rely on the aid of men,
he would found his work on poverty ! Is there anything
more daring than this act of faith, that would construct
in empty space a building that was to exist? -But there
where men saw only emptiness, the eyes of faith of
John Baptist saw the all-powerful hand of God, and he
was convinced that he could not give a more solid
foundation to his works.
This absolute dependence on God, in which lie put
himself from the very opening of his career, always
protected him from uneasiness about temporal affairs.
He did not inquire : Who will feed and clothe us? His
heavenly Father knew his wants, that sufficed. And
that confidence, though it was a thousand times put to
the test, never deceived him. In the period of the
famine, when the richest communities had spent their
244 THE CHRISTIAN
resources and were lacking the very necessaries, Prov
idence supplied the wants of his community, and he
came forth from the terrible crisis without being in
debt and without having lost a single Brother, though
his door was always open for the poor and for those
who desired to make a spiritual retreat.
How often, when they saw themselves in extreme
want, were they not assisted as if by a miracle ! Out of
the numerous facts recorded by Blain, we will take
only one, which he found written in the Memorial kept
by the Brother bursar : " I often found myself", says the
Brother, " when in the Grand Maison in Paris, in want of
everything; at one time we had no bread, at another
time no meat, or not enough for the community. Then
I would go and acquaint the good father who always
told me to serve up what God gave me, and His goodness
would provide. And it did provide and abundantly
too, for, at the end of the meal, what remained was more
considerable than on the days when the portions of each
had been much larger; the cook and the bursar, who
had not given the half of what was necessary for more
than sixty persons, looked at each other in wondering
admiration, and asked each other if anybody had secretly
brought the necessary food. This kind of prodigy
occurred on three or four different occasions; it was
noticed that at these times, the good father passed nearly
the whole day in prayer. "
The father s confidence, especially when it was reward
ed with such prodigies, entered without difficulty into
the souls of his children. Besides, no other lesson came
so often from his lips ; he often used to say : " The more
we abandon ourselves to Providence, the more it will
be. attentive to let us want for nothing,.. Jesus Christ
HIS LOVE OF GOD -245
has charged Himself with providing for the subsistence
of those who have consecrated themselves to Him...
Fear nothing my dear Brothers, God never fails those
who put their confidence in Him. All tilings are
granted to faith and perfect confidence, even miracles,
when thev are necessarv. "
HIS LOVE OF GOD
< We are in this world only to love and please God.
Our love of God ought to he so absolute as to love
nothing but God or for God. " On the lips of John
Baptist De La Salle, these sayings were not empty, vain
words, for the love of God was the supreme rule of his
life, and the inspirer of all his works of zeal : the ardent
Jove of his heart enlightened his faith and his filial
confidence in God; and his abandonment to Providence,
arose from the fact of his looking up to God as his Father.
And as acts, more than words, demonstrate the power
of love, we should seek less in his discourses than in his
life the marks of that inclination full of love, which drew
him towards God.
A heart truly loves, when the object loved is ever
present to the thought, when its presence is agreeable
and its absence painful, when its name is often on our
lips, when it governs all our actions, and especially
when it enables us to face work and suffering bravely.
John Baptist s love of God was such, that it took all the
characteristics of a engrossing passion.
He was constantly penetrated with the thought of
God : he sought God everywhere, in men and in events;
246 THE CHRISTIAN
he found Him everywhere, even in his enemies. He
had such an attraction for the intimate intercourse of the
heart with God, that lie avoided, as much as his occupa
tions permitted, the noisy affairs of the world and all
conversation with men. His taste for solitude was not
the result of misanthropy : for if John Baptist s inclina
tion drew him into solitude, it was less to avoid men
than to possess God more surely. We know that com
munity life was very dear to him. With what care he
avoided distracting visits and all useless appearance
abroad ! When at home, he chose the most lonely and
inconvenient room, the one which would shelter him
best from the inevitable noise of even the best regu
lated communities. Then he would impose silence
on his imagination and senses, enter into the interior
of his heart, and there, in that silent and closed sanc
tuary he tasted God, united himself to God, and partook
of the life of God.
He believed in the powerful efficacy of silence, and
has left precious instructions on this subject. u Be most
exact in observing silence ", he wrote to a Brother,
" it is one of the chief points of regularity without
which a house falls into disorder. "
" Hold silence in great esteem ", he says in the
Short Treatises, " and observe it willingly, for it is
the guardian of all virtues and an obstacle to all vices,
since it prevents detraction, uncharitable, untruthful,
and unbecoming language. A man who is not reserved
in speech, cannot become spiritual, and be sure that
a certain means of rapidly attaining perfection is to
avoid sins of the tongue. " Then he adds : " Always
strive to unite interior with exterior silence. Forget
created things to think only of God and His holy pres-
HIS LOVE OF GOD 247
ence. " This is the kind of silence ", he wrote to a
pious person, that ought to be the portion of a soul
that is really solitary and separated from the love of the
world; it must be tranquil and silent, because it is the
means to rise incessantly above itself; and there is
nothing more dangerous for the soul than to allow itself
to be turned a\vay from this divine conversation and
brought down to the level of men. "
It was that he might enjoy this divine conversation
that he loved to envelop himself in silence. Then his
interior activity fully displayed itself, for his prayer was
an exercise of the mind, the heart and the will, at the
same time : he looked, but with what attention! he loved,
but with what ardour! he directed his energy towards
action, but with what generosity! He passed several
hours each day in mental prayer, and often whole
nights were consecrated to the same holy exercise;
while travelling, his prayer was continuous. One day,
as he was going from Rheims to Paris, he begged his
companion to walk ahead a little as he was going to
recite his Office; and as soon as he began to pray, he
fell into a kind of rapture, while he remained standing
with his face turned up in ecstasy to heaven. His
companion, no longer hearing him, returned, and,
pulling him by the robe, he awoke him out of his
rapture; the Saint then said to him in a gentle tone of
voice : " I had told you to walk on ahead. "
It would be incredible that a man who spent so
many hours in prayer, could have been able to realize
so many important works, and direct with such minute
care so many masters and schools, if we did not know
that, when we pray, God works for us and with us, and
the light and strength received from our contact with
248 THE CHRISTIAN
God advance our affairs mucli better than our own
feverish agitation and sterile efforts could do.
Convinced by personal experience of the efficacy of
prayer, John Baptist made it the central organ of the
religious life of his disciples. " The Brothers of this
Institute should have a great love for the holy exercise
of mental prayer, and they should look on it as the first
and principal of their daily exercises, and the one
which is most capable of drawing down the blessing of
God on all the others. " "Be all the more faithful
to mental prayer ", he wrote one day, " as you feel
God on the one hand calling you to it, and the devil
on the other making all possible efforts to turn you
from it. "
He loved God so purely, that he was ready to forego
the sweets of mental prayer to work for His glory ; for
his love was as active as it was contemplative. He
felt that uneasiness of heart which St. Paul felt in the
midst of an idolatrous city; and if he founded so many
schools and formed so many masters, and endowed the
works of education with a Christian spirit, it Avas
because it afflicted him to see the poor abandoned to
ignorance and vice, and the numbers of children grow
ing up without knowing or loving God, and because
the great desire of his heart was to preserve for the God
whom he loved His empire over the world and souls.
Provided God was better loved by one soul more, lie
would have spent his time, faced perils, sacrificed his
very life for this object. What encouraged and sustained
him in the midst of so many cruel tribulations, and
rendered him constant in the path that God had opened
for him was the certitude of accomplishing the will of
God, and the desire to imprint God s holy name on the
HIS LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST 249
tender hearts of the children that came to him. If he
was regardless of himself in trials, it was for the better-
defence of the cause of God.
He was accustomed to say that " one of the best means
to acquire and preserve divine love, is to suffer much,
and to suffer cheerfully." He endured so many tribula
tions, that his life \vas only a long tissue of sufferings.
He expressed his love of sufferings, when from his
heart there came forth this exclamation : " How happy
one is, when one has the advantage of suffering and
dying in working to gain souls to God. "
It was his desire to draw all his disciples along this
way of love. To those who seemed lacking courage,
lie said : " Does not God well deserve that you do
violence to yourself for His love? " Sometimes in em
bracing them, he would exhort them with these words :
" What! would you not wish to do that for the love of
God? " " My dear Brothers ", he would often repeat,
" desire nothing but God, seek nothing but God, fill
yourself with the spirit of God. May His love ever
reign in your hearts; may He be the principle of all
vour intentions and the centre of all \ our desires. "
JUS LOVE OF JESUS CHIUST
" No man cometh to the Father but by me. " John
Baptist had the greatest possible respect for these
words of Our Lord, and to show that he did not despise
them, he shunned the paths of the false mystics of his
time, and resolutely took the God made man as the
H*
250 THE CHRISTIAN
only way marked out to go to God the pure spirit. The
knowledge that God, by an excess of His love in taking
flesh, had put Himself tangibly within our reach, made
him too happy ever to think of neglecting the holy
humanity of Jesus Christ. This concrete God whom
men saw and heard, whom the ancient patriarchs and
prophets had ardently desired, and who was adored by
the Christians of all ages and of the most civilized
nations as their Saviour, this " God with us " made
his heart beat with a burning love, so that he was never
able to speak of Him without betraying a more intense
feeling of soul than when he spoke on any other subject.
It was his wish that the lirst sound heard in the morn
ing, in every community, and at the termination of the
daily exercises should be these words : Live Jesus In
our hearts ! For ever !
Jesus was the friend to whom he had sacrificed, or at
least subordinated all others; because in his friends he
saw only Jesus and was attached to them only for the
sake of Jesus; and in the absence of friendship which
often falls to the lot of those who govern, and this was
particularly the case with John Baptist, Jesus was his
faithful friend, the friend into whose heart he poured
all his troubles, the friend who fills poor downcast souls
with a drop of that joy without which no man can live
liolily. Jesus was for him a Saviour, not only by the
Redemption operated on Calvary for all men, but by that
personal aid which dissipates all the anguish of the mind
and remedies the moral weakness of each particular
soul. Jesus was by right of conquest bis sovereign Lord,
and to His counsels and precepts he was always
obedient and devoted. Jesus was his Master, his only
Master, and he, as an attentive disciple, received the
HIS LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST 251
imprint of His lessons, His ideas, and His sentiments,
like soft wax.
For this reason he had a respect mingled with ado
ration for the Gospel, which contains the words of
Jesus Christ. Whatever attraction lie felt for the
Fathers and the great mystics, the Gospel was his
favourite reading; he even desired that the Brothers
should have for their use the translation of the New
Testament, and read a page of it each day. And as the
soul of a hook, if it has one, passes into the mind and
soul of the reader, lie hoped, and with reason, that the
assiduous reading of the Gospel would till the minds and
souls of the Brothers with the* soul of Jesus, because a
sovereign virtue emanates from these divine pages,
which leads those whose hearts are penetrated with it to
holiness. Notwithstanding their simplicity, they reveal
Christ in such radiant beauty and superhuman trans
cendency, that the mind, attracted by His grandeur,
prostrates itself, and cries out in a transport of faith :
" Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God. " These
pages present us with the perfect model for a Christian,
Jesus conversing among men and accomplishing the
work of His Father; His manner of judging things
ought to be ours, His words should give the tone and
spirit to our conversations, His actions should trace the
direction of our efforts.
John Baptist had above all things, a great and sincere
devotion to the sacred mysteries of Our Saviour.
Faithful to the impulsion that he had received at Saint-
Sulpice, he considered the Christian, and still more the
priest, as the continuator of the works and virtues of
Jesus Christ. According to the beautiful expression of
252 THE CHRISTIAN
St. Paul, alluding to himself, he accomplished the
work of Christ. " Who now rejoice in rny sufferings
for you, and fill up those things that are wanting of the
sufferings of Christ, in my flesh for his body, which is
the Church. " Thus was his body offered to suffering,
his heart to religion and charity, and his will to obe
dience and humility. In this way, Jesus lived in him,
and his watchful attention was never to say or do any
thing that Avould be unworthy of Jesus.
It was especially in the mysteries of the childhood
and passion that he loved to unite himself with Jesus.
He had, together with the most celebrated persons
of the seventeenth century, a tender devotion to the
Infant Jesus ; and it was his delight to recite every day
the litanies of the Holy Name of Jesus and of the Divine
Child. On Christmas day, he was completely absorbed
in the contemplation of the Infant of Bethlehem, and,
as long as he had a junior novitiate, he loved to as
semble on that day the youngest of his religious family
to consecrate himself and them to the Holy Infant Jesus.
His devotion to Jesus suffering was not less ardent.
The crucifix was for him, as it was for St. Francis of
Assisi, the divine book in which he learned the value of
humiliations, and whence he drew his love for the rebuffs
and scorn heaped on him by the world. He penetrat
ed himself profoundly with the sufferings and passion
of Jesus, and took pleasure in reciting the litany of
the Passion every day; the example of Our Saviour
encouraged him to support with joy the insults and
opprobrium with which the world loaded him.
What spoke to his heart even better than the Gospel
and the Crucifix, was the Holy Eucharist; because,
under the fragile species of bread and wine, he felt the
HIS LOVE FOR THE HOLY EUCHARIST 253
personal presence of his Redeemer and his God. With
what eagerness he went to meet or visit his Master ! The
hours that he passed before the Most Blessed Sacrament
always appeared too short, and he often prolonged them
into the night. In the presence of the source of divine
love, his heart Avas inflamed, his countenance shone
with the light of ecstasy, and his sighs and moans would
arouse to lively piety the most lukewarm souls.
As long as he had strength enough, he never failed
to say Holy Mass every morning; his will gave such
strength to his frail members, at the time of his greatest
sufferings, that they seemed indulgent for the express
purpose of permitting him to celebrate Mass. He would
never begin the Holy Sacrifice till after a long prepara
tion; and during the celebration, the recitation of the
prayers, the movements that the priest makes at the
altar, the attitude which shows the interior sentiments,
all these , in John Baptist, were majestic and grave,
pious and tender. Holy Communion produced in him
a sort of spiritual rapture, which rendered him incapable
of attending to any business until after a long time
spent in acts of thanksgiving. " When M. De La Salle
descended from the altar where lie had just said Mass",
said an eye witness, " I often saw him enter the sacristy
quite beside himself and so transported with the
love of God, that he was unable to unvest till he had
rested himself for at least a quarter of an hour. I was
afraid to disturb him during that time, lest I might
withdraw him from the satisfaction which he appeared
to enjoy in his intercourse with God. "
It will be easily understood that he desired to initiate
his Brothers in the happy experience of the divine gift,
and that, contrary to the Jansenist tendency which kept
254 THE CHRISTIAN
so many souls away i rom the Holy Eucharist, he
exhorted them to approach the Holy Communion fre
quently. To those who abstained on account of slight
imperfections, he used to say : " Go, my dear Brother,
approach the physician, and, after having made known
your miseries, ask him to cure you. " If any one
excused himself through lack of fervour, he would say-
to him : " Go, then, and communicate to be made
fervent. "
However, he could not understand that any one would
blindly direct souls to the holy table, and he kept back
the presumptuous, who communicated without living
more holily, with just as much care as he encouraged
the timid who , through an excess of delicacy, abstained
from Holy Communion. To keep alive in his disciples
love with salutary fear, he gave them the most profitable
counsels.
" It would be a great abuse and sad disorder of soul,
if the frequency of Communion were to diminish your
fervour. On the contrary , nothing disposes us so well
for the next, as the previous Communion ; and if we do
not resist the grace received in this Sacrament, our
hunger is sated without removing the desire of receiv
ing anew, just as heavenly glory so satisfies the Bless
ed, that they never lose the desire of seeing God; and
after having beheld Him a million of years, they desire
as much to see Him as if they had but just entered
heaven. Are such your desires with regard to Holy
Communion? It is well, at Holy Communion and during
thanksgiving, to recall what we find most difficult in
the service of God, and say to ourselves : Behold! God
gives Himself to you; will you not give yourself entirely
to Him? And since this difficulty is the only obstacle,
HIS LOVE FOR THE MOST BLESSED VIRGIN 255
will you not overcome it through love for Him? Will
you not make Him this sacrifice through the respect
you have lor Him? Doubtless, you would not dare to
rei use. It is thus that we must urge and gently over
come ourselves. "
HIS LOVE FOR THK MOST BLESSED VIRGIN
ST. JOSEPH AND THE OTHER SAINTS
John Baptist s love for Jesus followed Him wherever
he recognized Him present and acting. His spirit of
faith discovered Jesus in the Saints, since they are the
most noble and most active members of the mystic body
of Christ, which includes the Church in heaven, and
the Church on earth. Such was the foundation of his
love for the Saints.
The Queen of Saints held the first place in his heart.
He honoured her " as the tabernacle and living temple
that God had built for Himself, and adorned with His
own J lands. " He meditated with joy on all her mys
teries, and took lilial complacency in the wealth of
graces which God had bestowed on her. " AVas she
not elevated ", he said, " incomparably above all crea
tures, when she became the temple of God by conceiv
ing the Son of God? It is then with reason that these
words of the psalm cxxxi are applied to her : " God
hath chosen her for His dwelling, " and these others :
" Thy temple is holy. " The Abbot Rupert goes still
further, saying that from the moment that the Holy
Ghost descended into the Most Blessed Virgin to operate
the conception of the Son of God, she became entirely
256 THE CHRISTIAN
beautified with a divine beauty. This is why St.
Bernard says that we should honour the Most Holy
Virgin with the tenderest devotion, since God filled her
with the plenitude of all good, when He enclosed the
divine Word Himself within her womb.
The tenderness of his devotion to Mary urged him,
from the very beginning, to confide his work to her
protection ; for in 1084, on the morning following the
emission of the first vows, he conducted the Brothers
on a pilgrimage to Notre-Dame-de-Liesse, to place the
rising Institute as a child into the arms of its mother.
This sanctuary of Liesse was very dear to him ; when
visiting his schools, he would stop there to pass long
hours in prayer. It was to Mary that he had recourse
in all his difficulties : when persecuted and humiliated,
lie would go and throw himself at her feet ; before under
taking any important work, he placed it under her
direction; if he was glad, lie made her a sharer in his
gladness by his filial thankfulness. He always termin
ated his prayers and, in fact, all his actions with a
prayer to the Most Blessed Virgin, usually the Sub
tuum presidium; his last prayer of the day was also
a prayer to Mary, Maria, Mater gratiic. The more
the heretics cried down the devotion of the Bosary, the
dearer it became to him : all his free moments were
employed in the recitation of his beads; and he gloried
in carrying them ostensibly.
The Institute preserves the stamp of his great love
for Mary; prayers to the Most Blessed Virgin hold an
honourable place in it; the holy rosary is frequently
recited, and her feasts kept with solemnity; the Broth
ers go to Mary in all their pressing needs, and place
in her their most childlike confidence.
HIS LOVE FOR THE SAINTS 257
John Baptist s heart was attracted in a very particular
manner to the devotion to St. Joseph. He wished
that St. Joseph should be for his Institute what he was
for the Holy Family, its chief and protector; for he
hoped that since the Institute resembled the Holy Fam
ily at Nazaretli by its poverty, simplicity and work, it
would gain the sympathy and protection of St. Jo
seph. Moreover, his spirit of faith, which saw Jesus
present in the children, made him desire that the Broth
ers should be worthy to conduct them as Joseph had
been to conduct the Child Jesus; and for this end, he
wished that they should honour and invoke St. Joseph
as their model and inspirer.
But what especially touched him in St. Joseph , was
his perfect abandonment to Providence, his prompt
obedience lo the voice of God, his submission in the
midst of difficulties, his love of a hidden and obscure
life : all these virtues formed John Baptist s personal
ideal, and it was his daily preoccupation to form his
Brothers on them. With these sentiments, and not
content with the practices he had adopted for his own
personal use, and also counselled to the Brothers, he
decided that St. Joseph should be the patron and
protector of the Institute, that his feast should be cel
ebrated with all possible solemnity, that the Brothers
should be very careful to inspire their pupils with a
special devotion to the chaste guardian of Jesus and
Mary. His disciples, faithful to so earnest a recom
mendation, have always put St. Joseph in the place of
honour in their schools and colleges.
John Baptist s love extended to all the Saints of the
heavenly court. He took pleasure in reading the lives
of the Saints, and in causing them to be read, and he
258 THE CHRISTIAN
established the practice of speaking during recreation
about the lite of the Saint that had been read at table.
In speaking of the Brothers, he says: " They shall
converse on the lives of the Saints, especially those
who were the most remarkable for the spirit of the In
stitute, and also of such as had been noted for their morti
fication and zeal for the salvation of their neighbour. "
He had however a special devotion to the following
Saints : St. John Baptist, his patron, whom he admired
for his innocence and spirit of penance, his love of
solitude and prayer; the Apostles, whose zeal and
holy ardour he so much desired to have; St. Peter and
St. Paul, whom he venerated as the immovable pill
ars of the Holy Church; St. John the Evangelist,
whose strong, loving soul ravished him; St. Ignatius
of Antioch, whose immortal words : " I am the wheat of
Christ; when I shall be ground by the teeth of the beasts,
I shall become a bread without a stain, " excited his
ardour; St. Cassian, the martyred schoolmaster, whom
he loved to propose as a model for his Brothers.
He felt himself powerfully drawn towards the found
ers of Religious Orders, such as St. Francis of Assisi,
St. Dominic, St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Philip Neri and
St. Teresa, whose favours and prayers he implored
for his Institute. Zealous missionaries , such as
St. Francis Xavier and St. Vincent Ferrer, animated his
zeal for the salvation of souls. The thought of the
Saints of more modern times, St. Francis De Sales and
St. Charles Borromeo, was particulary dear to him, as
if their presence had not yet been entirely effaced, and
as if he had inhaled the atmosphere impregnated with
the perfume of their virtues.
His piety, ever open to the light and inspirations of
HIS SPIRIT OF RELIGION 259
faith, did not make him forget the Angels. He cher
ished a special devotion to St. Michael, the chief of
the heavenly militia, and he often invoked him during
the grave assaults he suffered for the glory of God. As to
the Guardian Angels, lie respected and invoked them,
and taught the Brothers the art of communing inti
mately with them. Are not the Brothers the visible
angels of the children? Do they not work for the same
end as the Guardian Angels, that is to say, for the eternal
salvation of souls? Now, is it not just and proper, and
even necessary that fellow -workers should understand
one another, help one another, and that one should
not undertake anything that could destroy the influence
of the others? So the visible masters ought, before they
speak or act, to pray to the invisible masters and con
sult them whose mission tliev desire to facilitate.
HIS SPIRIT OF RELIGION
The virtue of religion is the most authentic expres
sion of our love of God and the Saints. Under its im
petus, we are drawn to give them the honours of exterior
worship, and, instead of concentrating within our
souls the feelings of tenderness and devotion that we
have for them, to proclaim by holy ceremonies that ttiey
are worthy of all homage and praise.
However great John Baptist s taste for praying to God
and the Saints in mental prayer was, his ardent zeal
could not dispense with those exterior manifestations by
which love is pleased to express and maintain itself.
Therefore worship supplied the lively desire of his
260 THE CHRISTIAN
heart. He did not take pleasure in it like a child whose
senses are satisfied with what is noble and sacred; he
rejoiced, because it honoured God, and also, because it
was to our weakness an image of the infinite homage
that the Angels and Saints give to God in heaven; more
over, he saw in exterior worship an effective manner of
preaching which often gains souls quicker to God than
all the arguments of preachers.
Full of these ideas of the propriety and usefulness of
sacred worship, lie applied himself with an entirely reli
gious spirit to the liturgical ceremonies. By a special
grace of religion, he was inclined in his childhood to
the divine ceremonies; for, as has already been said,
he had not at that early age a sweeter joy than to be in
church and serve at the altar. When, at the age of
seventeen, he became a Canon, he was for his colleagues
a model of regularity, modesty and piety. When he
was ordained priest, despite his love of simplicity in all
things, he did not think that his oratory could be too
rich, nor the vestments too costly; and, throughout his
life, this poor priest of God was prodigal when there
was question of rendering honour to the sacrament of
the Eucharist.
To have a satisfactory idea of his spirit of religion, it
was necessary to see him at the altar. Blain, his biogra
pher and friend, who had so often seen him celebrate Mass,
does not hesitate to say that : " If Calvin, Beza and the
other heretics had witnessed him in the act of offering
the holy sacrifice, or if they had not seen any other priest
in the sanctuary, they would have burned what they
had written against the real presence of Jesus in the
Most Blessed Sacrament, and condemned themselves as
guilty of heresy ; or at least they would have been
HIS SPIRIT OF RELIGION 261
unable to spread their errors among so many of their
followers, if the Holy Mass had always been celebrated
before their eyes in the manner in which it was by
M. De La Salle. Who ever saw any one, during this
august action, more penetrated with the greatness and
grandeur of the dread sacrilice he was offering, or more
united to Him who immolated Himself, or more humble
in the presence of the Supreme Being to whom He was
offered, or more attentive to the mysteries wrought, or
more recollected and concentrated in God, or, in fine,
one that was more devout during the sacred liturgy?
I do not tire of repeating it: he appeared at the altar not
as a man, but as a seraph; there he was in some sort
clothed in the appearance that the Blessed will always
have in heaven; he seemed to participate in advance
in the glorious qualities of the resuscitated bodies.
His countenance usually became quite inflamed,
and betimes, even luminous, and sent forth rays of
devotion, that inspired and roused the coldest souls. "
He entertained and always showed the greatest
respect for the holy places on account of God s
presence therein. " When he entered a church ", says
his biographer, " his modesty, reverence and holy fear
struck those who saw him, and, by reminding them of
the respect due to the holy place, he seemed to reproach
them with their little faith and their want of religion in
the presence of the great God whom they had come to
adore. When lie was in a church, his spirit of religion
betrayed and revealed him,... because the eye was
never tired of looking at this priest, who manifested, in
the house of God, the devotion of a saint and the mod
esty of an angel.
" When he saw any lack of reverence for the Majesty
262 THE CHRISTIAN
before whom he trembled, he seemed to forget all his
meekness, and rebuked, without regard for persons,
those who were wilfully distracted and irreverent.
Whenever he saw others violate the silence, modesty
and respect which the presence of the Son of God re
siding on our altars requires, he entered into a holy
indignation, and showed his sorrow and pain on behold
ing creatures forget, under the very eyes of their Crea
tor, the reverence that is due to Him, and would say
to them in a severe but charitable tone : " Do you not
know that you are in the house of God? " And when
any of the Brothers were reprehensible on this point,
he called attention to their fault, and publicly corrected
them when it was necessary, in order to remind them,
so that they might not forget, of the grand sentiments
of religion which he had impressed on them by his
words and example. "
He had so well succeeded in communicating his own
spirit of religion, that at Ghartres the devout demean
our of the Brothers was sufficient to restore a reverent
behaviour in the churches in which they were present
for the divine offices, and in Paris the pupils marched
through the streets and prayed in the church with so
much piety that the faithful often stopped to observe
them and by this sight reanimate their own spirit of
faith.
John Baptist, seeing God everywhere present, was
profoundly recollected everywhere, which is but the
outward expression of the religious respect due to God.
He was careful on all occasions to exhibit this exterior
mark of piety which characterizes interior souls, and
which showed that he was always occupied with the
HIS SPIRIT OF RELIGION 263
divine Majesty. He never entered a house without
making an act of adoration of the presence of God in
that place.
He said his breviary kneeling, and rarely standing
or walking, and always uncovered, no matter how
inclement the season might be : during this time, he
appeared to be absorbed in the beauties of the divine
office and to be delighted to be united to Jesus Christ
and the Church to praise the divine Majesty in the
name of men; he would then abandon himself to those
happy transports which the Holy Ghost operates in souls
that wholly correspond with grace.
When he said the office of the Most Blessed Virgin with
the novices, it was always like them , uncovered, standing,
and never leaning against anything; and if he thought
he had made a mistake, he went just like the youngest
amongst them, and prostrated himself in the middle of
the oratory.
" He desired ", continues his biographer, " that all
the places set apart for prayer should be scrupulously
clean, and that no one should enter but with respect.
He loved to see the churches decorated and the altars
well ornamented, so that the beauty and magnificence of
the sanctuaries might give some idea of the grandeur
of the God who is therein adored , and of the mysteries
that are there wrought. "
It afflicted him to see private residences more sump
tuous than our churches, and vile creatures come
to parade their pomp at the foot of the altar, as if to
insult, by their luxury and magnificence, the poverty
of Him who reigns in heaven. This same spirit of
religion inspired him with great veneration for all
holy things, relics, sacred vessels, and pictures, as
264 THE CHRISTIAN
well as for all other things that had been separated
from the profane, by some special blessing, and par
ticularly holy water, which he used continually : a
practice which the Brothers have preserved as a sacred
custom.
HIS CHARITY FOR HIS NEIGHBOUR
According to theologians, it is the same virtue of
charity that urges us to love and serve God and our
neighbour. So it is not surprising that John Baptist,
who was drawn towards God by so powerfull a move
ment of love, was likewise inclined towards men by a
most cordial compassion and generous devotedness.
Once again, was this observed fact verified in his person,
that the more the heart is given to God, the more it
belongs to men ; and that the love of God, far from devel
oping egotism, destroys even its very roots, and causes
Christian charity to spring up in its stead.
John Baptist had, in all his relations with men, no
regard for self, hut always thought of his neighbour.
With what solicitude, for example, he watched over his
religious family ! He foresaw all the needs of the Broth
ers and had all their wants supplied at the proper time.
In his compassion, he felt their troubles, and, on several
occasions, he travelled during the night to console a
suffering Brother; if he chanced to be in a community
that was too poor to provide a convenient bed for the
sick, he would with paternal kindness give up his own to
alleviate the suffering of a sick Brother. He humbled
himself to render them the lowest services, because he
HIS CHARITY FOR HIS NEIGHBOUR 265
loved them as his children, whose health was dearer to
him than his own. Though he was very humble, even
in things concerning his Institute, he always defended
his Brothers against unkind insinuations: besides, it
was a common practice with him to hide the faults of
others and to protect the reputation of those who were
the butt of slander or calumny, so that he gained the
sympathy that we instinctively have for those who, we
feel, will always protect our good name.
He did not confine his charity within narrow limits ;
his compassion embraced all whom he saw suffering.
" Those who applied to him for assistance ", says his
biographer, " were always received charitably, with a
pleasing countenance and a sincere affection... To
instruct the poor, to console the afflicted, to visit the
sick and aid the wretched, were exercises which charity
rendered pleasing to him, and taught him to perform
so as to make them full of sweetness for those who
were the objects of them. There was no species of
sickness or wretchedness that did not lose in his eyes
all that might be loathsome or disagreeable about it.
He never allowed it to appear that he felt the least
repugnance either for the nature of the sickness or
the character of the patient. It was not through insen
sibility; but the spirit of charity, united to mortification,
permitted no sign of the least unpleasant impression to
escape from him. "
His kind heart was always guided by sentiments of
faith. " For ", continues his biographer, " as he loved
his neighbour but for God, he paid no attention to his
fine qualities or talents, to his condition, whether he
was graceful, or sympathetic, or possessed conformity of
feelings, or whether lie could expect or hope for anything
Life and Virtues. 12
26G THE CHRISTIAN
from him; not one of these motives guided his actions,
because he loved his neighbour with purity of intention,
without excess or attachment, without danger, without
inconstancy and without regard to persons, in short, in
a manner worthy of God, and capable of honouring
Jesus Christ, who thus loved us. " This purity of in
tention in charity, far from rendering it cold or com
monplace, gave it, on the contrary, a power which sur
passes all natural pretensions. And we can easily
convince ourselves of all this without going beyond the
life of our Saint.
This spirit of faith filled his charity with generosity ;
not content with assisting the poor, he would even seek
and honour them; during the famine, he distributed
his rich patrimony among them; there was always a
corner for guests in his poverty-stricken house, and
always bread for those who were reduced to hold out
the hand. He lavished his prayers and penances not
less abundantly than his alms: of all those long hours
given to silent, secluded prayer and merciless macera
tions, how many were not undertaken for the conver
sion of this or that sinner, or for the sanctification of
this or that religious, or for the success of some good
work! He believed in the profound influence of per
sonal immolation united to that of Jesus Christ, and, in
consequence, he became the victim of his personal
charity.
It was also the spirit of faith that tempered his charity
with energy enough to practise the love of enemies, to
pardon injuries and to bear the faults of his neighbour.
God permitted enemies to arise against this man,
whose heart was free from the least grain of malice, and
that these enemies, bent on the destruction of his works,
HIS CHARITY FOR HIS NEIGHBOUR 267
should have the hardihood to overwhelm him with
outrage and calumny. From the Duke De Mazarin
who in 1682 so abruptly withdrew his esteem and
favours, to the Archbishop of Rouen who inflicted
disciplinary punishment on him on his very deathbed,
he constantly met with some harsh or ungrateful hand
to chastise him with humiliations. But, ever faithful to
the Gospel precept, he loved his enemies and even
spoke well of them , and made himself ingenious to do
them a service; but, above all, he prayed for them. To
the most concerted efforts of his enemies, he opposed
only silence, or, if he did reply, it was with the most
touching marks of charity. His biographer says :
" No one ever knew better how to pardon; one was
sure of gaining his friendship after offering him an
insult. It would appear as if insults and outrages were
the quickest and shortest way to reach his heart, and
all his kindness seemed reserved for those who had
been guilty of them. "
Of all the affronts and humiliations that he received,
none had been more humiliating than the judgment ot
the Chatelet in which he was condemned for having
extorted money and having suborned a minor. He bore
it however with unalterable patience. He neither
complained nor murmured; he was not heard to blame
the magistrates nor discredit his solicitors; nor did
he bewail the treason of his friend Rogier, nor the
infamous proceedings of the Clements. One would
have said that he regarded himself as guilty. It was
because he was insensible to injuries done to him per
sonally, and showed anxiety and zeal but to avenge the
outrages offered to God.
He had not less merit by continually supporting the
268 THE CHRISTIAN
defects of his neighbour, which is, according to
St. Paul, the perfect tc fulfilment of the law of Christ. "
Though, by nature, he was amiable and easy of access, it
cost him much to accustom himself to the conversation
of men without culture or birth. But, having before
his eyes the example of Jesus Christ educating the poor
fishermen of Galilee for their apostolic mission, he took
it to heart to exercise the like kindness and condescen
sion in a similar task. He succeeded to such an extent,
that he gave no sign of natural aversion or ill feeling.
He equally loved all his disciples, without making any
exception of persons; he accommodated himself to all
sorts of tempers, seeking only to avoid manifesting any
himself. His biographer says : " He supported the
importunities of the scrupulous, bore with the troubles
of the sick, listened to the complaints of the afflicted,
suffered the weakness of the pusillanimous, fortified
their courage, and alleviated the pains of all. "
In his great wisdom and experience, he looked upon
the union of minds and hearts in a community as the
good par excellence; so he made it the object of the
constant application of his charity. Being an enemy of
disputes, he acquiesced as much as possible in the views
of others; he avoided deciding by himself, for fear of
giving occasion for contradiction ; he made it a personal
law to consult others, and adopted their advice when
he saw it was just. No one followed better than
he this recommendation which he made one day: 4< Try
to have engaging manners , and act so that one of your
principal occupations may be to procure union among
the Brothers. "
HIS DETACHMENT FROM RICHES 269
HIS DETACHMENT FROM WORLDLY GOODS
In order that a Christian soul, acting under the in-
spiration of grace, may rise to these heights, and keep
itself there during long years, and find ease in the
practice of virtue that is so far beyond the reach of
nature, it must be detached from all earthly obstacles;
for it is only the unfettered soul that can take such a
flight. John Baptist had, by means of indefatigable
mortification, succeeded in breaking the ties that gen
erally hold souls captives of the world, the senses and
self-will. The love of poverty delivered him from the
absorbing cares of the goods of this world; chastity and
the empire that he exercised over his senses made him
master of the flesh; and, finally, he escaped from the
tyranny of private judgment and self-will by his pro
found humility and perfect obedience.
If we follow him in the practice of these austere vir
tues, we shall find on what a solid foundation this
beautiful edifice of Christian perfection was based.
Though he was the eldest son of an opulent family,
and had been, from the age of sixteen, provided with
a rich prebend, he never allowed his heart to be
seduced by the love of riches; over and over again, he
gave proofs that he observed to the letter this saying of
the Wise Man : If riches abound, set not your heart
onttiem. He was so little attached to riches, that in
1677, when he was only a deacon, he tried to exchange
his rich prebend for a curacy that would have been
a burden rather than a resource. But his detachment
270 THE CHRISTIAN
showed itself in all its lustre when he resigned his
canonry and sold his patrimony to lead a life of poverty
and work with the Brothers. If he had had the
slightest attachment to worldly goods, what pretexts
could lie not iiave found not to sacrifice them? Would
not his zeal for the schools have prompted him to keep
them to huild schools and to support the masters,
and thus assure the future of his work? He despoiled
himself of all, sold alt, because lie felt himself interiorly
impelled by these words of the Gospel : " If thou wilt
be perfect, go sell what thou hast, and give to the
poor... and come, follow me. "
Having made himself poor, he sincerely loved
poverty. It was his by right of conquest, and its
acquirement had not been less difficult for him
than the acquisition of riches for many others : it
appeared to his lively faith the surest means of resem
bling Jesus and of making the work of perfection easy.
Hence, he never spoke of it but with enthusiasm:
" You say you are poor! How this word pleases
me! For, to say that you are poor, is the same as to
say you are happy. You say you have never been so
poor : so much the better; you have never had such an
opportunity to practise the virtue of poverty as you
now have. " And the wise founder adds these words
which so well reveal his thoughts : " Riches ordinarily
corrupt the hearts of good religious, and the strict
observance of the vow of poverty is one of the greatest
blessings for religious houses. " And as poverty has its
value before God in proportion to the supernatural spirit
that vivifies it, he was careful to direct the inten
tion of his disciples : " Cherish poverty ", he says in the
Short Treatises, " as Jesus loved it, and as the surest
HIS DETACHMENT FROM WORLDLY GOODS 271
means of advancing in perfection. Be always prepared
to beg, should it please Providence, and to die in the
greatest destitution. Have nothing, dispose of nothing,
not even of yourself; in fine, strive to be despoiled of
everything, that you may be like unlo Our Lord, who,
through love for us, spent His whole life in absolute
want. "
John Baptist could with so much greater right speak
in this way, as he had more painfully felt the blows of
poverty. For him, poverty did not consist in simply
detaching his heart from riches; it brought him, in its
train, humiliations, inconveniences, and many priva
tions. He knew, by experience, all the humiliations
and miseries of the poor, and he loved them.
As long as he was rich, he was loaded with respect
and honour, for fortune preserves or makes rank. But,
from the moment that he became poor, lie became the
object of scorn and abandonment, which are the common
patrimony of the indigent; for even when one assists
them, or feels favourably inclined towards them witli
a certain kind of love, they are liable to be made
to feel that they are of an inferior condition. There
was nothing that is humiliating in poverty that could
repel our Saint : it was his pleasure to appear poor, lie
supported himself with the bread of alms, he did not
fear to beg even in Rheims; and he clothed himself in
the mantle of the Brothers, precisely because it was
looked upon as being the dress of poor people.
Poverty did not screen him from privations any more
than from contempt. How often was not his house in
want of bread ! During the famine, it was, indeed, ne
cessary to undergo the forced fasts that the distress
imposed on all; but even in ordinary times, when the
272 THE CHRISTIAN
tables of the poor were abundantly supplied, that of John
Baptist often lacked everything. When he had his
novitiate at Vaugirard, the support of the community
nearly always depended on what the Serving Brother
could collect each day from the rich families or from the
religious houses of the faubourg Saint- Germain. Since he
was supported by alms, his food for the morrow was very
uncertain; the Saint took complacency in being thus in
entire dependence on Providence. His was such, that,
when he commenced a new foundation, he did not always
ask for the necessary funds to assure its maintenance;
he loved to inspire the Brothers with this firm confidence
in God, expecting from His liberal hand the bread of
every day. This spirit of poverty was never so well dis
played as in the establishment of the schools of Rouen.
If he thus depended on God for the food of each day,
with still greater reason he incurred no expense for the
adorning or the furnishing of the houses where he dwelt.
The furniture of Yaugirard was so poor in 1698, that
Madam Des Voisins, through sheer pity, took upon
herself to provide the essential furniture in order to
prepare the Grand Maison for the reception of the Broth
ers. According to Blain, the Saint s biographer, " if
the clothes, the furniture, the utensils for the use of the
Brothers, had been thrown in the street, no one, though
poor and wretched he might he, would have been found
to touch them : they would have excited pity rather than
envy. " We can now understand why John Baptist was
in no hurry to have his Brothers to make the vow of
poverty, and that lie was satisfied with the vows of obe
dience and stability to assure the progress of the Insti
tute for the time being ; were they not at that heroic age
practising the strictest poverty ?
HIS CHAST1TV 273
Besides, the holy founder possessed the secret of
making them love it. For, not content with sharing in
all their privations, he lived in greater poverty than they.
He accepted only the most common cloth for his dress,
and he wore it threadbare and patched, as long as
decency permitted ; at table, the poorest portion pleased
him ; and he claimed as by right the most inconvenient
and barest room ; he mended his own clothes, made his
bed, and swept his room. When, after several attempts,
his friends at last succeeded in removing his old clothes
in order to replace them by new ones, he reluctantly let
them go, saying " they were still good enough for a poor
priest. "
God, who has promised a hundredfold even in this
life to those who sacrifice all to follow Him, did not fail
in His word towards His servant, for He filled him with
spiritual consolations which only detached souls enjoy
in their intercourse with God, and He provided for all
the temporal wants of his community with such con
stant and unfailing solicitude, that the Institute passed,
not indeed without suffering, but without any loss,
through years of most terrible trials.
HIS CHASTITY AND MORTIFICATION OF THE SENSES
John Baptist was not content with gaining victories
over the exterior world by his detachment from riches
and by his entire abandonment to Providence. He knew
that to be completely the master of one s self and to give
one s self entirely to God, the soul must also be delivered
from the power of the senses and freed from the thraldom
274 THE CHRISTIAN
of the flesh. The lessons that he gave to the Brothers
on this subject show us that he considered this of the
greatest importance; in the Short Treatises he says :
" The senses being the portals through which sin usually
enters the soul, the Saints were most careful to mortify
them, so that they might not so easily fall into sin.
What should induce you to mortify your senses is, that
the more you mortify them, the more also will you
enjoy interior peace and. the presence of God. "
His first care was to curb his senses in such a manner,
that his purity always remained inviolable. In his
youth, his love of chastity made of him an angel in the
flesh, and his extreme delicacy on this point presaged
his vocation to the priesthood. From the moment he
entered Holy Orders, he manifested an extreme horror
of the least fault that could tarnish purity; nor could
he endure the least thing capable of throwing even a
shadow upon this holy virtue. It was through the spirit
of vigilance that he loved to live in solitude where
nollung could trouble his senses ; he made a covenant
with his eyes, lest dangerous images might enter into
Ids soul ; he scrupulously avoided all unnecessary inter
course with persons of the other sex, never remaining
alone with them, and guarding against all familiarity.
If lie was so severe when being ill at Rlieims, that lie
would not receive the visit of his grandmother in his
room, it was because he wished to give his community
one of those never-to-be-forgotten lessons so often
taught by the examples of the Saints.
But he was well aware that the most redoubtable ene
mies of chastity are those that dwell in the suggestions
of the flesh itself. " Make war on your bodies "> he
used to say, " mortify the flesh, and, with time and
HIS MORTIFICATION OF THE SENSES 275
perseverance , you shall free yourself from its assaults
and all the natural instincts that furnish it with arms to
attack you. There is an infallible connection between
sensual, unmortified flesh and this vice. The feeling of
pain blunts all attraction for pleasure, and the body that
groans under the weight of austerity loses all idea of
voluptuousness. " Believe me ", the great St. Anthony
was accustomed to say to his disciples, " the impure
spirit dreads vigils, fasts, voluntary poverty and an
austere life. When he finds the flesh pampered and
indulged, half his work is done : it is only a heap
of dry wood, tow, and straw, which he can easily
inflame by the blazing shafts and the sparks of the fire
of hell, which obscene thoughts always carry with
them. "
These strong convictions explain why our Saint prac
tised such severe austerities, and why he impressed his
Brothers with such generous ardour for mortification.
He knew all the value of penance : he was well aware
that it is the only sure guardian of chastity; he knew
also that it alone renders the soul free to apply itself to
God. For this purpose he so severely chastised his
flesh and brought it under subjection.
Very different from those inconsistent Christians who
make every effort to escape from the cross sent by Prov
idence, and inflict their bodies with macerations of
their o\vn choosing, he began to mortify his senses by
willingly accepting all the sufferings, of whatever kind
they might be, that came to him from the hand of God.
The burden was certainly very heavy already : he never
made the slightest effort to rid himself of it. Certain
most painful infirmities were brought on by his repeated
vigils and prolonged meditations, and yet, he never
276 THE CHRISTIAN
complained. From kneeling on the damp floor of Vau-
girard, he contracted rheumatism the acute pains of
which could be assuaged only by remedies more violent
than the evil itself; by remaining too long on his knees,
a most painful wen Avas developed, which could be
removed but by an excruciating operation. And yet
these are only incidents in a life every hour of which,
especially during the last thirty years, seemed doomed
to incessant martyrdom. However intense his suffer
ings might be, and even when the most essential cares
were lacking, he never uttered the least word that could
be construed into a complaint. At the very most he
would simply repeat :" May God be blessed! " Was he
not too happy to be crucified like his Master, and could
he have any higher ambition than that his body should
be immolated to God, with Christ?
Besides , he never spared himself ; in order the more
surely to keep his senses within the bounds of duty, he
refused them even the most innocent satisfaction, and
often treated them with merciless rigour.
For example, he was not content with simply turning
his eyes away from all that could flatter sensuality and
curiosity ; the better to keep himself in God s presence,
he ordinarily kept his eyes cast down, so that no objects
might enter which could leave vain images in his soul.
Far from inquiring after worldly news and the frivolous
tales with which worldlings fill their minds, he loved to
remain in silence and solitude, and, when he could not
help hearing useless conversations, he would show his
dislike for them by reluctant and cold attention. If
charity Avas in danger of being Avounded, he Avould
promptly put a stop to the conversation by his delib
erate air of indifference.
HIS MORTIFICATION OF THE SENSES 277
At first he had some trouble in overcoming his
sense of taste; for, having been brought up at a table
served with delicate meats, he found it difficult to
accustom himself to the common food of his poor dis
ciples. But a prolonged fast soon conquered nature,
and from that time, says his biographer, " the flesh
became so well accustomed to abstinence and the most
rigorous fasts, to the poorest, insipid, and even repug
nant victuals, that it seemed quite insensible. " From
1684, John Baptist t would suffer no one to serve him
with food different from that of the Brothers ; henceforth,
taking his portion of the common fare, he distinguished
himself only by the pains he took to choose what seemed
the most repulsive. For fear of taking pleasure in his
food, lie used to mix a bitter powder with it, and, though
his portion was scanty enough, yet he would lay aside
the best part of it for the poor. It seemed painful to him
to be obliged to go to eat, and he never was happier than
during the seasons of fast or the time of a famine :
he literally believed the words of Holy AVrit : " He that
nourisheth his servant delicately from his childhood,
afterwards shall find him stubborn. " To invite him to
a well -served table was the same as condemning him
to torture; and if, when travelling, he was sometimes
obliged to partake of anything better than the ordinary
fare, he would punish himself for it afterwards by
redoubling his privations.
He armed himself with rude instruments of penance
against his body, already nearly worn out with fasting;
he handled with inexorable severity the discipline with
steel rosettes; at one time, he would afflict his flesh with
the hairshirt and girdle; at another, he would chastise
it with iron chains, having sharp points. It has been
278 THE CHRISTIAN
found possible to constitute, with the instruments of
penance that escaped his vigilant humility, a well-
furnished wardrobe of mortification, which preaches the
practice of penance more eloquently than any sermon.
His example excited such emulation among his disciples,
that the discipline was in honour, and no other per
mission was more earnestly solicited than to chastise
the body. The Saint gladly yielded to these generous
desires, for he was persuaded that an edifice that had
its foundations set and cemented with the blood of mor
tification, would not give way under the wear of time
nor the assaults of the storms of temptation. And in
the same way as all Christians should remember that
they live by the crucifixion of the august victim of Gal-
vary, the Brothers should not forget that their present
usefulness is the fruit of the voluntary crucifixion of
their holy founder and his first disciples.
INTERIOR MORTIFICATION BY OBEDIENCE
AND HUMILITY
However, John Baptist did not stop at the mortification
of the senses; he himself practised it and urged his
Brothers to practise it only to attain interior mortifi
cation with more facility. He used to repeat : " I prefer
an ounce of interior mortification to a pound of exterior
penance. " For, being convinced that the end of mor
tification is to restore to the soul its full liberty, it would
be of no use to be disengaged from the goods of this
World, or even to have destroyed the obstacles of the
flesh, if it must remain a captive to self-will and pride.
John Baptist was always on his guard against that fatal
HIS SPIRIT OF OBEDIENCE 279
rock of pride, on which so many religious virtues go to
wreck : he enjoyed complete Christian liberty by means
of obedience and humility.
In his eyes, obedience was not a state of servility in
-which the will lowers and even effaces itself in a purely
passive submission to the orders of a superior ; on the
contrary, he considered it as the most exalted expression
of a victorious will, delivered from the caprice and
inconstancy of nature, and obeying with full reflection
the rules that it accepts from the hand of God; Obe
dience, thus understood, appeared to John Baptist to
be a gain and not in anywise a loss for the religious ;
besides the value that it gives the individual himself, it
is an essential condition of order in a community. For
this reason, he recommended it to the Brothers as the
very foundation of the Institute : " No other virtue ",
he used to say to them, " is so necessary for you as
obedience, since it is essential to your state, and since
it alone can sustain you therein ; all the others without
this would be superficial : in religion, obedience alone
gives the other virtues their special character. "
In order that obedience might be active and merito
rious, lie desired that it should be Christian and super
natural, lie proposed Our Lord as the model : " Jesus
Christ ", lie said, " prepared himself by submission and
obedience to accomplish the great work of the redemp
tion of man and the conversion of souls. " Though man
commands, We obey God alone. " The Brothers ", he
says, " shall always see God in the person of their
Director, and they shall be mindful not to address them
selves to him but as to one invested with God s author
ity; they shall put themselves in this disposition before
presenting themselves to him. They shall not speak to
280 THE CHRISTIAN
the Brother Director but with profound respect, always
in a low voice, and in terms which show the veneration
they have for him , as holding the place of God , whom
they should recognize and respect in the person of their
Director. "
With the heart filled with this spirit of faith, he gave
himself to the practice of obedience. Wherever he
could discover the smallest particle of the divine author
ity, he humbly and promptly submitted to it. During
his student -life at Saint -Sulpice, and at the seminary
of Saint-Nicolas two years before his death, he gave
examples of the most scrupulous obedience and fidelity
to all the regulations. His spiritual directors found him
obedient to their least decisions : he was prepared to
exchange his canonicate for a parish, on the advice of
Nicolas Roland ; and when there was question of aban
doning his riches, he only awaited the word of M. Gallon ;
while he was wanted in Paris, M. Callou detained him
in Rheims, etc. The bishops had not a more submis
sive subject; lie declared himself the humble servant of
the prelates in whose dioceses there were Brothers;
and he remained obedient, even when rebuffed; lie
opposed them without swerving from the respect that
lie owed them whenever they attempted to alter the
essential Rules of his Institute. He professed the most
filial deference to the Sovereign Pontiff; and in order
to prove it in a more authentic manner, he sent two
Brothers to Rome ; and when the Bull Unigenitus was
published, there was not a priest that more promptly
submitted to its decisions than lie.
But nowhere was his obedience better seen than in
his community. There his only ambition was to obey,
and for this he sought the lowest rank; and the greatest
HIS HUMILITY 281
sorrow of his life was , to be so long maintained in the
office of superior in spite of his repugnance. And when,
on two several occasions, he had succeeded in resigning
the government of the Institute, what a happiness lie
then felt to be dependent on a superior, to ask permis
sions, and to make his daily accusation with the Broth
ers! With \vhatsimplicityheambitionedthe last place,
and accomplished all his religious duties! Besides,
even during his long career of superior, lie satisfied his
taste for obedience by his perfect observance of the
Rules of the community.
To him obedience was sweet and easy, because it was
founded on sincere and profound humility ; for, without
true humility which humbles mind and will, obedience
is only a mask that hides our weakness and, perhaps,
our ambition. Humility gave his obedience its sincerity
and merit. He disliked to speak of himself , and feared
that cunning self-love which silently glides into the soul
of those who speak of their faults and sins. He would
never tolerate the Brothers speaking of him personally ;
and his humility imposed on them a very hard sacrifice,
when lie commanded that they should never speak of
any person living. He had such horror of all personal
marks of honour and praise, that, on his journeys, he
would go a long distance out of his way to avoid the
presbyteries where he feared he might be received with
too much honour. In the year 1716, being a guest of
M. Gense, a great benefactor of the school of Calais, he
was highly indignant when he detected an artist, hidden
behind a curtain , taking his portrait.
Instead of running after worldly celebrity and seeking
the esteem of men, his only ambition was to be unknown,
to live in solitude, and to have intercourse with God
282 THE CHRISTIAN
alone. For this purpose lie sought the most secluded
cell, abstained from all unnecessary visits, and limited
himself to such relations as were absolutely essential.
When visiting the communities, he was happy only
when he found himself in the midst of his Brothers; he
enveloped himself in such profound silence, that his
presence was almost unperceived; he was taken for a
poor priest, without birth or station, occupied with
humble people. This voluntary obscurity gratified his
desires; but he did not draw interior pleasure from it,
because he was too humble to taste the secret joy of
being " unknown and counted as nothing. "
It was his delight to converse with the humble;
when he taught class, he preferred the least advanced
and dullest pupils. When in community, he preferably
sought out those Brothers who were the most likely to
mortify him; he spoke to them uncovered, and refrained
from asking any service of them. During his illness,
he wished to be taken to the hospital, so as not to be a
trouble to any one; one day he was greatly distressed,
because he thought his sickness would ruin the commu
nity, and he begged that he might be let die, rather than
be the cause of so much expense. It is conceivable
how/ with such lowly sentiments of himself, he made
so many attempts to descend from the first rank; and
when lie ceased to be superior, it was his happiness
to take his place after the Serving Brothers.
It was the grace of God that produced these humble
dispositions in his soul, to prepare him to meet and
accept with humble patience the numberless insults of
which he was the object during the space of forty years :
during this long period, he was spared neither injuries,
nor outrages, nor treasons, nor cutting words, nor humil-
HIS HUMILITY 283
iating treatment. If we consider that all sorts of humil
iations came on him at the same time from all quarters
like a mighty deluge, from ecclesiastical and civil
authorities, from his natural family as well as from his
family of adoption, from children whom lie had brought
up and from disciples whom he had associated with him
in his work, we shall find that the history of his life
is only one long chain of trials and persecutions. He
bowed his head under this torrent of opposition and
contempt, without uttering a word of complaint,
without either defending or excusing himself, and
without making the least effort to undeceive the public
mind; he considered himself as convicted before men,
and awaited his justification from God alone.
So humble a soul had grace to speak of humility.
Did lie not unconsciously paint his own portrait in the
following counsels to his Brothers ?
" Have a lowly opinion of yourself, consider that you
are worthless, and that God makes use of you as a vile
instrument, in itself fit only to draw down His maledic
tion; never say the least word that could raise you in
the good opinion of others. Shun the praises and appro
bation of men ; and, if you hear anything said to your
advantage, think that all honour is due to God alone,
while you deserve only confusion. Remain silent and
humble yourself before God, seeing that you are nothing
ness and sin. On the other hand, humbly endure
contempt and rebuffs as most just; always select what
is worst, when choice is allowed; be not eager to speak
in recreation or at other times ; when you speak, do so
in a simple and unaffected manner. When reproved or
warned of your faults, do not justify yourself, unless
your superior orders you to tell the truth. "
CHAPTER XII.
THE PRIEST
When a man practises the Christian virtues to such
perfection, he cannot be commonplace in the priesthood.
Our object in this chapter, is not to show that John
Baptist was a holy priest, but rather to find in what
direction he was led by the sacerdotal grace, and how
he corresponded to it. He had such a high idea of his
vocation that, throwing all worldly influences aside, he
gave himself up entirely to the guidance of the Spirit of
God dwelling in him. Now the divine Spirit touched his
heart with zeal for souls, and opened up for him, in the
education of the poor , an apostolic career as yet almost
entirely unexplored, along which the Saint, as a fear
less pioneer, advanced and marked his progress with
the happiest results. In a word, he understood that
the priesthood for him should be an apostolate, and his
field of labour was that of education.
HIS ESTEEM FOR HIS VOCATION 285
THE ESTEEM OF JOHN BAPTIST FOR HIS PRIESTLY
VOCATION
From his very childhood, John Baptist seemed destined
for the altar. For, instead of the inclinations com
mon to his age and rank, his tastes were for the things
of the church : his great pleasure, when at home, was
to imitate the holy ceremonies and to read the history of
the Saints; his joy was to go to church to take part in
the divine offices, to join in the sacred canticles and to
serve the priest during the august Sacrifice. Although
he was the eldest child of a noble and opulent family,
he Avas never seduced by the brilliant careers of the
world; on the contrary, attracted by the interior call of
God, he entered the clerical state at the age of eleven.
At sixteen, lie accepted the canonry that his relative
Dozet offered him in the Chapter of Notre-Dame, and,
having finished his humanities, he gave himself without
delay or hesitation to the study of theology. He was
only twenty -one when he contracted the solemn and
definitive engagements of the subdiaconate ; and if he
appeared slow to embrace the other degrees of the cler
ical state, it was through his sovereign respect for the
dignity of priest and in view of acquiring by longer
efforts the holiness which that state supposes, but there
never was the slightest momentary looking back in that
strong and decided soul.
From the moment of his ordination to the priesthood ,
he had the greatest idea of the sublimity of his voca
tion; his spirit of faith reminded him that the priest
286 THE PRIEST
should be the salt ot" the earth, the light of the world,
the example for the faithful; in his opinion, the man
whose functions keep him almost constantly in church
and about the altar, who carries Jesus Christ in his
hands, who dispenses the mysteries of God, and who, in
his quality of mediator, is raised above the earth, even
to the throne of the divine mercy, should be accounted
above the angels. The more he felt himself dignified by
his vocation, the more holily he endeavoured to live.
Looking on holiness as a serious obligation, he held the
least fault in abhorrence ; he avoided even the shadow
of sin, and had no other desire than to please God.
In spite of his endeavours, he considered himself
unworthy, and could not see himself so closely united
to the mysteries of Jesus Christ without being seized
with a holy fear. He was not able to conceive how
priests could be negligent or relaxed in their daily rela
tions with holy things ; he was shocked at the sight of
the least negligence in the ministers of God, and if it
had been his vocation , he would have worked with the
zeal of a Bourdoise, a Boudon, of a Vincent De Paul and
an Olier, for the reform of the Clergy.
As for himself, he entered fully into the spirit of his
state. He sought therein neither his ease, nor his
advantages, nor his repose : he had offered his life to the
Church and to souls, he had now only to sacrifice his
riches, his time and his strength for the same objects.
When he was but yet a deacon, he gave striking proofs
of his readiness to separate himself from all when his
spiritual director proposed to him to exchange his rich
canonicate for a poor and laborious parish. He had
such a constant disposition for work and devotedness,
that after having immolated his God in the morning on
HTS ESTEEM FOR TIIS VOCATION 287
the altar, he thought of nothing but of immolating him
self during the rest of the day. " His sacerdotal char
acter ", says his biographer, " seemed to repeat to him
unceasingly that since he was ordained to perpetuate the
mysteries of the cross, he should attach himself to it so
as to be able to say with saint Paul : " With Christ,
I am nailed to the cross. " The sins of the people with
which priests are laden, their own sins, the state of the
Victim that they offer, the memorial of His Passion
which they represent, the obligation of sharing in His
sufferings : behold the reasons that kept our holy priest
in a state of perpetual sacrifice. What did he not, in
fact, sacrifice to God! Riches, conveniences, pleas
ures, repose, health and even reputation; he offered all
without sparing anything. The holocaust was entire
and perfect. Pure, disinterested charity was pleased
with such a sacrifice, because it found therein com
pleteness and all absence of reserve.
He accomplished with unalterable respect the sacred
functions of his priestly calling and office : custom had
not begotten in him either routine or familiarity. His
sentiments of veneration were as unchangeable as the
sacred mysteries of the altar, and the vivacity of his faith
became more ardent from year to year. What he says
in the Short Treatises, regarding Holy Communion
is only the history of his own fervent piety; the fre
quency of his Communions did not diminish their fer
vour; as he did not fail to correspond with the Eu-
charistic graces, this sacrament satiated him without
destroying the appetite and desire for Communion.
He was not less exact than pious ; for he conformed
with most scrupulous fidelity to the canons and deci
sions of the Church. Reason and the spirit of faith
288 THE PRIEST
made him look upon it as an imperious duty to observe
strictly all the regulations of the state he had embraced.
He so loved and respected the ecclesiastical habit, that
never, for any reason whatsoever, would he dispense
himself from wearing his soutane : once, indeed, he did
put on the short cassock, but then it was to escape the
Gamisards who infested the Cevennes. Not even in
sickness nor in the presence of his most intimate
friends, would he appear without his soutane. His ton
sure was always very marked. He was faithful to keep
his hair short, and was highly indignant at seeing wigs
and other finery introduced among the clergy of his
time.
Finally, the respect that he always manifested to his
ecclesiastical superiors was another proof that he com
pletely possessed the spirit of his state. " No one more
than he ", writes his biographer, " had the hierarchical
spirit, nor manifested more of the submission and
subordination that go to maintain peace within the body
of the Church, which is done by the dependence of the
members on their Chiefs, established to govern it. He
infused this spirit of entire submission into his disciples,
and he ceased to acknowledge as his children those who
began to lose it. For this reason he was singularly
honoured, esteemed and loved by all the bishops who
knew him. "
HIS ZEAL FOR THE SALVATION OF SOULS
However, it is neither the spirit of religion nor the
love of discipline that constitutes the characteristic mark
of the priest. According to the words of St. Paul,
HIS ZEAL FOR THE SALVATION OF SOULS 289
" every priest is ordained for men ", and Our Lord,
when giving His Apostles their mission, said to them,
" Going therefore teach ye all nations : baptizing them
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost. " The special characteristic of the priest,
chosen by God to save souls, is zeal. A priest without
zeal would be as incomplete as an organism that lacked
a heart: for having no heart, it has no life.
Sacerdotal grace had too deeply penetrated the soul of
John Baptist not to enkindle therein the fire of zeal.
Our Saint was drawn towards souls by the love that im
pelled him towards God, Jesus Christ and the Church.
Could he stand by and let those dear souls perish who
were created to the image of God, and to be His herit
age, and was it not his duty to save them from the
empire of Satan? If Jesus so loved them as to sacrifice
Himself for them, should not he, a priest, labour and
even suffer that the sufferings of the Saviour might not
be in vain? Looking on the Church as a mother whose
children Christians are, he wished that she might be
fruitful iu the numbers of the faithful, honoured by
their moral conduct, and rendered powerful by the
influence of their virtues. A single soul had an infinite
value in his eyes : to see a single soul abandoned to sin,
exposed to eternal damnation, was enough to rouse his
priestly heart, and nothing would seem to him too diffi
cult to save a sinner.
He had this exalted idea of the sacerdotal state from
his youth; but in the seminary of Saint-Sulpice and
afterwards under the direction of Nicolas Roland, it
developed to such a point, that his canonicate appeared
a sinecure to him, and so he proposed to exchange it
for a cure of souls. If his desires could not be put into
Life and Virtues. 13
290 THE PRIEST
effect in 1077, they were generously gratified in 1083; by
sacrificing his eanonicate, his object was less to become
poor than to acquire full liberty to devote himself en
tirely to souls. From the da - of his ordination until the
end of his long career, he sought God by working for
souls; in the painful labours in which Providence en
gaged him, he had no object in view but souls. His
mission of educator did not absorb the whole of his life;
without ever losing sight of the care of the Brothers and
the children, he knew how to find leisure to attend to
secondary works.
He devoted himself little to preaching; his bio-
grapher mentions only one mission which he gave in
the vicinity of Rheims about 1082. Though on some
occasions he accepted the direction of nuns and some
persons in the world, he was little inclined to this kind
of ministry ; not only did he make every possible effort to
lessen his relations with women, but he was also reluc
tant to take up any work that obliged him to be absent ,
no matter how short the time, from his community.
On the other hand, when there was question of works
compatible with his life of retirement, and especially
those that would not necessitate his withdrawal from
the company of his Brothers, he received with open
arms and heart all souls that presented themselves.
And, indeed, there Avere many who came, and all very
eager to hear his words and to be guided by his moral
influence . Sometimes they were ecclesiastics who came
to renew their fervour or be converted from a relaxed
life: he had some such always in his house, both in
Paris and at Rheims; lie received them during the
most trying times of the famine and the most troubled
periods of persecutions. At other times, they would be
HIS ZEAL FOR THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS 291
laymen, generally hardened sinners, who had been lead
ing scandalous lives, and whom other priests had tried
in vain to convert, and who were drawn to him by grace
that they might undergo a complete transformation.
Again, they were young libertines, indocile and lost to
all moral conduct, and with whom all efforts for their
conversion had been useless, who were brought to him
and placed under the sovereign influence that he exer
cised over souls.
He had, in fact, a particular gift of gaining hearts.
The most abandoned sinners seldom escaped his in
fluence, and he knew how to get admittance to souls at
whose doors zealous priests had long knocked in vain.
This precious gift was at the same time the effect of
nature and grace. United to God by almost continuous
prayer, he was penetrated as it were with divine power
which emanated from him and gently enveloped souls;
he was in the hands of God as an obedient instrument
by the supernatural life that animated him.
This sensible presence of God within him, communi
cated to his natural qualities an irresistible power of
action. His gentle nature became a soothing unction
for many a poor embittered soul ; his affectionate kind
ness won the love of the most indifferent hearts, and
subdued the most rebellious ; by his consummate pru
dence and knowledge of the spiritual life, he gained the
full confidence of those who sought his direction;
besides, there was nothing disdainful in his manner, no
precipitation or carelessness in his words or actions
that could in the slightest degree shock souls or close
them against him. We shall here quote Blain s own
words : " What had been said of his Divine Master could
be said of the disciple, that he loved sinners and called
-292 THE PRIEST
himself their friend. They always found in him a ten
der father, a charitable physician, an enlightened guide,
a zealous advocate and mediator with God, and a true
guardian angel. The mere sight of him attracted them
towards him ; they Avere charmed by his gracious man
ners, and they had nothing to hide from a man who
seemed to bear them in his heart. To see their miser
able condition so moved him, that he pitied their
wretchedness and wept over their sins when they did
not weep over them themselves; they learned to deplore
their wanderings, to bewail their faults and to look for a
remedy for them in his charity... What he had begun
in an insensible heart, Avith a Avarm and efficacious Avord,
prayer armed Avith his austerities and mortifications
completed, and, generally speaking, no sinners, no mat
ter IIOAV steeped and inveterate in crime, resisted the
grace he obtained for them, or the example of virtue by
which he edified them. All of them, persuaded that the
holy priest did more for their conversion than they
themselves, and that their salvation cost him many
tears and much blood, were ashamed of their coAvardice,
and, after his example, they determined to redeem
their sins by their OAVH acts of penance and mortifica
tion. "
Whenever a sinner came, the Saint seemed to have
nothing else to do than to occupy himself exclusively
Avith him ; he at once led him to the oratory and there
Avould devote several hours to hear his confession.
HoAvever precious his time might otherwise be, he gave
as much of it as the circumstances required, in order to
assure a permanent conversion. He did not lose sight
of these returned prodigals, but kept up continual rela
tions with them for their future perseverance. u In
HIS ZEAL FOR THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS 293
getting them to promise to come and see him from time
to time ", says Blain, " he tried to strengthen them in
good and to give them a taste for virtue. As they had
given him the key of their hearts, he spared nothing to
open them to grace and the love of God. The only
distinction he made among them was that the most
criminal and profligate appeared to be the special
objects of his charity... They Avere happy to see their
confessor, the confidant of their crimes and disorders,
treat them with honour and esteem, instead of being
disgusted with them and despising them. "
A few of these hardened sinners exercised his
patience and zeal for a long time. While the Saint
lived at Vaugirard, there often came to see him an
obdurate man, who would neither humble himself for
his monstrous faults nor repent of them. After having
very forcibly pointed out to him the most heart-stirring
motives of repentance, " he sent him to the chapel to
hear Mass, whilst he, on his side, retired behind the
altar, where he was at liberty to prostrate himself with
his face to the ground, and he remained in this humble
and penitent posture during the whole time of the holy
sacrifice, to obtain-for this hardened sinner a contrite
and humble heart. "
If, now and then, after having exhausted all the re
sources of prayer, mortification, and exhortation, he had
not succeeded in making any impression, he sought his
consolation in God and said : " We have done all that
depended on us, it is for God to do the rest. Conver
sion is His work; we must abide His time and pleasure.
He requires of us the care, and not the cure. "
He generally had such success, that parish -priests
and confessors often consulted him in embarrassing
294 THE PRIEST
cases, or sent him penitents whose conversion required
a miracle of grace. Here is the testimony of one of
those priests : " The holy man, M. De La Salle, used to
render me great assistance in the guidance of some
troubled souls of whose cure I had despaired.
The eagerness with which he received sinners aston
ished his disciples. Sometimes he was deceived; but
should he, for fear of being once deceived by any
hypocrite, drive away a hundred pilgrims that were
sincere in their search for grace and peace in his house?
Someone made the remark, one day, during the time
of the famine, that perhaps some of his hosts were
more hungry than sorry : " What does that matter ",
replied the Saint, " provided they make a good retreat. "
If such was the love of John Baptist for those
strayed sheep that grace brought him as additional
labour, what tender charity must he not have had for
the flock that God confided to him and for which He
gave him the special vocation of apostolic educa
tor?
HOW JOHN BAPTIST WAS CALLED TO EXERCISE HIS
PRIESTLY ZEAL IN EDUCATION
If zeal is permitted to embrace the universe in its
ambition, human nature, too short-lived to satisfy it,
puts a limit to its work. Experience has proved that the
fruits of a man s labour are so much the more consider
able, as he confines himself and his energies to one
clearly defined object and devotes thereto all his time
and capacity. This division of labour produced, in a
JOHN BAPTIST EDUCATOR 295
great measure , the religious renaissance of the seven
teenth century; for well-marked vocations brought
many men of great worth into evidence, who took up
and defended all the doctrinal questions of the Church,
that were at that period attacked : brilliant controversial
ists, as Duperron, Petau and Bossuet, confounded the
heretics; zealous missionaries, as Vincent De Paul and
the priests of Saint-Lazare, re-enkindled the faith in the
country parts; virtuous reformers, as St. Vincent de
Paul, Bourdoise and Olier, walking in the steps of
St. Charles Borromeo, re-established ecclesiastical dis
cipline and brought the clergy back to their pristine
splendour.
John Baptist De La Salle must be placed side by side
with the great geniuses of that famous century, not
only for the heroic holiness of his life, but also for the
importance of the work to which he consecrated him
self, and much more on account of the extraordinary
impetus he gave it. Others besides him had occupied
themselves with education: Bourdoise, Father Barre, etc.,
had manifested before him their solicitude for the
children of the poor and had organized schools to receive
them. But he alone devoted his existence to this all-
important work, he alone had the courage to share the
life and the labours of those humble schoolmasters, lie
alone was tenacious enough not to be discouraged
by persecution, and, finally, he alone had the grace of
success.
God had so clearly traced the way for His servant,
that lie felt himself powerfully drawn to it on the morrow
of his ordination, and he never quitted it. While yet
a young priest, he began by assuring the legal exist
ence of the teaching nuns founded by Nicolas Roland,
29G THE PRIEST
The following year, he presided over the creation of
two gratuitous schools for boys in Rheims. He had not
the slightest thought of being a founder, but attached
himself to the young masters; through simple charity
lie brought them to his house, in order the better to
help them more immediately; drawn by the very logic
of his zeal, lie abandoned his rich and comfortable home,
and went to share their humble life in a poor house in
the neighbourhood. His former -condition contrasted
with the ne\v one; and yet lie sacrificed the former for
the latter; lie resigned his canonry and sold his goods,
in order to be little in the estimation of the world and
poor like his companions. Without living with the
masters, he might have assisted them with his advice,
and supported them with his means; but by so acting
he would have personally remained a stranger to the
work, he would not have been the foundation of the
edifice which Providence wished to raise. Therefore it
was not God s will that he should occupy himself only in
a secondary manner and for a time with the masters and
the schools: it was His will that lie should devote
himself wholly to the work, that he should break all the
bonds that could be an obstacle, and that he should
consecrate his life and strength thereto.
John Baptist, being an educator by vocation, did not
work on any preconceived plan, but depended on prov
idential indications; under God s sole guidance, he
followed a perfectly straight road, and created the insti
tutions which his time precisely needed in the matter of
education.
The children of the poor, especially in the large cities,
lacked teachers, and not being instructed, they often
wallowed in vice and ignorance, and grew up just as
JOHN BAPTIST EDUCATOR 297
incapable of making a position for themselves in life as
they were of practising virtue. John Baptist proposed
to remedy this social evil. He opened gratuitous schools
for these poor abandoned children; these schools were
well disciplined, and in them good conduct and piety
were equally enforced, religious and secular instruction
went hand in hand and completed each other, rational
methods assured the intellectual and moral progress
of the children; in this way, those poor children, picked
up in the streets, were brought up as men and Christians,
society was purified and souls were saved. For the
direction of these schools masters were of course neces
sary, and it became the chief care of John Baptist to
form them. By the creation of an Institute of Brothers,
he prepared masters for the cities and large towns; by
means of normal schools, which lie called seminaries
for country schoolmasters, lie trained teachers for the
villages into which he would never consent to put
isolated Brothers.
His indefatigable zeal recoiled from no enterprise. He
determined to follow the pupils beyond their ordinary
school course, and in order to complete their instruction
and their religious education, he opened the Sunday
classes where hundreds of apprentices and other young
workmen found not only protection from the dangers
and temptations of the streets, but also wholesome nutri
ment for heart and mind. He also began at this time to
supply a long- felt want in middle class education; to
the sons of merchants and manufacturers, for whom the
ancient languages were almost useless, and for whom
the petites ecoles were not sufficient, he offered, in
well organized hoarding schools, that professional
formation, which, since his time, has been so exten-
43*
298 THE PRIEST
sively spread under the names of higher grade schools or
modern secondary education. Confined by his vocation
to the work of education, lie became a successful initiator
therein and its authorized legislator. His name marked,
in the history of education, the transition from the old
mode to the modern system of education; he was not a
simple witness of this transformation, but the principal
agent.
The success of his mission of educator was certainly
the fruit of grace , for it pleased God to bless the work
of His humble servant; but it was also the outcome of
the love that he bore his work, for love urged him with
such zeal and earnestness, that it could not fail of suc
cess. Do you Avish to know the love he had for the
schools, his pupils and his Brothers? Consider what
he sacrificed and suffered for them. He sacrificed his
social dignity, his riches, a life of ease and his reputa
tion ; he embraced a life of poverty that was austere and
mortified, abject and despised; he triumphed over the
repugnances of nature, the prejudices of society and
education, and even his delicate constitution. He was
far from being drawn by nature to the work of the
schools; on the contrary, everything within him re
volted at the mere idea of such an undertaking, as we
learn from his own avowal : it was solely zeal for souls
tli at strengthened his courage in the face of sacrifice,
and sustained him in the midst of opposition. Had he
been less constant and less persevering, he would have
resigned it all in presence of the numberless difficulties
he met with. We shall here produce the touching
picture in which his biographer lias summarized his
pains and troubles.
" At times, he had to protect himself against the
JOHN BAPTIST EDUCATOR 299
famine; again, it was envy which threatened him with
lawsuits; at onetime it was injustice robbing him of the
legacies made in his favour, or ravaged and disturbed
his schools; again it was the tongue of calumny that
defamed his reputation and blackened that of his dis
ciples; now it was against the zeal of the promulgators
of false doctrine, who made every effort to surprise and
insnare him ; again it was the imprudence or the rebel
lion, or the perfidy of his own disciples; and he found
himself obliged to withstand the very protectors of his
schools to sustain a work against which the evil spirit
had armed all kinds of enemies. Persecution followed
him till death, and until deatli iiis zeal was invincible;
at last lie triumphed over all the efforts of hell by his
perseverance and sell-sacrifice. " He never halted on
his way, he did not even deviate from it, though lie met
obstacles at every step: the love he had for his work
made him so patient, that lie overcame them all.
This love was so much the more powerful as it was
more peaceful and clearsighted : hi* zeal was never
impetuous nor passionate, and therefore, it was that he
was never discouraged, neither was he ever wanting in
prudence; and because he made no mistakes, he finally
came off triumphant. Nothing could be more wisely
combined than his relations with both masters and
pupils.
His schools, being gratuitous, were opened to all;
without clashing with the monopoly of the masters of the
paying schools, the children of the fairly well to do work
men were, on principle, received on the same footing as
the children of the poorest. As soon as these children
were admitted to his schools, they were kept to strict
discipline, taught by rapid and successful methods f
300 THE PRIEST
moralized by the powerful action of silence and the
penetrating influence of the spirit of religion; he
himself passed frequently among their ranks, encour
aging these and reprimanding those, and elevating
all their souls to God, by the beaming radiance of his
virtue.
He followed the masters in their work with still greater
attention and vigilance, often visiting their classes, to
assure himself of their fidelity to the rules of pedagogy
that he had given them. For, during the period of
their formation, he had taught them the method that
makes useful masters; he had particularly taught them
how to husband their strength, and how to cultivate the
good behaviour of the pupils by the example of their
own silence. In order to assure their perseverance and
to protect them from the temptation of inconstancy,
he bound them by vows; and as lie did not wish to
engage them rashly, lie contented himself at first with
the vows of obedience and stability, which sufficed
for his purpose. Anxious to assure the disinteres
tedness of the masters, he forbade them to expect or to
accept any recompense from msn ; it was absolutely
forbidden to accept any payments either from the
pupils or from their parents. He kept both masters
and pupils in good Avorking order by means of visits
and inspections. In fine, he secured them against all
ambition, and particularly against the temptation to
change their lives as Brothers for the ecclesiastical
state, by forbidding them all such studies as might draw
them towards the sanctuary. Let no one blame him
for having thus walled up the dwelling where his school
masters resided; he made them prisoners, as it were,
of a work as holy in the eyes of God as it is great before
APOSTOLATE IN EDUCATION 301
men; and it he was able to establish popular education
in France, it was because, while forming the masters,
he had the wisdom to keep them attached to their
humble functions.
HOW EDUCATION WAS IN THE EYES OF JOHN BAPTIST
AN APOSTOLIC FUNCTION
It was as a priest, and not as a teacher, that John
Haptist loved his vocation of educator. He saw that
the schools were a ricli and beautiful field for his
apostolate, and the pupils noble souls that he should
gain for God. He would have willingly said, with
St. Ignatius of Loyola, that he taught human knowledge
only that he might have the right of teaching the
Christian doctrine.
Let no one however misapprehend his views; they
were not narrow in their scope, and justice requires
that we here remark that he was not draw r n to lessen
the man in order the better to form the Christian. He
never lost sight of the fact that the Christian, if he is on
this eartli in order to gain eternal life, can attain his
true end but by ploughing his furrow and making his
career through the alTairs of this world; and that,
consequently, the master who would not interest himself
in what the child is called to do here below r , and who
would not prepare him to do his duty as a man in this
world, would by the very fact of his negligence, be
exposing him to miss the final end to which all Chris
tians are bound to tend. He was too clearsighted, not
to see how much it is to the interest of religion that the
302 THE PRIEST
most faithful of its children should also be the most
capable in human affairs; for the cause of God would
very soon he compromised, if what is nowadays called
the social forces, were a stranger to the Church, and
if the Church were composed only of devout men
having no social worth.
These ideas certainly haunted the mind of John
Baptist when he so wisely planned and drew up the
courses of study lor his schools and hoarding schools;
no branch of secular instruction was to be foreign to
the Christians whom lie desired to form, and he was
unable to see how the teaching of science could draw
the master from his role, of apostle. At Rheims, his
plan from the commencement was to draw the children
from ignorance as much as from vice. In Paris the
time destined for study was economized by the disci
pline which lixed the attention of the pupils, and
also by reducing the hours devoted to manual work.
When he was given charge of the school for young
sailors, in the parish of Saint -Laurent, Marseilles, he
recommended the Brothers to be very diligent in
instructing them, so that they might not thereafter be
incapable of filling a suitable position. In the Sunday
school that he opened in Paris for young workmen,
three fourths of the time were given to drawing and
mathematics, so that these young apprentices might be
more skilful in their professions; if he devoted the
Sunday afternoons to the instruction of these youths, it
Was because he saw nothing profane in what could
develop the value of the human mind. He spared no
expense to prepare capable masters to teach these higher
branches of education, and his apostolic heart was
greatly grieved, when a certain Brother, possessing
APOSTOLATE IN EDUCATION ,303
very narrow ideas, refused to devote himself to studies
which he thought, though of course very erroneously,
incompatible with Ins vocation. The same broad views
caused him to conceive and draw up the course of
study for the boarding school of Saint-Yon, of which
the teaching of our most flourishing schools of modern
times seems but a copy.
But whatever may have been his zeal for the teaching
of science, we well know that the preponderating
preoccupation of his life was to form faithful Christians
and to save souls. This predominant thought inspired
all his works, caused him to open many new schools,
and directed all his instructions to his Brothers. If
we read all his books, his Meditations, the Short Trea
tises, the Rules, the School Management, we shall have
no difficulty in convincing ourselves that he was
always guided by the idea of his apostolate. " Your
employment would be of little use ", he used to say to
the Brothers, " if you had not for end the salvation of
souls... God, by calling you to the work in \vhich you
are engaged, has destined you to be the spiritual fathers
of the children whom you instruct. " By means of the
most exalted considerations, he pointed out to the
masters the dignity of their functions : " Thank God
i or the grace of having made you a participator, by
your state, in the ministry of the holy apostles and the
chief bishops and pastors of the Church. The thought
that you are the ministers of God, of Jesus Christ, and
of the Church, ought to urge you to have great zeal in
your state. "
And besides this, he distinctly declared to the Broth
ers that the salvation of souls was the only end of their
vocation : " It is only with this end in view ", he
304 THE PRIEST
repeated to them, u that you have engaged yourselves
to the care and guidance of children. Act in such a
manner that you may be able to say what Jesus Christ
said concerning the sheep whose shepherd He was : " I
am come that they may have life, and may have it more
abundantly ; because it is the ardent zeal that you have
for the salvation of the souls of those whom you instruct,
that has made you undertake to devote yourselves
unreservedly to the work of their Christian education,
and to consecrate thereto your whole existence to
procure them the life of grace in this world, and in the
next, life eternal. "
The Saint has traced in his Rules the path to be
followed by the Brothers to attain the end of their voca
tion ; above all, they are to watch over the virtue of the
children. " The spirit of their Institute ", he says,
consists in an ardent zeal for the instruction of
children, and for bringing them up in the fear of God,
inducing them to preserve their innocence if they have
not lost it, and inspiring them with a great aversion
and horror for sin and whatever might cause them to
lose purity. In order to enter into this spirit, the
Brothers of the Society shall strive by prayer, instruc
tion, and by their vigilance and good conduct in school,
to procure the salvation of the children confided to their
care, bringing them up in piety and in a truly Christian
spirit, that is, according to the rules and maxims of the
Gospel. "
He reminds the Brothers of the great responsibility
that weighs on them in this matter, when he says :
:4 One of the principal motives that ought to animate
your zeal in reproving and correcting the faults of your
disciples is, that should you omit to do so, you would
APOSTOLA.TE IN EDUCATION 305
render yourselves responsible before God for these very
faults, and He. would punish your cowardice and negli
gence with regard to your pupils ; because , holding the
place of their lathers , and mothers, and pastors, you
should watch over them, as being to render an account
of their souls. "
Sound religious instruction is not of less importance
than moral preservation in the formation of Christians ;
because, sooner or later, and even after the most serious
disorders, man returns to the path traced out for him
by his convictions. The man of strong, enlightened
faith remains a Christian in the bottom of his heart,
even when he sins ; lost virtue is often the cause of
irreparable ruin to those in whose souls faith is not
deeply rooted by a profound knowledge of religion.
Therefore our Saint was most exact that the Brothers
should thoroughly instruct their scholars in the truths
of religion... " You are obliged by your vocation to
teach the truths of faith to your pupils, and to instruct
them in their religion. You should devote yourselves
to this entirely, and give your life, should it be necessary,
to acquit yourselves faithfully of this duty. "
In order that the masters might become efficient
teachers of religion, he made it a duty for them to study
catechism every day. Having acquired a thorough
knowledge of the Christian doctrine, they were to teach
it daily to their scholars in class. " If you ", said the
Saint, " who have succeeded the apostles in the duty of
catechising and instructing the poor, wish your ministry
to be useful to the Church, you must teach them the
catechism every day, so that they may learn the funda
mental truths of their religion. " He did not wish that
this instruction should be imparted in " high studied
300 THE PRIEST
language, " but in terms clear and easily understood.
Besides the daily instruction in catechism, the good
master will cause religious truths to be relished by
making them pervade all his conversations and even in
teaching the human sciences.
In order to plant the faith deeper and more firmly in
the soul, the master will strengthen it with religious
practices, prayers, frequentation of the sacraments, etc.,
which he will recommend with great care to his dis
ciples. And to the Brother who shall have faithfully
carried out this programme of the apostle of education ,
the Saint promises the most glorious recompense :
" Oh ! " said he, " what a glory it will be for those who
shall have instructed youth, when their zeal and applica
tion to procure the salvation of the children shall be
published before all mankind, and when heaven shall
resound with the acclamations of thanks that these
blessed children will render to those who taught them
the path to heaven ! "
CHAPTER XIII.
THE FOUNDER
However nobly ambitious John Baptist De La Salle s
zeal, Providence as we have already remarked, limited
its action, in order that its results might be more
thorough and more prolific. Not only was it enclosed
within the field of education , but even here , it was to
be devoted to a special end and object, the forming of
Christian and religious masters. This task was all the
more arduous and important as the masters were not
to be simple teachers hut Religious also ; so that to the
mission of a director of a normal school, which forms
teachers capable to direct schools, there was added, for
our Saint, the mission of founding an Order, charged
with the initiation of souls in the Christian virtues and
religious perfection, and to assure the perpetuity of his
apostolic work by the organizing of an Institute. As
founder, he gave more scope and durability to his apos-
tleship of education by peopling hundreds of the classes
of the Brothers and Christian lay teachers with pupils ,
than if he had devoted his life to some single charity
308 THE FOUNDER
school in the city. It was in this way that Jesus Christ,
who came for the salvation of all men, prepared for the
conversion of the universe by the formation of His
disciples and the founding of a teaching Church, though
He himself converted but few souls during the three
years of His apostolate.
HOW THE FOUNDER ALLOWED HIMSELF
TO BE GUIDED BY PROVIDENCE
John Baptist had not sought the title of founder;
Providence made use of him to accomplish its designs
without his knowledge and almost against his will.
In imitation of St. Vincent De Paul, he only adapted
himself to the great works that it pleased God to carry
out by his means, as we learn from his own humble
avowal, as well as from the history of his life.
He wrote : " I never entertained the slightest thought
of it ; and had I known that the care I took of the school
masters, out of mere charity, would result in my living
with them, I should have abandoned the work. "
Towards the end of his long career, he said to MM. Gense
and De La Cocherie : " If God had allowed me to see
the good that the Institute could procure, and, at the
same time, had shown me the difficulties and crosses that
should accompany it, my courage would have failed
me ; and far from having charged myself with it, I should
not have dared to touch it with the ends of my fingers. "
He was only thinking of fulfilling his duties as Canon
in obscurity, when Madam Maillefer sent Nyel to him
in 1679, and no sooner had he arranged for the establish-
HE IS GUIDED BY PROVIDENCE 309
ing of the school of Saint- Maurice, than he discreetly
withdrew as from a work that was not his. If the found
ing of the school of Saint-Jacques shortly after caused
him to leave his retreat, is was only for such time as
was absolutely .necessary, and when it was done, he
returned promptly to his solitude. How different his
conduct from that of so many restless and presumptuous
men, who meddle with every undertaking! But it
pleases God to pursue those souls, who would hide
themselves through humility. John Baptist vainly tried
to efface himself; God discovered him, and brought
him back to the schools and to the masters by the
irresistible inclination of charity.
It was, in fact, nothing but sheer charity that urged
our Saint to assist the young masters of Rheims ; he
saw them abandoned as sheep without a shepherd, and
he strove to bring them together in the same exercises
of piety. To have them more conveniently under his
care, lie at first lodged them near his own mansion,
then admitted them to his table, and finally sheltered
them under his own roof. Thus, he almost impercep
tibly contracted bonds of intimacy, we would almost
say friendship, with the teachers of the poor. When
his natural brothers had been removed from his control,
he understood that the schoolmasters were to be his
future family : a family of a different rank, for which
the rich mansion of the rue Sainte- Marguerite would
be unsuitable, and which he must lodge in a more
humble and retired dwelling in the district. John
Baptist had not yet a very clear idea of the future, when,
on June 24th 1082, he transferred his little community
to the house in the rue Neuve; he was simply ready
to follow the indications of Providence with docilitv.
310 THE FOUNDER
The following year, he clearly showed his determination
not to shrink from any sacrifice by the resignation of
his canonicate and the distribution of the proceeds
of his patrimony to the poor.
The birth of the Institute seemed to be the reward for
this double renunciation : for the first organization
dated from the retreat of the general assembly of 1684;
twelve masters made the vow of obedience, the great
outlines of the Rule were decreed, the society assumed
the name of Brothers of the Christian Schools, and soon,
the choice of a religious habit signalized to the outer
world the existence of a new Institute.
The foundation was however far from being definitive.
The Institute, between the years 1684 and 1717, was
tossed like a frail bark on an ever tempestuous ocean,
favoured by times with a genial breeze which sped it
along the path of progress, but oftener beaten by violent
storms in which it all but foundered. It even seemed
that difficulties became greater and more numerous, in
proportion to the development of the work. In 1692,
the Institute was so much weakened by death and
the defection of members, that John Baptist had great
difficulty in finding two Brothers who would vow
with him to uphold the charity schools, even should
they be under the necessity of begging their bread. In
1702, there commenced a long period of mistrust, not
to say persecution, on the part of the ecclesiastical
authorities ; the founder was deposed, and an essential
article of his Rule was violated by the nomination of a
superior who was not a Brother. In 1712, the Chatelet
pronounced the judgments that defamed John Baptist;
lie, in his humility, looked upon himself as justly con
demned, and, believing that the Brothers of the North
HE TS GUIDED BY PROVIDENCE 3H
had separated from him, he left Paris in order to visit
the schools of the South : after thirty-five years of
toilsome labour, he thought his work was broken up,
even ruined. So many severe trials were surely unne
cessary to make him believe that the Institute was in
God s hands, and that God was the founder and guardian
of it much more than he. IIo put all his hope in God
alone; and from the moment that he attached himself
to God, his confidence Avas never shaken, so that he
never had after this an hour of real discouragement.
Though God guided the Institute along safe pat! is
through so many trials, yet its very existence was,
humanly speaking, always uncertain and threatened.
This is Avhy John Baptist, despite his great confidence
in God, was in no hurry to have the Congregation
approved by Rome, nor to solicit for it Letters Patent
from the King. He questioned himself Avhether a
Avork that Avas so persecuted , and , in appearance , so
unstable, Avas Avorthy of the attention of the constituted
authorities? Nevertheless, in 1700, he prepared fora
tentative in Rome, by sending two Brothers there; but
Brother Gabriel Drolin s inexperience, and the attacks
that soon shook the Institute in Paris, Avere not of a
nature to forward the interests of the Brothers, and so
John Baptist had not the consolation of obtaining the
Bull of Approbation of his work.
Yet he had the joy of verifying, IAVO years before his
death, that the storms had only made his Institute
strike deeper root ; for the ninety-nine professed Broth
ers of the twenty -two houses then in existence, Avere
animated with the same feelings and aspirations, and
had the same love for their dear founder, and Avould
unanimously adhere to the decisions of the general
312 THE FOUNDER
assembly at Saint- Yon, charged to elect the first Brother
Superior General. It may therefore be truly said that
the Institute was founded in 1717 ; after having emerged
from one of the most violent storms that it had ever
passed through, it appeared built on a solid rock. John
Baptist, on his retiring into the silence and modesty of
a simple religious, recognized with admiration that God
had guided all to a happy conclusion.
Though he generously lent himself by work and
sacrifice to the divine action , yet he always considered
himself as an unworthy instrument in so noble an
enterprise. Throughout his whole life, he tried to
avoid not work, but honour and esteem. The office
of superior was such a burden for his humility, that
from the year 1686 he did not cease to long for the
lowest rank. His ardent desires were gratified only two
years before his death; but to be revenged for so
long a term of office, he tried to bury his name in
oblivion, by ordering that he should not be reckoned
among the superiors of the Institute, and that the
Brother who was elected in 1717 should be named the
first Superior. By this pious requirement, which has
not removed one ray from his glory, he no doubt wished
to say that he had done nothing but according to the
impulsion and under the guidance of Providence.
HO\V HE CARES FOR HIS RELIGIOUS 313
HOW JOHN BAPTIST CARED FOR THE MEMBERS
OF HIS INSTITUTE
If John Baptist humbly confessed that he was only
the instrument of God in the foundation of the Institute,
lie however worked at its establishment with all the
activity of his rich nature and with all the resources
of grace with which his soul was iilled. Far from
remaining a simple passive instrument in the hands of
God, he worked for the sanctification of the Brothers
as ardently as if their spiritual progress depended upon
his personal efforts alone.
He devoted his time and his heart to them. From
his first interview with Nyel in 1679 till his last breath,
he belonged exclusively to the Brothers, living with
them, working for them ; he never quitted this work
which he loved so dearly, in order to occupy himself
with the care of externs ; if other souls profited by his
generous zeal , it was because they came to him to seek
the graces of which lie was the faithful guardian. From
the very outset, his heart was bound to the humble
masters whom Providence had led to him, and nothing
could turn it from them. With what gentle tenderness
he received those young souls, as charming in their
simplicity as they were ready in making sacrifices !
With what solicitude he formed them, corrected their
faults with fatherly kindness, guided their souls to the
highest virtues, and trained them with the trusty hand
of a master for the difficult task of educators! With
what unceasing fidelity he followed their efforts in
Life and Virtues.
314- THE FOUNDER
school, encouraged them, reanimated their fervour,
consoled them in the inevitable disenchantments of life!
The weak, even when they deserted him, bore away
with them his sympathy, so great was the difficulty he
felt in being separated from those whom lie once loved.
He possessed the heart and soul of a true shepherd.
His dear disciples were ever present to his thoughts,
and it was for them he so often prolonged his prayers.
Those countless hours that he devoted to mental prayer
were not lost time for the Institute; in those silent,
secluded recesses to which lie betook himself, he found
God and treated with Him of the interests of his chil
dren. Long vigils, rigorous fasts, bloody disciplines,
corporal sufferings, the chalice of humiliation which
he drank to the very dregs, all these were for them.
According to the saying of his Master, " he sanctified
himself for them. " If the vital sap flowed in streams
through the rising tree of the Institute, if its roots took
firm hold in the soil, and if it sent its branches high
and wide into the air, if it withstood the most violent
storms, and if its vigour continued to increase, let this
not surprise us : it was because the founder, who was the
powerful trunk, possessed and distributed the abundant
store of life which he received from God by penance
and prayer.
What efficacious influence he had on his disciples !
He was indeed desirous to see their numbers increase
but without anxiety. If he did not go in search of subjects
as Adrian Nyel did, he received with open arms all who
presented themselves. All did not persevere; but he
jealously watched that no vocation should be lost through
any negligence of his. He kindly received piously
inclined youths who came to him, and if they were too
HOW HE CARES FOR HIS RELIGIOUS 315
young to be admitted to the Novitiate proper, he put them
into a kind of Junior Novitiate , a true nursery, where
he paternally watched over their physical and their
moral growth. About the age of fifteen or sixteen, he
gave them the holy habit and admitted them to the
Novitiate : there, they continued to be the objects of his
most assiduous care and attention.
Though thoroughly convinced of the necessity of a
real Novitiate, John Baptist was slow in organizing it,
and he did so only when circumstances became
favourable. Previous to 1682, the young men recruited
by Nyel had no idea of becoming religious; John Baptist
was satisfied with preparing them for their functions
by means of a good spiritual retreat and by wholesome
counsels as to the manner of directing their classes.
From 1682, the epoch of his arrival at the rue Neuve,
he subjected the masters to a longer term of formation,
during which they devoted themselves both to exercises
of piety and to intellectual work. In 1684, when the
first twelve Brothers had made the vow of obedience,
and the Institute had commenced to be on a solid footing,
the Saint took in hands the establishing of a Novitiate,
properly so called ; exercises of piety and acts of mor
tification had a conspicuous place in the daily routine,
and profane studies were relegated to the background ;
however, the needs of the schools did not perhaps
permit that the novices should pass the whole year in
exercises proper to the novitiate, without any exterior
occupation. They did their best, however, strictly to
observe the canonical rule relative to this capital point.
Though the Novitiate was yet only imperfectly organized,
it had nevertheless rendered eminent services to the
Institute, when, about the year 1690, it failed through
316 THE FOUNDER
the inexperience of Brother Jean -Henri, who had
charge of it.
John Baptist hastened to re-establish it; but he suc
ceeded only in the month of September 1692. The
house at Vaugirard that had been opened a year before
for the Brothers as a place of recollection and of well-
merited repose, then became the Novitiate of the Insti
tute. From this time, John Baptist neglected nothing
to make his Novitiate conform to the rules, and be
animated with the purest religious spirit. As to the
direction to give it, he took his first inspiration in the
canons; then he consulted the masters of the spiritual
life, from Cassian and the Fathers of the Desert down
to the most modern founders and reformers, such as
St. Ignatius and St. Teresa. The hours of the day were
devoted to prayer and the divine office, reading and
spiritual conferences , manual work and some prepara
tory exercises suitable for a teacher s mission. Thanks
to this course, the Novitiate became in reality a place
of moral and religious formation, where prayer and
mortification held the first place.
The Novitiate Avas always to our Saint the dearest and
most sacred portion of the Institute. So he undertook
himself the task of forming the young religious. Even
when he had appointed a Director of novices, he still
continued to live with them; when duty no longer
required him elsewhere, he returned immediately to
his dear flock. Happy flock, living under the care of
such a shepherd! He excited such enthusiasm for piety
and virtue by his example and exhortation , that his
Novitiate had nothing to envy from the most fervent
communities : mental prayer was as punctual and
regular as among the Carmelites, and mortification as
HOW HE CARES FOR HIS RELIGIOUS 317
rigorous as that of the Trappists. There issued from this
sanctifying retreat strongly tempered souls, devoted to
the cause of God and well armed for the battle of life.
This moral strength and courage enabled the young
masters to face the difficulties inseparable from a
mission that is as ungrateful as it is all-important, and
not to succumb, in the long run, under the burden of
too heavy a load. But the founder, as a prudent man,
too well knew what disappointments and weariness
await a Brother during the first years of his ministry,
not to provide for so critical a period : hikewarmness in
piety, relaxation in mortification, discouragement in
the toilsome labours of the schools, the painful fric
tions arising from such great difference in characters,
all these he had foreseen.
The novitiate is the tilt-yard where the future soldier
prepares himself for the battle that will have to be
waged after the novitiate lias terminated. John Baptist
had too much love for his children not to interest
himself in the hour of their real danger. For this reason
he was with them in their schools : he often paid them
personal visits, and then, in private, he would pour
into their hearts the encouraging balm of an advice that
was at once loving and supernatural; he used to call
them into his presence, and would direct their retreat
of eight days, during which time many wounds were
healed, and cooled ardour rekindled; in fine, lie kept
himself in constant touch with his children by means of
frequent correspondence, and was always ready to
listen to them, console them and lead them back on
the right path, if they had swerved from it.
This correspondence, however incomplete, is the
most striking expression that remains to us of the soul
318 THE FOUNDER
of the Saint. It should not be allowed to perish , because
it contains solutions that are always new of the doubts
and difficulties that belong to all times. " You are
right ", he wrote to a Brother, " in saying that the
reflections you make, now and then, on the difficulties
of your state, are only tricks of the demon, who seeks
to discourage you and hinder you from bearing with love
the trials which you find therein... " I do not know ",
he said to another, " why you did not discover to me
sooner the temptation that you have had; do you not
know that the evil, when made known to the physician,
is already half cured? "... " T am very happy ", he said
on another occasion, " that you have recovered from
the wretched state in which you were for so long a time,
and that you are aware of the change that God has
wrought in you ; I can assure you that nothing gives me
greater joy than to learn that those with wliose direction
I am charged valiantly walk in the patli of justice. "
Are there not at all times poor, tried souls for whom
such words as the above are a striking reality? In this
manner, the founder still lives among his children, and
the same solicitude which he had tor his religious is
still exercised from bevond the tomb.
WITH WHAT RELIGIOUS ELEMENTS JOHN BAPTIST
FORMED THE SOUL OF HIS INSTITUTE
The unremitting influence of John Baptist on the
Brothers infused into them all the spirit and the grace
with which he himself was iilled. For, being predes
tined by vocation to be a founder, he had been endowed
RELIGIOUS ELEMENTS OF THE INSTITUTE 319
with the plenitude of the life that should animate all the
members of the Institute. In God s designs, the foun
der of a Religious Order must be and must continue to
be the soul of his Congregation : all those who receive
movement and life from him are his; to escape from
his influence would be to court sterility and death.
What may be called the soul of a founder is some
thing very complex ; it is composed of the elements of
the religious life to which, in his work, he has given a
preponderating importance, and which constitute, by
the very fact, the moral characteristic of the Congrega
tion. John Baptist De La Salle had too clear an un
derstanding and too much decision of will, not to give
his Institute a well defined character, not only as to the
end he had in view which was the Christian education
of children by means of the school, but also as to the
spirit that should animate it, the spirit of faith, of piety,
of mortification and obedience.
He declares in his Rule that the spirit of faith is the
chief constituent element of his Institute. The Brothers
shall have a pure doctrine; they shall be guided in all
things, not by the maxims of the false wisdom of the
world, but by the light and sentiments of faith. They
shall look upon nothing but with the eyes of faith, and
they shall do nothing but in view of God and for God.
They shall adore God in men and in events: they shall
listen to God in the superiors who guide them, and they
shall serve God in the children whom they instruct;
they shall attribute all tilings, favourable or unfavour
able, to God, saying with holy Job: " The Lord gave,
and the Lord hath taken away. " John Baptist well
knew that a soul thus governed by faith is ready for
every sacrifice and the most generous efforts. The soul,
320 THE FOUNDER
carried on the wings of faith, escapes all the sugges
tions of the flesh and the attractions of the world,
triumphs over interior weariness and is not discour
aged by contradictions. Gould a more powerful element
of life be infused into religious whose entire existence
must be absorbed by the ungrateful and monotonous
work of the schools?
But faith soon languishes and becomes inactive, if it
is not kept alive and strengthened at the lifegiving
source of piety. For this purpose, exercises of piety
hold the first place in the daily life of a Brother. Expe
rience had, in fact, taught John Baptist the happy
fruits of piety. The Brother, so long as he is pious,
will love his state, will have a taste for his occupations,
will live in union of heart and soul with God, and will
burn with love for souls. Should he grow lax in piety,
at once lie loses all his ardour, is depressed and suc
cumbs; and very likely lie will lose his vocation entirely.
Do not then be surprised, do not regret that the chief
duty of a Brother is prayer and meditation during a
great part of the time that is left him after his austere
occupations : he reposes himself, and refreshes his soul
by prayer, after which lie feels himself more courageous
for his work. Without doubt, study would enlarge
his mind and increase his stock of knowledge; but
should he neglect to renew his moral power by prayer,
profane knowledge alone would not lighten his burden,
and, having less taste for his humble functions,
he would, on that account, be a less useful educator.
It is the masterpiece of John Baptist to have known
how to nourish the souls of his religious teachers by
means of vocal and mental prayer, without suppressing
study.
RELIGIOUS ELEMENTS OF THE INSTITUTE 321
But one takes delight in the living source of grace
from on high only in proportion as one is detached from
terrestrial joys and pleasures; as much as prayer
springs spontaneously from the heart when we suffer,
so it ceases to pass our lips when we delight in worclly
pleasures. So, John Baptist was right in keeping his
religious to the practices of mortification; lie was con
vinced that by this means their intercourse with God in
piety would be easier and more consoling. There was
still another motive that induced him to urge them on
the austere way of penance. Accustomed to chastise
their bodies and curb their wills, the Brothers were
ready for the hard labours and the painful duties of the
humble teachers of youth. The burden of the Lord is
sweet to those who know how to subdue their inordi
nate passions ; but how heavy and insupportable to those
who follow their caprices and indulge their sensuality!
It is true that macerations or corporal inflictions are not
of obligation for the Brothers; but their rule of life
which keeps them occupied at every moment with some
definite duty, is not the less severe. A fruitful auster
ity which sustains them in their vocation by keeping
them to a life of sacrifice.
Of all the practices of mortification, obedience is the
hardest, because it subjugates the will; but it is also the
most efficacious, because by means of the will, it seizes
the whole being. Obedience is so essential to the reli
gious life, that every Congregation imposes it on its
members. John Baptist regarded obedience as the
indispensable binding link in a community, so he per
mitted the Brothers to make the vow, in the year 1684.
Through prudence, and considering the precarious
state of his Institute, lie was satisfied with this single
322 THE FOUNDER
vow and did not permit the Brothers to make the other
two vows of religion; during his life, they added but
the vow of stability which is the corollary of the vow
of obedience.
Obedience obliges the Brother to submit himself, as
all other religious, to the will of his Superior General
and to that of his local Director; but it presents this
peculiar characteristic in the Institute, that it keeps the
Brothers constantly in the state of community. A Broth
er is never alone; on his journeys, he generally has a
companion; there are never fewer than two Brothers in
a school; when in class, he works in constant fellowship
with his Brothers; the exercises of piety are performed
in a common oratory ; recreation is taken in company
witli his Brothers. A religious of this Institute thus
finds in his equals so many vigilant supports, and passes
his life in perpetual submission. But what a safe
asylum for virtue is this community life! What a sup
port for ordinary wills is this universal dependence!
Brilliantly gifted natures are not kept down, and the less
talented, who are the most numerous in the great
family of humanity, lind therein excellent means for
development.
Such were the elements that formed the spirit of the
founder; such ought to be the life of the Brothers of the
Christian Schools. He who, by lively faith, ardent
piety, constant mortification and perfect obedience,
shall have realized in his person this ideal of the perfect
religious, will infallibly be a zealous educator in his
school, and will surely be blessed by God.
THE ORGANIZATION OF THE INSTITUTE 323
THE ORGANIZATION OF THE INSTITUTE
John Baptist De La Salle, a man of faith and zeal, was
also a man of government. If he had the gift of kind
ling the love of God in souls, and of exciting them to
devotedness, he was not less clever in the organizing of
a religious society and of directing its development.
Calm, thoughtful, clear-sighted, methodic in his plans
and firm in his decisions, lie was born to found and
direct a Congregation. Indeed, his Institute bears the
visible impression of a clear mind and a resolute will.
His Rule was drawn up with so much wisdom, and
shows such little trace of the times in which it was
written, that it guides the Brothers of to-day with no less
precision than it did those of two hundred years ago.
It is not the least of his merits to have clearly defined
the rote of the Institute. The Brothers shall be occupied
with education alone. At the same time that the
Brothers w r ill give the children the human knowledge
suitable to their condition, they shall teach them the
truths of religion and watch over their virtue : in a
word, they shall endeavour to make them good Chris
tians. They shall devote themselves above all to the
poor; and that none may be refused admittance to t lie
schools, they shall be gratuitous schools, that is to say,
no school fees shall be paid either by the parents or by
the children. The children of the working classes also
shall be received, provided that the gratuitousness of
the schools be not violated; in this way the Saint very
much enlarged the circle of his school population. He
324 THE FOUNDER
made it larger still by the creation of the Sunday
schools and the foundation of the boarding school of
Saint-Yon : in the Sunday schools , he inaugurated the
works of the continuation schools and the classes for
adults; at Saint- Yon, lie founded, in favour of the sons
of merchants and tradesmen, a new system of practical
education. The resources from the boarding school
were in part to sustain the works of the Novitiate.
From fliis sphere of action, circumscribed by the foun
der himself, the Brothers have never departed ; and this
exact delimitation, by facilitating their fidelity to the
traditions of their Institute, lias been their strength.
The same decision reigns throughout the general
discipline, that is to say, in the fundamental rules laid
down to establish good order in the Institute.
Nothing was dearer to the heart of the founder than
the principle of the gratuitousness of the schools. This
is clearly explained by circumstances. As the primary
end of the Institute was to withdraw poor children from
ignorance and vice, the very fact of opening schools
for them required that they should be gratuitous.
It is a no less positive article that no member of the
Institute shall be either a priest or a cleric. The founder,
a priest himself, did not at first have the idea of not
admitting priests into the Institute; his humility even
prompted him to prepare a Brother, Henri L Heureux,
for Holy Orders, hoping that he might replace him in
the office of superior. But the Brother s premature
death, in 1690, appeared to him as a sign of the divine
will, and from that time he promulgated the absolute
principle which excludes priests and clerics from the
Institute. He looked on himself as being an anomaly
in the Society; and therefore it was that he made repeat-
THE ORGANIZATION OF THE INSTITUTE 325
ed efforts that a Brother should become superior of
the Institute, and that while he himself was still living.
He was not less categorical with regard to community
life. He held it as a fact of experience that religious in
community protect one another and excite one another
to good. Being thus convinced, lie never permitted
that a Brother should be alone; lie always placed at
least two Brothers in each school; he even preferred
the cities to the large boroughs, because the classes
being more numerous in the former, the members of the
community would be numerous in proportion. Even
in the community itself, a Brother never has an instant
of complete solitude. This common life is a blessed
preservative against the many surprises of human
weakness.
The exercise of authority is efficacious and without
complication. Each Brother depends on the Director
of the house in which he lives and on the Superior
General ; he can have recourse to the Superior whenever
he wishes to do so; and at least twice a year, he must
communicate with him on his dispositions and diffi
culties. If, by reason of the large number of subjects,
the Superior has to be aided under ordinary circum
stances by his Assistants, lie is not less the father always
ready and disposed to receive the communications of
his children.
The Rule reigns supreme over all the members of the
Institute. The same to-day as when it came forth from
the hands of the founder, it does not impose a ty
rannical burden, but rather provides as a mother for
the different wants of the religious whom it con
ducts.
It takes care of their health, for it is to avoid all
326 THE FOUNDER
disastrous extra fatigue that, not content with prescrib
ing daily recreations and weekly walks, it forbids the
Brothers to undertake works that are foreign to the
duties of their state. It carefully distinguishes the aus
terity of every day life which is salutary, from excess of
labour, which is an abuse of physical strength.
It assures the maintenance of the religious life by
means of piety. It places a Brother every day in
an atmosphere of recollection, of union with God, and
of moral elevation : every hour is enveloped in a net of
vocal or mental prayer; and, when the prayer is termi
nated, there comes a reading to prepare the soul for
further prayer.
It exercises an uninterrupted vigilance over moral
virtue, because it keeps the community severely guarded
against all communication witli the world, and it pre
serves a Brother from the great dangers of isolation and
abandonment. Thanks to the Rule, a Brother is unac
quainted with the world, and is unknown by it; but at
the same time, the common life delivers him from that
frightful void in which he runs the risk of being
disheartened. In this just equilibrium of solitude and
of activity, the religious is enabled to control himself,
and the practice of virtue is rendered easier.
However, and in spite of all, weariness is possible, and
has been provided for. To protect himself against its
fatal effects, a Brother has several means at his dis
posal; without speaking of the help he derives from the
powerful influence of the confessor, lie lias the advice
of his Brother Director, to whom he gives each week
an account of his condition ; then he is encouraged by
the Brother Visitor, who reanimates his. zeal in the
practice of his duties; his correspondence with the
THE ORGANIZATION OF THE INSTITUTE 327
Assistant or the Superior will be of great help to him,
and, finally, lie will have the invaluable exercises of the
annual retreat.
Moreover, a Brother does not undertake his mission
of educator before having been accustomed to govern
himself under the beneficient authority of the Rules.
A fervent novitiate has revealed to him his faults, trained
him to overcome himself, and caused him to take up
the practices of prayer and mortification which will be
his safety.
During the period of formation, and particularly
during the year following the novitiate, he learned the
art of being a good master. For the founder desired
that, in this important mission, a Brother shall not
lack either knowledge or experience : he sometimes
incurred great expense so that the Brothers might be
made more competent to teach the several branches of
the programme; before putting them in charge of chil
dren, lie did not fail to enlighten them on their duties
by means of wise and practical pedagogic directions.
And, as if it had not been sufficient to have foreseen
all and to have organized all by the Rules, he still lives
in his books and precepts, which accompany his dis
ciples from generation to generation, as they followed
them in the beginning, from school to school. All his
writings are practical, and reveal his character of
founder. He very carefully edited books of piety for
his religious children, such as the Method of Mental
Prayer and subjects of meditation suitable to their state.
For the use of the professors, he wrote schoolbooks
and treatises on school management. Thus nothing
was left to chance, all was regulated in this edifice
erected by the hands of John Baptist De La Salle.
THE FOUNDER
JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE AS A RELIGIOUS
However admirable John Baptist was as a legislator,
he touches the heart much more by his religious fidel
ity. Nothing imparted more authority to the founder s
words than his example of humble submission to the
Rules: for no one showed himself a simple Brother of
the Christian Schools more than he.
He could have devoted himself, like so many other
apostolic men, to the work of the schools and even have
founded a teaching Congregation without abandoning
the duties of his ecclesiastical ministry. But lie did not
consent to direct from without the Institute which God
created by his hands; he desired to live and die in the
Society. It was therefore a great subject of edification
to see a Canon of an illustrious cathedral resign his
canonry and descend to the level of humble schoolmas
ters, to see a rich priest sacrifice his fortune to dwell
with men who were poor and unknown. There were
occasions when he seemed to regret that his title of
priest distinguished him too much from the Brothers;
and though glad he was of his priestly state to ascend
the altar, yet he tried to make others forgetful of it and
loved to take the last place in the community. In asso
ciating thus with his disciples, lie more surely filled
their hearts with his own spirit and life : his soul
reached and more effectively vivified all souls.
Having once entered his adopted family, he never had
the slightest thought of leaving it. He was the first to
make the vow of obedience in 1084, and every year he
JOHN BAPTIST AS A RELIGIOUS 329
renewed it. In 1691, when the Institute appeared to be
on the very brink of ruin, he and two faithful disciples
bound themselves never to abandon the work of the
schools, even should they be obliged to beg their bread.
As we have already remarked, his resolution never
flagged in the presence of difficulties ; he was sometimes
betrayed from within, often persecuted from without,
and in spite of all, he loved his Institute, and worked
therein without the least discouragement.
As a man of community, he was never so happy as
when in the midst of his religious family. He absented
himself but very rarely, and then only for some very
grave reason; and lie returned promptly and joyfully.
He avoided dining out; the Bishop of Ghartres, who
wished to keep him for a day on a certain occasion, had
to close the doors of his palace and make him his
prisoner. During his stay at Grenoble, he kept aloof
from the excellent friends he had in that city, fearing
that he might thus be deprived too long of community
life. No matter what happiness he enjoyed in his
retreat at the Grande -Chartreuse, he remained there
only three clays, because it was not his community.
The Brothers house at Mende was so small that it could
not afford a room for a passing visitor : at least he spent
whole days there and took his meals with the Brothers.
It is true that lie lived five months at Saint-Nicolas du
Ghardonnet, out of his community ; but at that time he
was no longer Superior, and his humility made him
believe that his presence would be embarrassing for
his successor, while his spirit of faith persuaded him
that his prayers and penances were of much more use
to his Institute.
In this interior communitv life that was so dear to
330 THE FOUNDER
him, what wholesome example did he not give of the
most scrupulous fidelity to the regulations ! Everything
distinguished him from the others : his birth, his
education, his sacrifices, his sacerdotal character, his
title of founder ; but he did not wish to be distinguished
from them in anything. In 1084, lie adopted the
common fare at table, to do which he was obliged to
make war on a rebellious stomach. Raillery did not
stop him from taking the habit of the Brothers; when
M. Baudrand made him resume, in Paris, the soutane
and cape in place of the robe of coarse cloth, he did not
fail to add to them the mantle with pendent sleeves, in
order clearly to show that lie was one of the Brothers.
As to other tilings, he distinguished himself only by
extraordinary punctuality in the accomplishment of all
religious duties.
He was the first at all the exercises. No amount of
fatigue could cause him to omit the meditation in com
mon; even when he had passed the night in prayer, he
was faithful to this rendezvous of the morning. If lie
returned from a journey worn out and covered with
perspiration, he went at once and took his place in the
community, and participated in the exercise that had
already begun. He took his share, like all the Brothers,
in the manual work, and there was nothing too menial
that he was not ready to do in his turn. As long as he
was Superior, he feared he had not practised the vow of
obedience well enough, and he gave himself up to the
least prescriptions of the Rules with the most scrupul
ous exactness.-
On two occasions, during his religious life, he consid
ered himself happy, because then he was not obliged
to command ; this short season of happiness was in 1084
JOHN BAPTIST AS A RELIGIOUS 331
and 1717. With what joy he then gave himself to the
practice of obedience ! He would do nothing without
permission, in order to have the satisfaction of being
dependent on a superior, and the mere shadow of
a fault furnished him the glad pretext to make his
accusation in the presence of all the Brothers. If
ever the thought entered his mind that he had been
Superior, it was to obliterate all recollection of the
fact in the minds of others; for, on all occasions, he
would put himself in the lowest place, and, when at
table, lie wished to place himself belo\v the last of the
Serving Brothers.
Such striking lessons were not lost on the Brothers.
Not content with simply admiring him, they felt them
selves drawn to follow his example. In the presence of
such acts of virtue, who would not have blushed at his
own irregularity? The Jiving Rule of the community,
John Baptist did more by his example of religious
holiness than by all his exhortations and books for the
solid foundation of the Institute.
CHAPTER XIV.
THE DESTINY OF HIS WORK
When John Baptist De La Salle died on April 7th 1719,
the tomb was destined to receive hut the body of the
founder. His work remained; and that work, into
which he had infused his own spirit to repletion,
was to grow and, so to speak, prolong his life. By a
mysterious contrast, as much as it had been persecuted
during the mortal life of the founder, so much was it
protected both by God and by men after he had been
received into his heavenly home. Once more, it has
been shown that, for each one, the present life is a time
of infirmities, of warfare and of merit; it is only in the
bosom of God, that with the plenitude of life, our influence
attains its apogee, and that our works are crowned with
full success.
At the time of the death of John Baptist, his work was
very unpretentious. About one hundred poor teachers,
a few charity schools, one boarding school, as yet no
official recognition either by the Church or by the State,
a nearly total absence of notoriety : such was the social
condition of the Institute in 1719. But this frail sapling,
IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 333
that had not yet attracted the attention of any one, was
nevertheless planted in rich soil; it contained within
it a powerful vitality ; it was to grow into a majestic tree,
the branches of which were to spread far and wide, and
its renown was to illustrate the name of the pious priest
who lavished on it the first cares. It now remains for
us to describe the salient characteristics of the successful
development of the work of John Baptist De La Salle.
IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
During the eighteenth century, the Institute advanced
with sure step along the road of progress. When
the Revolution broke out, it counted approximately :
121 communities in France and in foreign countries,
1000 Brothers and 36000 pupils. It had not swerved
from the line traced by the founder : gratuitous schools
had always been its chief object, and the boarding
schools, from six to ten, held only the second place.
The teaching in the petites ecoles did not remain
stationary; for they were directed by masters better and
better formed. Scholasticates were opened where the
young Brothers, having completed their novitiate, came
to develop their instruction and to receive lessons on
pedagogy. The Management of the Schools, written by
the founder, was enlarged or modified, according to the
indications of experience, the better to perfect the
methods or to adapt its counsels to circumstances. In
his commentary on the Twelve virtues of a good master,
Brother Agathon gave an excellent treatise on education.
Schoolbooks were multiplied, and enlarged the pro-
334 THE DESTINY OF HIS WORK
gramme of primary studies, by facilitating the task of
both master and pupil.
Hutitwas in the domain of higher elementary teaching
that progress was the most apparent. Here, nearly all
had to be created. New social conditions commenced
to demand a change in the intellectual education of
youth : the sons of merchants, tradesmen and extensive
farmers, required something else than classics. The
universities and the religious teaching Orders, bound
by traditions in which routine had a part, lent them
selves with great difficulty to this new order of things ;
the Brothers, on the contrary, either because the youth-
fulness of their Institute rendered it more supple, or
because classical teaching was foreign to them, had
a free field for the new demands, and, without the least
hesitation, they responded to the circumstances.
Boarding schools were opened in several cities and
towns, notably at Angers, Nantes, Nimes and Saint-
Omer; the modern programmes of Saint- Yon were at
once introduced and followed in all these schools.
A commercial school for the perfecting of writing, the
teaching of advanced arithmetic, of book-keeping by
single and double entry, and of foreign exchange, was
opened at Boulogne-sur-Mer ; hydrography and drawing
were soon after added. The teaching of agriculture
was begun at Cherbourg, where the Brothers gave the
use of their garden to the pupils, in order to teach them
methods of cultivation. Canon Bertrand De Latour
established a public library at Montauban which was
confided to the Brothers : the books Avere lent gratis,
and an annual allowance was paid to the Brother who
had charge of registering the borrowing and the return
ing of the books in circulation. Thus the Brothers
IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 33o
lent a willing hand to tentatives whence sprang so
many vast institutions in the following century.
Their development attests the great activity of the
interior life; because rich vegetation is always an indi
cation and the effect of the powerful pressure of the sap.
The Brothers assuredly had this principle of fruitfulness
from the divine blessing : but they also owed it to their
manner of life, which was likewise a gift from God. Men
of order, of discipline and tradition, they were all united
in their obedience to the same Rules and to the same
superiors. They counted among them many distin
guished men : their works live but their names are
already forgotten by the world. There are however two
names among the Superiors General that ought to be
remembered : Brother Timothee and Brother Agathon.
Brother Timothee, one of the founder s most cherished
disciples, presided with as much wisdom as firmness
over the early development of the Institute; Brother
Agathon, a man of superior intelligence, as clever a
man of business as he was a patr6n of higher studies,
displayed so much wisdom and enterprise during his
generalate that, apart from the founder, no other hand
has left a more profound trace in the Institute. The
strength of the Brothers is due to their attachment to their
traditions. One of them wrote : "We carry with us our
Rules, our method and manner of proceeding ; for if we
possess the relics of our saintly founder, we more jeal
ously preserve his spirit. : Custom was respected,
when its origin could be traced up to the founder him
self. For a still greater reason , care was taken not to
encroach on the essential principles. The gratuitousness
of the schools was maintained in a number of towns,
notably at Boulogne and Toulon, but by the energy of
336 THE DESTINY OF HIS WORK
the Superiors : the Brothers willingly condemned
themselves to extremes of poverty, rather than adopt
the practice of requiring school fees.
In proportion as the Institute grew and extended,
and as the Brothers signalized themselves for their piety
and devotedness, they gained the good will of the people,
which proved a solid support to their work. This
support was much strengthened by the assistance of the
Church and State.
About six years after the deatli of John Baptist,
Benedict XIII., by the Bull of Approbation, dated Jan
uary 26th 1725, classed the Institute among tiie reli
gious Congregations officially recognized by the Church :
this signal favour assured for the Institute the protection
of the Church, and, at the same time, guaranteed its
independence. The Brothers were so highly esteemed
by the Bishops, that they vied with one another to have
them in their dioceses as auxiliaries to their zeal; and
Pope Clement XIV. summarized the sentiments of all
when he said in 1772 : "! value the Brothers very highly."
The royal authority followed their progress not less
attentively and also encouraged their efforts. Louis XV.,
in 1724, approved the Society and issued Letters Patent
for the jurisdiction of the parliament of Bouen; Letters
Patent for the parliaments of Paris and Toulouse were
granted some time after, by Louis XVI. According to
the terms of the approbation, the civil authority recog
nized the right of the Brothers to form masters, and to
teach charity schools gratuitously, and receive pupils in
boarding schools, and accept delinquents sent to them
by order of the court or of the parliament. Thus pro
tected by the two powers, the Brothers were enabled
freely to accomplish their religious and social mission.
IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 337
They had however many enemies. It is a strange
thing that the philosophers did not understand the
mission and work of the Brothers; they despised those
whom they were pleased to call ignorantins, and
they asked the king to banish them as dangerous sub-
jecls. And for what reason? Because they contributed,
said Granet De Foulon, " to the too great propagation
of free instruction. " " If the Brothers are left free ",
he further added, " there will soon not be an artisan but
will know how to read and write. The interest of the
State demands their destruction. " Thus, according to
the philosophers, the Brothers are dangerous, because
they instruct the people.
In the eyes of the Galvinists, and especially those of
the South, the Brothers were the too solid props of the
Catholic religion; here and there, the Huguenots stirred
up petty revolutions in the schools, hoping to have the
Brothers banished because of the disorder. Additional
opposition was excited by the rivalry of the writing-
masters, because gratuitous education in the new schools
threatened their existence. These bewildered masters
did not perceive that, with the Brothers, there had also
arisen a new social force whose power was irresistible :
it was instruction offered to all without distinction, given
gratuitously, and according to infallibly successful
methods.
But it is necessary to remark that in the eighteenth
century, the Institute was passing through social con
ditions very different from those in which it lives since
the Revolution.
Public opinion considered educational questions as
holding only a secondary place : the court, the army,
and finance occupied the first place in men s minds.
Life and Virtues. i J
;n THE DESTINY OF UTS WORK
A religious society directing schools, instructing the
people, and principally the poor, passed unperceived;
it could arouse only sordid passions of local or personal
interest.
Political passions that excite a whole people, did not
grow restless on the subject of education. The State
had not yet seized upon the schools to turn them into
instruments of government. Far from reserving to
itself the monopoly of teaching, it left to private enter
prise the care of instructing the rich in colleges and the
poor in primary schools; it looked kindly on those who
devoted themselves to educational works. The Church,
on the other hand, was mucl i more active ; and her author
ity had a preponderating place in educational questions.
As great as had been her zeal in the founding of univer
sities, colleges, and primary schools, so great was her
attention to their preservation and development : by
means of the schools, she had planted the faith in the
souls of the French ; and by them she endeavoured to
preserve it.
But then the Revolution came along, determined to
overthrow the old order of things, and set up society on
entirely new bases. The Institute of the Brothers,
during this terrible storm , disappeared for a while, but
it did not perish; when peace was re-established, it
resumed its onward march, under new conditions,
towards still greater progress.
UNDER THE REVOLUTION 339
UNDER THE REVOLUTION AND THE EMPIRE
The Assembly of 1789, which had been convoked to
destroy the abuses that weighed upon the kingdom,
seemed to have no other object than to overturn all the
institutions of ancient France. The Brothers, who
devoted themselves for the people, were not attacked
immediately; in fact, they entertained the hope that
their Institute would be respected. For, in the decrees
which confiscated the goods of the Church and sup
pressed monastic vows, the Assembly had declared that,
for the present, nothing ought to be changed with regard
to houses engaged in public instruction. But, alas!
the illusion was of short duration; the decree of
March 22nd 1791, which obliged all teachers to take
the civil oath, left the Brothers no alternative but to
betray their duty or abandon their schools. Their
fidelity, in this conjuncture, proved the degree of their
virtue : for, with heroic simplicity, they disregarded
all summons to take the oath. " I will never take such
an oath ", said one, " because my conscience forbids
it. Moreover, their dissolution had already been
resolved upon, and was published on August 18th 1792.
The Legislative Assembly, while suppressing the Insti
tute, declared however, and as if in cruel irony, that
" it had deserved well of the Country. "
The dispersion commenced immediately. During
the Reign of Terror, some Brothers fell on the scaffold,
others suffered all the horrors of transportation or
consummated their sacrifice, as galley-slaves, on the
340 THE DESTINY OF HIS WORK
prison ships at Rochefort ; others enrolled themselves in
the army; some continued their teaching profession;
some expatriated themselves and went to seek refuge
in the house in Rome. Only two communities sur
vived these sad days : those of Rome and Orvieto, in
Italy.
The revolutionary storm did immense damage in the
course of a few years; but, being too violent to last
long, it had already exhausted its fury before reaching
the roots of the majestic trees it had blown down.
From these roots, rich in sap, there sprang new trunks
winch consoled afflicted souls with the promise of repair
ing such havoc and ruin. The Institute of the Brothers
was the first to bloom again in all its force and freshness.
It possessed a reserve of life in Rome, not only because
it had several of its members there, but also because
there was still a chief, in the person of Brother Fru-
mence, who had been made Vicar General by Pius VI.
in 1795, when Brother Agathon, Superior General, had
been imprisoned. In France, as soon as the reign of
the guillotine had passed away, the Brothers, who still
survived, resumed, here and there, their humble office
of schoolmasters. In a short time, two schools became
even very flourishing, those of Brother Gerbaud in Paris,
in the quarter du Gros-Caillou, and of Brother Pigmenion
in Lyons.
After the first consul had taken the direction of affairs,
his chief care was to organize public instruction. But
at the outset he met a grave difficulty, the scarcity of
schoolmasters. It was then that, at the requests for
mulated by the departmental assemblies and by the
municipalities of the cities, asking for " those teachers
who had directed the schools so well before the Revo-
UNDER THE EMPIRE 341
lution, " Napoleon Bonaparte appealed to the Brothers
and to the nuns; and at the instance of his uncle,
Cardinal Fesch, his ambassador with the Pope, he gave
legal existence to the Brothers of the Christian Schools
by a decree, dated December 1803 (ii frimaire
an XII).
This official approbation was the signal of a new
return to life of the Institute. The dispersed Brothers
came together in the Lyons house and reassumed the
religious habit; Providence soon sent new recruits to
enlarge the little band of Brothers ; Brother Frumence,
who kept his title of Vicar General till his death in 1810,
left Borne to take up the government of his Congrega
tion in Lyons.
Soon after this, there was issued an imperial decree,
dated March 17th 1808, which created the University
of France, and placed the Institute in an official position
very different from the old state of affairs.
Napoleon, smitten with absolutism, had resolved to
place in the hands of the authorities all the forms of
influence and all the means of governing. It was not
enough for him to maintain public order and to direct
the material interests of the country; lie determined to
penetrate the souls and minds of men, that his ideas
and sentiments might be shared by his subjects. From
that time, education, which until then had been con
fined to families and to those religious corporations
which had gained their confidence, became a function
of the State : that is, the State turned schoolmaster.
The monopoly of teaching was not however so absolute
as to leave no room for private enterprise. Teachers not
aided by tl ic State could open private schools. But, accord
ing to the terms of the decree, dated March 17th 1808,
342 THE DESTINY OF HIS WORK
no scholastic establishment could be opened without
having previously obtained the authorization of the
imperial University, and without paying a large annual
tribute to the State. Napoleon I. greatly disliked private
schools, even when authorized, for he wrote to Fontanes
May 24th 1808 : "The University has the care of all public
institutions , and it must see that there shall be as few
private ones as possible. " Under these circumstances,
which were modified only by the law of June 28th 1833,
private schools were rare and their development con
stantly checked.
What was the position of the Brothers under these
circumstances? Napoleon, who, on account of the
scarcity of schoolmasters, could not well do without
them, and who, besides, highly esteemed them, put a
number of government schools under their direction.
Thus, those who had the direction of public schools
were incorporated with the University. Without ceasing
to be religious, they became in a certain sense officers
of the State, and were paid by it. In some respects,
this was an advantage since they could fulfil their
mission of popular teachers, but it had its disadvantages
as well, which often caused grave embarrassments,
from which they were delivered only by their invincible
fidelity to their traditions.
They were called upon, in 1809, to present their
constitutions for the approbation of the University.
This body, influenced by Gallican ideas, of which the
Emperor was the most firm supporter, required that
they should be guided in their obedience " by the
maxims contained in the Declaration of the French
clergy in the year 1682. " It required all the energy
and moral influence of M. Emery, superior of Saint-
UNDER THE EMPIRE 343
So] pice and member of the council of the University, to
cancel so vexatious a provision.
An intense struggle commenced soon after, relative
to methods of teaching. For the ministers of public
instruction tried, in 1815, to introduce the Lancasterian,
or mutual system into France. Under the pressure of
the government, the schools adopted this method in a
large number of communes : this system of teaching-
children with the aid of children did, perhaps, under
the watchful eye of the master, render some service,
and especially as there was a great scarcity of masters.
But the Brothers resisted all ministerial solicitations
on this subject; and by their unyielding fidelity to the
traditions left them by their founder, they saved the
simultaneous system, which thenceforward prevailed
almost everywhere.
All the Brothers, however, were not engaged in
official schools nor incorporated with the University.
Certain authorized private schools were confided to
them; and here they naturally enjoyed greater inde
pendence. It was even very remarkable that when
the Mother -house was removed from Lyons to Paris,
in 1821, they had not a single official school in the
capital. But the services that they rendered to the city
by means of their private schools were so much appre
ciated that, to remunerate them, it graciously offered
them a house.
They had the confidence of the families, and, to a
certain extent, the favour of the government; hence
their Institute was not obstructed in its development,
and multiplied the number of its schools.
344 THE DESTINY OF HIS WORK
UNDER THE LAW OF LIBERTY OF EDUCATION
The Guizot law of June 28th 1833 made a bread i in
the monopoly that had been established by the Empire,
and thereby emancipated primary education. The State
remained the master of the school; but it permitted
others to come and teacli alongside it. Until then the
number of private schools had been very limited on
account of the obligation of being previously authorized ;
but, when the new law required only a simple decla
ration on the part of a certified teacher, they greatly
multiplied.
The line of distinction between a communal and a free
school was from this time finely drawn. Communal
schools could be put under the direction of religious
teachers; the Brothers, in fact, took a large number of
such schools. But they accepted also many free
schools, for the direction of which they were paid by
private charity. Whether paid by the State or by
private individuals, they accomplished all alike their
mission of Christian educators.
But the law of 1833, at the same time, gave a great
impetus to primary education ; each commune in
France was obliged to have its school and its teacher ;
each department was to have its normal school for the
training of masters. This movement did not at first
create any rivalry unfriendly to the Brothers ; the number
of lay masters at that time was insufficient; certain nor
mal schools, such as the one in Rouen, were even
placed in charge of the Brothers.
UNDER THE LAW OF LIBERTY OF EDUCATION 34o
In spite of all this, the secular authority favoured the
lay teachers. While the Brothers depended entirely
on their religious superiors, and this is easily under
stood, the lay masters were more at the service, not of
the country, but of the minister and his policy. Hence
the tendency, on the part of the State, to increase
the number of lay teachers. And indeed the time came,
when the public authorities of the third Republic,
acting under the pressure of political and antireligious
passions, entered into the work of the laicisation of the
schools.
This laicisation was gradually enforced, first by
administrative power, and afterwards by law.
The laicisation of the State schools was begun in 1877,
when Gambetta and Ferry, who domineered the new
Parliament, declared war on religion under the form
of clericalism. The municipalities, especially those
of the towns, replaced the religious teachers by secular
masters; Paris gave the signal to begin. Vainly had
Brother Irlide, who was then the Superior General of
the Brothers, tried to induce the Council of State to
recognize the rights acquired by the Institute; the
laicisation continued its course.
Its speed was accelerated by the Ferry law of
March 28th 1882. This law created compulsory
attendance at school, a very wise thing in itself; the
official schools were to be gratuitous to all children,
which was quite in accordance with the Brothers Rules ;
but all religious teaching was prohibited in the com
munal schools, a provision calculated to oblige the
religious masters to abandon the official schools of their
own accord. The religious masters, while preserving
their ofiicial situation, knew how to reconcile the legal
15*
346 THE DESTINY OF HIS WORK
prescriptions of those secularized or neutral courses of
study with their duties as Christian educators. Thanks
to the assistance of the clergy and generous Catholics ,
they were enabled to find premises where, at certain
hours , they said the prayers and taught the catechism
which were prohibited in the schools.
To have done with it, the Chambres voted the laicisa-
tion of all official teachers bythe Goblet law of October
30th 1886. Thereafter, no religious was to be appointed
in communal schools; and further, in 1891, all boys
schools were to be entirely secularized. Some delay was
made in the case of girls 1 schools , because there was a
lack of lay female teachers.
Thus were the Brothers, who had been re-established
and encouraged by Napoleon I., entirely evicted by the
Ferry law from all official teaching. Since 1886, they
have been employed in free schools. As during the
lifetime of their founder, they work, aided by private
subscriptions , for the Christian education of poor chil
dren and the sons of artisans.
For, side by side with the official, neutral schools,
which are too often atheistical, Christian faith, in a
noble transport of generosity, has erected free Christian
schools, in all the large towns and in nearly all the
important boroughs. To save France from the antire-
ligious peril, there has been no shirking of any pecu
niary sacrifice, and religious masters have generously
responded to nearly all the appeals made to their zeal
and devotedness by the several committees of Catholic
charity. And this is why the school laws that were
destined to destroy the teaching Congregations, have
failed to arrest their progress. The religious, cast
adrift by the State, have found in liberty a principle of
UNDER THE LAW OF LIBERTY OF EDUCATION 347
interior development and a power of expansion abroad.
At the close of the year 1900, fourteen years after the
passing of the Goblet law, the Institute of John Baptist
De La Salle comprised : 1530 houses, spread in all parts
of the world; 15060 Brothers actively employed;
4400 novices and aspirants ; 75 boarding schools for
the sons of artisans, farmers, merchants and manu
facturers; 316376 pupils of every race and of every
climate.
This human swarm is distinguished at once both for
its activity and its good order.
Initiative, that superior power of intelligent activity,
lias never failed the Brothers; wherever they have
carried their efforts and to whatever they have applied
them, they have been the pioneers of official institu
tions.
By the schools for adults, they early put a course of
instruction within the reach of young workmen who
can devote only the winter evenings to study.
The celebrated boarding school of Passy, in Paris,
founded in 1841 , and for a long time aided by the State,
was the model on which, in 1865, tire Duruy law organ
ized special secondary education. The boarding schools,
which have greatly multiplied, have not all the same
end or course of study. Amongst them, we find com
mercial schools, like that of the Francs -Bourgeois,
Paris ; agricultural schools, as at Beauvais; preparatory
schools, such as at Saint -Etienne; industrial schools,
with workshops of different arts and trades, such as
Saint-Nicolas in Paris , and at Rheims.
Whilst devoting themselves to education, the Brothers
are not less interested in popular and social works.
Their solicitude follows their pupils when not in class
348 THE DESTINY OF HIS WORK
on Sundays and holidays ; it accompanies them to the
workshops, it enrolls them in patronages, or in the So
ciety of Saint Vincent De Paul, then there are the courses
for apprentices and adults, societies of former pupils,
guilds and boarding -homes, Christian doctrine socie
ties, etc. And, in addition to all this, they are patriot
ic and devoted to their country. They were seen and
admired, during the terrible year, offering their services
on all the different battlefields, but especially in Paris,
gathering and nursing the wounded, and rendering
to the dead the last services.
These works are accomplished by them in all sim
plicity and without any search after personal glory.
Many of the Brothers are men of parts and distinction,
of which they give proofs in their several departments;
but the majority work silently and unknown, having
no ambition but to please God. If such men as Brothers
Philippe, Irlide and Joseph, are so well known, it is
because their position of Superior General made them
more conspicuous; all the others hide themselves under
the common appellation of Brothers of the Christian
Schools.
The power of the Brothers lies in their adherence to
their Rules and traditions : they have kept to the tra
ditions of their father, as we have already shown,
whenever there was question of gratuitous schools and
the teaching of Latin; they obey their superiors and
fulfil their teaching mission in the places assigned them.
On the other hand, nothing is neglected to give them
a good formation : whilst still young, they are admitted
to the junior novitiate where they acquire the spirit of
the Institute; in the novitiate, properly so called, they
are specially prepared for the religious life; and in the
THE SOCIAL INFLUENCE OF THE INSTITUTE 349
scholasticate, they are taught the sciences and methods
that are necessary for the efficient fulfilling of their
professional duties; and, even when in school, their
Rules follow them to assure their perseverance.
The persecution from which the religious Congre
gations of France have suffered so much since 1901 has
been a severe blow to the Brothers of this country.
Their schools, their boarding schools and their novi
tiates have been closed. But, as far as circumstances
have permitted, these works have been reorganized
under other forms and in other countries. And the
very resistance that the Institute has opposed to the
violent shocks that have assailed it proves its vitality *.
Such is, after the vicissitudes of two centuries, the
work that was founded by John Baptist De La Salle,
intact and living, faithful and progressive, a glory and
a power for the Church.
THE SOCIAL INFLUENCE OF THE INSTITUTE
II cannot be doubted that the Institute of the Broth
ers of the Christian Schools has been and still con
tinues to be more than ever a power, because we lind
in it numbers and vitality. But what lias this force
produced? What has the Church gained by it? Has it
benefited society ?
Let us remark, from the outset, that, in the eyes of
faith, every fervent Congregation, even the most secluded
and contemplative, is useful to Christian society and even
to humanity in general. Members of the same body,
1 This paragraph has been added to the original text by the
translator.
350 THE DESTINY OF HIS WORK
united in common fellowship of interests, we share in
the religious growth of the Church , which is procured
by the ardent prayers and generous mortifications of the
saints. This common contribution of spiritual goods
raises the moral level of humanity ; and, in the midst of
the wickedness that is the shame of our age, the virtues
of the good render the society among which we live more
healthy. The Brothers of the Institute, with the merits
of their painful life and the richness of their prolonged
prayers, have contributed much to these mysterious
influences.
But if they have served the Church as religious, their
social action as popular educators lias been more
striking and more susceptible of observation.
To form a sound judgment of the social influence of
the Brothers, one must be careful not to look on it from
a wrong standpoint. It is not from a distance, but at
the point of application, that we must consider the
influence of the Brothers and judge its far- read ling
effects.
From the moment of their contact with their pupils,
have the Brothers been and are they a moral and social
force ? For, if they are a force, its action cannot be lost ;
the result may appear nearly imperceptible a few years
after quitting the school, because it becomes confounded
with other component forces, but it will always remain
incontestable.
Now, what is necessary that a master may be able to
influence his pupils ? He must love them ; for, by loving
them, he will give them his time, his knowledge, his
Whole life. The children, on their side, if they feel that
he has affection and devotedness, yield themselves to
him, submit to his influence, become impregnated with
THE SOCIAL INFLUENCE OF THE INSTITUTE 351
his ideas and sentiments, and bear away the imprint of
the soul of their teacher. Have we yet to ask whether
the Brothers have loved their pupils ; whether they have
devoted themselves for them, whether they have, in
turn, been loved and listened to, whether their religious
and moral lessons have left an impression? Would it
be rash to say that, of the many religious houses ot
education AVC have in France, the Brothers houses,
and especially their boarding schools, rank among
those in which the warmest mutual sympathy unites
the masters and pupils?
But has this influence, which produces this mutual
sympathy, had a depressing or an elevating power? This
would be to inquire whether we depress or elevate souls
by teaching them their destiny, by placing before their
eyes a sublime ideal, and by exercising them every day
to overcome their caprices and their passions. Has not
one equal care of the personal value of a man and of his
social capabilities when one provides him with tho
means to attain his final end by lionestly making his
way through the affairs of this life? Without doubt, there
are some pupils who, for one reason or another, escape
the influence of the Brothers; but it acts, more or less
profoundly and lastingly, on the majority of them. And
should it happen, in after life, that the impression
becomes less distinct, it is never entirely obliterated;
What remains of it is quite sufficient to distinguish the
pupil of the religious school from him of the neutral
school. Ho\V very thoughtless and imprudent then are
those who make light of the importance of the preserva
tion of religious education I
Besides, this influence extends beyond the school, or
the college, or the patronage: perhaps it reaches the
352 THE DESTINY OF HIS WORK
parents themselves more efficaciously than it did the
children. It lives and strengthens in the families ; how
many former students, after the errors of youth, follow
the religious and moral tendencies that were once
aroused in their souls with greater docility, when they
have become fathers of families ! How many others, intim
idated by hostile surroundings, silently preserve in the
recesses of their hearts the spark of life which, they have
no doubt, will rekindle into full blaze at the last hour!
This beneficent influence, the effects of which act at a
time more or less distant, is common, it is true, to all
the religious teaching Congregations. But does not the
good that they all effect owe its origin, in some way or
other, to the Institute of John Baptist De La Salle ? For,
they were fashioned after him as a model, and they live
up to his apostolic spirit. Jean De Lamennais and
Gabriel Deshayes, when founding the Brothers of Ploer-
mel(Morbihan)and of Saint-Laurent-sur-Sevre (Vendee),
in 1819, sought but to follow " as nearly as possible
the Rules of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and
employ their method of teaching. " And when in 1842,
M. Delamare, vicar general of Coutances, founded in
the Manche the Institute of the Brothers of Montebourg,
he said to his first disciples: " I know nothing so wise,
with regard to Rules for teaching Brothers, as the Rules
of M. DeLaSalle. "
Here is then an additional honour and merit for our
Saint to have inspired other foundations and to have
traced out their way. There is not one of them, however,
that has exactly copied his work. For, doubtless to
supply new wants and comply with new exigencies,
some have admitted the mixture of Priests and Brothers,
others have accepted to attend to the wants of worship
THE GLORY OF JOHN BAPTIST 353
in the sacristies, and others again have granted Brothers
for small, isolated schools in hamlets, and these isolated
Brothers to live with the parish -priest. There are at
least a dozen Congregations of Brothers, and several
hundred Institutes of \vomen in France. To John
Baptist De La Salle belongs the glory of having given a
model to all these institutions, by means of \vhich free
schools are able to hold their o\vn, side by side with the
government schools. Many foreign countries, and in
particular, Ireland, have copied the same model, and
have reaped the same heavenly blessings.
The influence of John Baptist has extended still far
ther; for he it was who conceived those happy ideas
that have made him the pioneer and legislator of modern
pedagogy. His methods, after long opposition, have
penetrated all official schools, and the simultaneous
system has prevailed at last ; the actual arrangement of
the classes, whether acknowledged or not, comes from
him; the courses of modern studies, save few modifica
tions, have been copied from those he inaugurated at
Saint- Von; from the beginning, he gave adult schools,
continuation classes, and normal schools, their essential
constitutions. His Brothers, by preserving intact the
traditions received from their father, have, during two
centuries, offered the models upon which public author
ities have modelled primary leaching.
THE GLORY OF JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE
In proportion as his works spread and enlisted imita
tors, the glory of John Baptist De La Salle increased.
For, if God did not wait for the judgment of men to put
354 THE DESTINY OF HIS WORK
the heavenly crown on Iris brow, it pleased Him only
gradually to reveal to the world the merit of His servant.
When John Baptist died, Iris name had, as yet, no
place in history. He had had no part in the events that
attracted public attention ; he had not, like his seminary
companions , Fenelon and Godet Des Marais , filled any
high offices at the court; he had, on the contrary,
sacrificed all his advantages of birth, fortune and posi
tion, to bury himself, though still quite young, in the
obscure company of a few poor schoolmasters. His
work, however excellent and useful , had not yet com
pelled admiration, and it was known but in about
twenty towns and large boroughs. Miracles, the
conspicuous proofs of sanctity, had not yet signalized
him to the multitude as a St. Vincent Ferrer; the
many favours, all closely bordering on the miraculous,
which his prayers had often obtained, had hardly gone
beyond the small circle of his disciples. At Rouen, and
wherever else he was known, his death elicited this
general and spontaneous cry, " He was a saint, the
Saint is dead. " But this cry did not echo through the
whole of France, as at the death of a St. Vincent De
Paul, because he had lived as a stranger aloof from the
prominent affairs of the kingdom.
Let Iris work grow and spread, and his name will do
the same, for they are inseparable ; let it scatter broadcast
the benefits of his devotedness throughout the nations,
and the founder will be blessed and praised by the
whole human race. Since his death as during his life,
his destiny has been indissolubly bound up with that of
his Institute, and his memory has not had a more
brilliant halo of glory than that given to it by the
development of his Institute. And as if humility still
THE GLORY OF JOHN BAPTIST 355
actuated him in heaven, he would seem not to accept
the eminent diadem which the Church places on the
brow of the Saints, but at the hour when his Institute
had merited it by its immense works and had need
of its consolation in the midst of the bitter afflictions ot
contradiction and persecution.
However, his sons showed themselves early as the
jealous guardians of the memory of their father, and
commenced to collect with religious care whatever
might perpetuate it and prolong his life among them.
They had already caused his portrait to be taken : they
were still more jealous in preserving from oblivion all
the characteristics of his religious and moral portrait.
Brother Barthelemy, his immediate successor, asked
all who had known him to give in writing any partic
ulars they might have concerning him; some Memoirs
were written by those Brothers who had been in close
relations with him during his life. All these documents
were placed in the hands of Canon Blain, the Saint s
intimate friend, and they were the precious mine
whence came forth the first printed Li/e of John Baptist:
a work abounding in spirituality and history, and
which, in spite of a few defects, still remains the richest
and most authentic source of information concerning
the founder of the Brothers.
The Brothers were not less zealous in spreading their
father s name among the children of their schools.
Faithful imitators of his modesty and humility, they
effaced themselves in his presence , and professed to be
in their classes but the faithful instruments of the
founder. Wherever a Brother taught, it was therefore
John Baptist De La Salle who directed the school. The
Brother had no personal name ; each presented himself
356 THE DESTINY OF HIS WORK
under the common name of Brother of John Baptist De
La Salle. Thus borne, this name quickly made its way,
and towards the close of the eighteenth century it was
spread through the whole of France. It was at this
time that the Institute, throwing off all its timid reserve,
began to desire that the hero of so many solid virtues,
the pioneer of so many zealous and useful works, might
be placed by the Church on her altars. Brother
Agathon, Superior General, gave orders for the prepa
ration of the process of canonization; but this praise
worthy undertaking of filial piety had to be postponed
on account of the outbreak of the Revolution.
Like rich, strong soils that are rendered more fertile
by storms, the Institute found itself more important
and strengthened by the Revolution. Instead of being
a simple private institution working in the shade, it
was summoned by the most powerful of monarchs
to take its place among the official bodies of the State;
for it was incorporated with the University, and its
services were regarded as very important by the author
ities. Such a position placed John Baptist and his
work in a very conspicuous situation. People asked
themselves, both in the Church and in the State, why
this benefactor of the popular classes had not been
inscribed by the side of St. Vincent De Paul on the list
of the Saints : though the works of the great educator
made less show during his life, yet they were not less
far-reaching and useful than those of the great apostle
of charity. At the earnest entreaties of the Brothers
and under the pressure of public opinion , the process
of his canonization Avas simultaneously begun, in 1835,
in Rheims, Paris and Rouen.
Providence seemed to facilitate the task of the judges;
THE GLORY OF JOHN BAPTIST 3o7
for it showered, as it were, extraordinary blessings on
the whole Institute during the long generalship of
Brother Philippe, from 1838 to 1874. A genial move
ment of grace brought a large number of vocations;
elementary schools multiplied, the boarding schools
began to take their bearings, the works of continuation
classes commenced : all producing a magnificent efflo
rescence for the coronation of the founder. On May
8th 1840, Rome conferred on the Servant of God the
title of Venerable, and, on January 10th 1852, she
declared that his authentic writings are perfectly ortho
dox ; on July 10th 187:i, the Congregation of Rites
recognized that he had practised the Christian virtues
to an heroic degree, and a decree to this effect was
issued on November 1st following; finally, on Novem
ber 1st 1887, three facts, very critically examined by
physicians and canonists, were declared miraculous.
The Beatification, the happy consequence of the
process, was celebrated by Leo XIII., in the Vatican,
February 19th 1888. It caused a universal outburst of
admiration and praise for John Baptist De La Salle. In
all the houses of the Institute, and wherever the Broth
ers had schools, splendid feasts were organized, at
which , in the presence of vast concourses of recollected
people, all the arts vied in lending their assistance to
piety. Painting excelled in the application of its
colours; music gave forth its sweetest melodies; poetry
was awakened to its most beautiful and inspiring senti
ments; eloquence in its turn celebrated, in almost
numberless eulogistic panegyrics, the virtues and the
social works of the Saint; the very bronze and marble
assumed a strikingly animated appearance under the
chisels of Oliva, Falguiere and Montagny.
358 THE DESTINY OF HIS WORK
Heaven itself joined in all the honours paid to John
Baptist De La Salle here below, and soon indicated, by
new miracles, that the time was come to add the
splendour of Canonization to the glory of the Servant
of God. And, therefore, on May 24th 1900, the illus
trious Pontiff, Leo XIII. , the great doctor of the nine
teenth century, by an infallible judgment, declared that
John Baptist De La Salle had merited, together with
heavenly bliss, the religious honours which the Church
renders to the most virtuous of her children. And once
more, all hearts abounded with joy, and everywhere
magnificent festivities announced to the people that
heaven and earth united in paying homage to the
remarkable benefactor of humanity.
And we, obedient to the voice of the Pontiff, throw
ourselves at the feet of our dear Saint : we congratulate
him on his having received, even here below, the
hundredfold promised to his sacrifices , and we humbly
entreat that , after having worked to make known his
name, his virtues, his works and his glory, we may
merit to participate in his heavenly bliss.
FINIS
LIST
OF THE ESTABLISHMENTS FOUNDED BY ST. JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE
1679. RHEIMS (Saint-Maurice). . School.
1679. RHEIMS (Saint-Jacques). . School.
1680. RHKIMS ( Saint -Symp ho-
rien) School.
1682. RETHEL School.
1682. GUISE School.
1082. CHATEAU -PORCIEN School (soon closed).
1682. LAON (Saint- Pierre j . . . School.
1682. RHEIMS (rue Neuve). . . . Community.
1684. RHEIMS (rue Neuve). . . . Novitiate.
1684. RHEIMS (rue Neuvo). . . . Junior Novitiate.
1684. RHEIMS (rue Neuve). . . . Seminary for country school
masters.
1685. RENWEZ ( Ardennes ). . . . Masters Seminary (soon closed).
1688. PARIS (Saint- Sulpice). . . School, rue Princesse.
1690. PARIS (Saint- Sulpice). . . School, rue du Bac.
1691. VAUGIRARD House of retreat.
1692. VAUGIRARD Novitiate.
1697. PARIS (Saint -Sulpice). . . School, rue Saint -Placide.
1698. PARIS (Saint- Sulpice). . . Community, in the Grand Maison.
1698. PARIS (Saint-Sulpice). . . School, at the Grand Maison.
1698. PARIS (Saint-Sulpice). . . Roarding school for the Irish
(it lasted about two years).
1698. PARIS (Saint-Sulpice). . . Sunday school (till 1704).
1699. PARIS (Saint-Sulpice) .. School, rue des Fosses-Monsieur-
le-Prince (until about 1704).
360 ESTABLISHMENTS FOUNDED BY S. J. B. DE LA SALLE
1699. PARIS ( Saint -Hippolyte) .
1699. PARIS (Saint- Hippolyte) .
1690. GHARTRES
1700. CALAIS
1700. ROME
1701. TROYES ( Saint -Ni/.ier) . .
1703. AVIGNON ( Saint -Sympho-
rien)
1703. PARIS (Saint -Paul) ....
170."). CALAIS
1705. ROME
1705. PARIS (Saint -Rocli). . . .
1705. DARNETAL, near Rouen . .
1705. ROUEN
1705. ROUEN (Saint -Yon) ....
1705. ROUEN (Saint -Yon) ....
? ROUEN (Saint -Yon) ....
1705. DIJON (Saint- Pierre) . . .
1706. MARSEiLLES(Saint-Laurent).
1707. VALREAS
1707. MENDE
1707. ALAIS
1707. GRENORLE (Saint-Laurent).
1708. SAINT -DENIS
1708. SAINT -DEN is
1709. MACON
1710. VERSAILLES (Saint-Louis).
1710. BOULOGNE-SUR-MER. . . .
1710. MOULINS (Saint-Pierre). .
1711. LES VANS (Ardeche). . . .
1712. MARSEILLES
1715. ROUEN (Saint -Yon) . . . .
1718. PARIS ( Saint- Sulpice). . .
School, rue de 1 Ourcine.
Seminary for country school
masters (until 1705).
Two schools.
School.
Departure of Brother Drolin.
School.
School.
School, rue de Charonne.
School for young sailors.
School.
School, rue Saint-Honore (aban
doned in 1708).
School.
Schools.
Novitiate.
Boarding school.
House of correction.
School.
School.
School (soon closed).
School.
School.
School.
School.
Masters Seminary.
School.
School.
School.
School.
School.
Novitiate (lasted ahout a year).
Reformatory school.
School, near the Invalkles.
SUPERIORS GENERAL OF THE INSTITUTE
FROM THE FOUNDATION
BROTHER BARTHKLEMY from May 23 1717 to June 8 1720.
BROTHER TIMOTHEE from August 7 1720 to August 3 1751. Jl
BROTHER CLAUDE from August 3 1751 to May 10 1767. )*
BROTHER FLORENCE from May 19 1767 to August 10 1777. tt>
BROTHER AOATHON from August 10 1777 to Septem- ,.*
her 16 1798.
BROTHER PRURIENCE appointed Vicar General by Pius VI.
from August 7 1795 to January 27
1810.
BROTHER GERRAUD from September 8 1810 to August 10
1822.
BROTHER GUILLAUME DE JESUS, from November 11 1822 to June 10
1830.
BROTHER ANACLET from September 2 1830 to Septem
ber 6 1838.
BROTHER PHILIPPE from November 21 1838 to January 7
1874.
BROTHER JEAN-OLYMPE from April 9 1874 to April 17 1875.
BROTHER IRLIDE from July 2 1875 to July 26 1884. <\
BROTHER JOSEPH from October 18 1884 to January 1 ft
1897.
BROTHER GABRIEL-MARIE. . . . elected March 19 1897.
Life and Virtues. 16
DECRETAL LETTERS
OF OUR MOST HOLY FATHER IN JESUS CHRIST
LEO XIII. POPE
CONFERRING
THE HONOURS OF THE SAINTS ON
BLESSED JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE
FOUNDER OF THE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS
LEO BISHOP
SERVANT OF THE SERVANTS OF GOD
In perpetual remembrance.
Itei ore ascending to the highest heaven to be seated at the
right hand of His Father, Jesus Christ reanimated the hope of
His disciples by addressing them in words of incomparable
sweetness; but He also foretold them the persecutions that
were to assail them in the world. Indeed, Eternal Wisdom
had decreed that as Jesus Christ had publicly triumphed by the
cross over the enemies of our salvation, so we should not
otherwise enter into the kingdom of heaven than by a way
sown with many tribulations. Now, in order not to lose
courage in this struggle against the spirits of malice, we must
keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and finisher of
faith, and also upon the heroes that have gone before us in
the combat, and who, being now crowned, bear the palm of
victory. And, it is for the purpose of recalling this duty,
that We have received this particular power, inherent in Our
Apostolic charge, in virtue of which, when Servants of God
have distinguished themselves by heroic virtues attested by
64 BULL OF CANONIZATION
divine signs and prodigies , We propose them to the veneration
of Christian peoples, in order that, during the exile in which
we still live far from the Lord, we may find in them hoth
example and protection.
Happy to have received this power, We exercise it with
particular complacency on this day, when W T e confer the
honours of the Saints upon John Baptist De La Salle, Priest and
Founder of the Christian Schools. For, W T e see around Us,
an innumerable assembly of the faithful come to this city
from all parts of the world, before the relics of the Apostles,
on the occasion of the Holy Year published by Us ; behold,
moreover, the dawn of a new century to which no service
more profitable can be rendered than to propose to it the
lessons and example of John Baptist, since it will not see
peace, the object of our desires, finally established on the
reign of justice, unless children and youth be brought up in
the fear of the Lord, and in accordance with the precepts of
the Gospel.
The child predestined one day to become a shining orna
ment of his race and of Holy Church, John Baptist, was born
of a noble family on April 30th 1651, at Rheims, one of the
most illustrious cities of France. From his childhood, lie
manifested in his conduct a sweet piety, which was to shine
in his person during the whole course of his life. Though en
dowed by nature witli a mirthful disposition, he conceived a
distaste from his tender infancy for games and amusements,
delighting only in the history of the Saints. As soon as he
was permitted to leave the house, his great pleasure was to
visit churches, in which he used to pour forth prayers to the
august Sacrament of the Eucharist and to the Holy Mother of
God with such perseverance, recollection, and fervour, as to
excite the admiration of those present.
He went to school at an early age, and acquitted himself of
his new duties with so much modesty and application to study,
that his teachers soon recognized in him a child with a great
future, and acquainted his father with their hopes. The latter,
who belonged to the magistracy of the city, had a love of
predilection for John, the eldest of his seven children ; lie
destined him to be the continuator and stay of his family. But
it pleased God to decide otherwise. The youth, under the
BULL OF CANONIZATION 365
influence of divine grace, chose the Lord for his portion, and
resolved to solicit admission into the ecclesiastical state. His
father, animated with deep religious sentiments, placed no
obstacle to this design. John showed himself so worlhy of the
habit lie had put on, that lie was made a canon of Rheims
without any opposition ; and he reflected honour on his posi
tion by the assiduous practice of the virtues of his state. Four
years later, he entered the seminary of St. Sulpice in Paris, in
order to pursue his course of theology.
Here , his ardour for study and the sanctity of his life so
well conciliated for him all hearts, that unanimous regrets
accompanied him, when, at the death of his father, he was
obliged to return home, in order to manage the affairs of his
family, and the education of his younger brothers. In the
accomplishment of these duties, notwithstanding his youth, he
manifested admirable prudence ; he regulated all things in
such a manner, that his house presented the appearance of a
religious family. He consecrated to prayer and study all the
leisure that his domestic administration left him , being solely
occupied with the thought of preparing himself worthily for
the priesthood, the object of his most ardent desires.
In order to succeed the better, he confided the direction of
his conscience to Nicolas Roland, the theologian of the Chapter
of Rheims , a man of eminent virtue , who inspired him with
the idea of giving himself entirely to the care of schools des
tined for the children of the people. It was also in obedience
to the counsels of Roland, that John, already detached
from all affection to perishable things , formed the design of
changing his canonicate for the parish of St. Peter s ; but, in
spite of his pressing entreaties to the Archbishop to allow this
change, the prelate declined giving his consent, in order that
his college of canons might not be deprived of a young mem
ber of such great worth.
After having finished his course of theology with .the most
brilliant success, John was ordained priest in the course of his
twenty-seventh year in the metropolitan church of Rheims on
Saturday of Holy Week. On the following day, he offered the
Holy Sacrifice for the first time, without exterior pomp, as he
had himself decided ; but all the assistants were struck with
admiration at the sight of the radiance of faith and charity that
366 BULL OF CANONlZATION f
beamed from his countenance. In the celebration of the holy
Mysteries, he always preserved this piety, which shone in
all his bearing, and which often made so profound an im
pression on those present, that in leaving the church, they
formed the resolution of thenceforward leading a more holy
life.
Being profoundly penetrated with this truth, that every
priest should labour for the edifying of the Body of Christ,
John at once devoted himself to the service of his neigh
bour : he frequently visited the sick, consoled the afflict
ed , helped the unfortunate , preached sermons , gave missions
and heard confessions. By the pious activity of his apostol-
ate, he succeeded in inducing many to lead better lives; and
far from forgetting the care of his own soul in tlie midst of
these labours , he daily progressed in the practice of virtue ,
especially in humility, in meekness, in contempt of perishable
things, in the renouncement of himself and his own will,
which he immolated, in order to render it conformable to the
divine will.
He had hardly been ordained priest, when the director of
his conscience, carried oft by death, bequeathed to him the
office of directing the Sisters of the Infant Jesus, whom he had
instituted for the gratuitous teaching of poor little girls.
Thanks to his prudence and firmness in discharging this duty,
John succeeded in saving this Institute, which serious difficul
ties had threatened will almost certain ruin ; he even obtained
from the King Letters Patent, providing for the security of
the Religious and the wants of the schools in the future.
Father Roland had formed the project of employing , in the
education of boys, the same means he had used in that of
girls; but death prevented the execution of his design. How
ever , v some time afterwards, there came to Rheims a school
master named Adrien Nyel, sent by a lady- relative of John,
to consult with him about the establishment of schools for
boys. John immediately saw the great difficulties that such
. an enterprise would meet with ; nevertheless , he praised
the design and promised his support to Nyel. He began
by praying earnestly to God for light ; then , filled with diffi
dence in himself, he asked the advice of the most prudent
members of the clergy. When he had obtained their appro-
BULL OF CANONIZATION 367
bation, a first school,which had been long expected, was finally
established in the parish of St. Maurice; then a second, some
months later, at St. James . Rut, whilst the pupils crowded
in, teachers were lacking; besides, Nyel, who was at their
head, allowed himself to be carried away by the vivacity of his
excessively ardent disposition, and was too often absent.
John was not without perceiving the danger: to maintain the
teachers in duty , lie often visited and advised them ; subse
quently, in order to render his assistance more efficacious, he
assembled them in a house near his o\vn. Finally, recog
nizing in Nyel sufficient qualification to teach but not to form
teachers, John determined to bring them together into his own
house, and to make the sacrifice of living in common with
them: this he did on the feast of the holy Precursor in 1681 ,
after consultation with some men of great prudence. But, as
his family did not, without reluctance, submit to this kind of
life which they judged unworthy of their nobility, John, in the
following year and on the same day, established himself in
another house witli his group of teachers, and there fixed the
seat of his Institute.
^ By this event, God himself seems to have laid the founda
tion of the illustrious Congregation of which the Catholic world
is justly proud, and which, from its origin, Satan and the ene
mies of religion, bent on its ruin, have assailed with all their
power, because they recognize in it a formidable adversary.
The great importance of this Institute appeared immediately
to the eyes of the wise. Through the efforts of John, and In
the help- of God, in the space of two years, schools were estab
lished at Retliel, Guise, Laon and Chateau -Porcien, and as
they had for their direction, excellent masters, perfectly skilled
in the art of teaching, there flocked to them in serried ranks,
a multitude of children, for the greater good not only of them
selves, but also of civil society and religion.
Engaged in so many different occupations , John , always a
slave to duty, resolved a second time on resigning his canoni-
cate. He thought, moreover, that being thus the first to enter
upon the way of sacrifice , he would induce his disciples to
follow his example , and at the same time , inspire them with
the love of poverty and the resolution of placing their entire
confidence in God. Accordingly, he conferred with the Arch-
368 BULL OF CANONIZATION
bishop of Rheims on the resignation of his office ; the latter at
first refused; then, admiring the wisdom and holiness of John,
he gave his consent, provided lie would resign his benefice in
favour of Louis, his younger brother. But John feared to yield
to the voice of flesh and blood : deaf to the murmurs of his
relatives and of the world, he resigned Ids charge in favour
of a pious and poor priest, whom he chose in preference to
his own brother.
Still, this did not appear sufficient to the servant of God
In order to induce himself, with all the members of his Ins
titute, absolutely to hope for nothing but from God alone, he
resolved to distribute his patrimony to the poor. He found
an opportune occasion during the famine of 1684, which pro
duced a great rise in the price of provisions. Recognizing
Jesus Christ himself in the person of the poor, John often
received them on his knees. And when he had thus distri
buted all his goods , he began to beg from door to door for his
food, regardless of the contempt of the world. In the eyes of
the worldly-wise, the man of God seemed to have lost his
reason ; but God rewarded the confidence of His servant :
during the two years that the famine lasted, John and his
disciples, notwithstanding their great poverty, never failed to
have what was necessary, and they contracted no debt. The
holy Legislator took good care to place in a strong light this
example of the intervention of divine Providence, in order to
confirm the Brothers in the love of poverty, which causes
humility, the mother and support of the other virtues, to
spring up in the soul.
From this time, notwithstanding his delicate constitution,
he adopted a more severe manner of life : clothed in coarse
garments, contenting himself with common food and that in
small quantity, he took but little sleep, and macerated his
tlesh by the use of the hair-shirt and of an iron chain set with
points, and by scourging that was carried to the extent of
drawing blood. He bore his infirmities, which were frequent,
and often serious, with meekness and inflexible patience.
His reply to injuries and outrages was a glance full of tender
ness, happy in being able thus, in a measure, to imitate Jesus
Christ covered with opprobrium for him. Always walking in
the presence of God, he spent in meditation all the time that
BULL OF CANONIZATION 369
his occupations left him, and sometimes even entire nights.
The reputation of his eminent virtues attracted to the man
of God many disciples desirous, as far as their strength would
permit, of walking in the footsteps of sucli a master; lie
employed himself entirely in forming them both to the prac
tices of the religious life and the art of teaching well. As
some \vere still too young, he established for these a Semi
nary, or kind of Novitiate, where they might be more fit
tingly trained for the manner of life to which they aspired.
In order to procure for country children the same advantages
as enjoyed by those of the cities, the servant of God opened,
at the same time, another Seminary, destined for the forma
tion of teachers for rural districts. This institution was the
origin and type of the schools that were later on called normal
schools, and which have rendered services of the highest
importance to Religion as well as to the State.
About this time, John, for the first time, called together the
members of the Institute in General Assembly. After having
begun by piously entering into retreat, they discussed and
decided man\ questions relative to rules, dress and vows. On
the feast of the adorable Trinity, the holy Legislator and
twelve of his Brothers, bound themselves by a temporary vow
of obedience, which they made perpetual, ten years later,
after a second General Assembly.
In 1686, the Society of the Christian Schools appearing
thenceforth constituted and furnished Avith laws, John Baptist,
filled with contempt of himself, resolved to substitute another
Superior General in his stead. The Brothers whom he called
together for this purpose, first opposed the measure; but
finally, taking pity on the Saint, they elected Brother L Heu-
reux to replace him ; and immediately, the holy Legislator
was the first to give example of obedience. However, as the
Vicars General of Rheims absolutely refused to approve this
measure, John was constrained to resume the charge he had
relinquished. He then reflected, that this refusal of the Vicars
General had perhaps been caused by the absence of the sacer
dotal character in Brother L Heureux, and he conceived the
thought of preparing him for Orders ; but the latter died a
short time afterwards. The servant of God saw, in this death,
a reason to believe that it \vas not pleasing to God that mem-
16*
370 BULL OF CANONIZATION
hers of the Institute should be raised to the priesthood ; conse
quently, he took the following double determination of which
he made a law : first, that no Brother of the Christian Schools
should thenceforward aspire to the priesthood ; secondly, that
Latin should never be taught in their schools.
In 1688, as it was found desirable to form new educational
establishments in Paris, an appeal was made to John, who
went there with two Brothers. Once there, not content with
reorganizing the old schools, he also opened new ones; then
he established a Novitiate for his Brothers at Vaugirard ; he
instituted Sunday schools, precursors of those which exist at
the present time for the teaching of certain arts, and to pro
mote the perseverance of young men in the practice of a
Christian life; he founded, as at Rheims, a Seminary for the
formation of lay teachers destined for country schools ; finally,
wishing to comply with a desire of King James II., then an
exile from England, he assumed the direction of a College, in
which forty young Irish nobles were to follow a complete
course of instruction, and to be educated in conformity with
the principles of Catholic piety.
But the enemy of the human race did not quietly bear the
creation of. so many salutary works; it is even hard to relate
all the difficulties he raised, and the hatred he excited against
the man of God : suits brought against him by the corporation
of writing-masters, who were grieved at seeing their classes
deserted ; devastation and violent dispersion of the schools of
the Brothers; inconstancy of friends, who withdrew their
benevolence. To crown all the other evils, John himself, in
consequence of false accusations, was obliged by the eccle
siastical authority to give up his office, and to pass over the
direction of his religious to a stranger.
This most meek man bore all with patience, without relax
ing in any respect in zeal for the glory of God. At this time>
the Jansenist heresy spread through the cities of France and
infested souls far and wide. John, who always considered it
a sacred duty to venerate the authority of the Roman Pontiff
and obey his orders, rose up to combat the errors of Jansenius
with all his might. Being persuaded that he Could not better
promote the security of the members of the Institute than by
attaching them firmly to the Roman Chair, lie sent to Rome
BULL OF CANONIZATION 371
in 1700, during the most furious storm that had ever broken
over his work, two Brothers, one of whom was Gabriel Dro-
lin, who lived twenty-eight years in that city, where he laboured
without relaxation for the accomplishment of the mandate
that had been given him by the Legislator, his Father. This
mandate may be summed up in the following points : to plant
the tree of the Congregation in the soil where it might strike
the deepest roots, that is, in the centre of unity, under the
eyes and auspices of the Apostolic See ; to unite himself more
closely, and so to speak, bodily, \\ith the Church of Home,
which can neither fail nor err, notwithstanding all the oppos
ing efforts of the gates of hell ; to obtain from the Vicar of
Jesus Christ the approbation of the Rules, and the favour
of pronouncing the three vows of religion ; to ask for himself
and his Brothers the blessing of the Sovereign Pontiff and the
faculty of teaching catechism with the consent of the Bishops ;
finally, to be, as it were, the witness of his obedience and the
surety of his faith in the presence and under the eyes of the
Sovereign Pontiff : a mandate truly admirable and worthy of
the Saint, who was willing to bear with the most perfect pa
tience all the injuries offered to his person , but who , with all
his energy, repelled the calumny by which the attempt was
made to represent him as being ever capable of offering oppo
sition to the Roman Chair.
Clement XI. most benevolently received the two Brothers
sent by John Baptist, and confided to them the direction of a
school : after him, Our other predecessors followed the same
line of conduct.
Meanwhile, as the lay teachers of Paris continued to excite
trouble against the Brothers of the Christian Schools, John
Baptist was called to Rouen in 1705. He there opened several
gratuitous schools for children, but not without grave diffi
culties. Shortly afterwards, he transferred the novitiate to the
little town of Saint-Yon, near the same city, had the buildings
enlarged and there established the first commercial and indus
trial schools. He also admitted youths confided to him for
correction, and, by a wise yet firm direction, he brought
about improvement in their conduct.
In the midst of these labours, the Institute of John Baptist
De La Salle grew under the divine blessing. The Brothers saw
372 BULL OF CANONIZATION
their hard work crowned with success at Chartres, Calais,
Troyes, Avignon, Dijon, Marseilles, Mende, Alais, Grenoble,
Moulins, Versailles and other cities. But persecution could
not fail to prove men resolved to live piously in Jesus Christ.
At Marseilles, where the whole city had given him an excellent
reception, John Baptist, having, in severe language, publicly
confounded the Jansenists who cried down the Roman Pontiff,
excited their anger against his person and his Brothers. By
their agitation, which was carried to the extent of publishing
a libel against the Saint, the community of the Brothers was
first reduced to extreme want, then John saw himself aban
doned by all whom he looked upon as friends, and even by
some Brothers, who accused him of imprudence and excessive
zeal. Thus, personally condemned in Paris on calumnious
accusations, driven from Marseilles, abandoned by all, he
lived, plunged in profound sorrow. Being persuaded that his
personal faults alone had brought sucli disaster upon his reli
gious family, he retired to Grenoble in order to devote himself
entirely to appeasing divine justice, either by passing the nights
in prayer, or by increasing the rigour of his habitual auster
ities. At the same time, he taught with incomparable humil
ity, the little children, and, always attentive to the interests
of his Brothers , lie sent them Visitors and composed books for
their use.
Now appeared the Bull Unigenitus, by which the Sovereign
Pontiff condemned the Jansenist errors. John considered it
a duty to assemble the Brothers who were at Grenoble : he
pointed out to them by appropriate instructions, the venom
concealed under the condemned propositions ; he gave them
most serious warning to shun novelties, to be constant in
following the traditional doctrine of the Church, to receive all
that she receives, to condemn all that she condemns, and to
look upon it as the most sacred obligation to obey the Church
when she teaches or commands, either by the authority of her
Councils or by the organ of the Roman Pontiff. The teach
ings of their Father w r ere not without effect : w r e have the
proof in the constancy with which the Congregation founded
by him always showed its submission to the Holy See.
In 1714, John is recalled to Paris by his Brothers. He
obeys this call, but principally with the view of finally putting
BULL OF CANONIZATION 375
live and die in the vocation to which they had been called. He
was already two and a half hours in agony and without move
ment, when suddenly, as if awaking from a profound sleep,
he devoutly recited the invocation prescribed for the Brothers
for the evening: Maria, Mater gratise...; then he exclaimed :
" 1 adore in all things the will of God in my regard : " and
raising his eyes to heaven, he placed his hands in the form of
a cross one over the other, and slept peaceably in the Lord,
about four o clock on Good Friday, April 7th 1719, in the
sixty-eighth year of his age.
The death of the servant of God was hardly known, than
a common sentiment of sorrow seized all hearts ; people of
all classes and conditions, without exception, published the
virtues and good deeds of the deceased. When his inanimate
body, clothed in sacerdotal vestments, was exposed in the
chapel, great crowds of people gathered from all parts, and
this occurred again at the funeral. No one was willing to
withdraw" without carrying away some fragment of his gar
ments to be preserved as a precious souvenir.
And there was nothing exaggerated in this eagerness, so
great ^vas his reputation for sanctity and the esteem in which
he was held by all ranks of society. This reputation, far
from diminishing, constantly increased with time ; for, God
himself, seemed to confirm it by miracles, thus showing that
it would be in conformity witli His designs that heavenly
honours should be conferred on John Baptist. But the great
disturbances that subsequent!) took place in the state, pre
vented the immediate accomplishment of this pious duty.
However, canonical inquiries were instituted after some delay
by the authority of the Ordinaries. When they were ter
minated at Rouen, Rheims and Paris, and then taken to
Home and regularly examined, Gregory XVI., of happy rnem-
or\, signed, with his o\vn hand, the commission of intro
duction of the Gause, on May 1st 1839. Later on, when, in
conformity with law, the apostolic procedures were ended
and approved, the Sacred Congregation of Rites began the
discussion on the heroicity of the virtues of John Baptist ; and
Pius IX., our predecessor, published, November 1st 1873, by
a solemn Decree : That it appeared so clear that he had prac
tised, in an heroic degree, the theological virtues of Faith, Hope
376 BULL OF CANONIZATION
and Charity towards God and his neighbour, as well as the
cardinal virtues of Prudence , Justice , Fortitude and Temper
ance, and other allied virtues, that the examination of the
four miracles might be proceeded with.
It pleased Us however to decide, that in order to confer on
John Baptist the honours of the Blessed, it would suffice to
produce three miracles. They were the following : The in
stantaneous and perfect cure of Brother Adelminien of the
Congregation of the Christian Schools, of progressive locomo-
tor ataxy ; the instantaneous and perfect cure of Stephen de
Suzanne, a boy aged ten, of deadly capillary bronchitis ; the
instantaneous and perfect cure of Mary Magdalen Ferry, of
incurable chronic hydropericarditis, complicated with other
dangerous diseases. After the Sacred Congregation of Rites
had submitted these miracles to a threefold examination, We
Ourselves declared them authentic and certain by a solemn
Decree of November 1st 1887. In order to finish, it remained
but to submit to discussion the following doubt : Being
given the approbation of the virtues and of three miracles,
may the solemn Beatification of the Venerable John Baptist de
La Salle be securely proceeded with ? The Sacred Congregation
of Rites, in general Assembly, in Our own presence in the
Palace of the Vatican on November I oth 1887, answered
affirmatively. Consequently, on November 27th, We decreed
that the solemn Beatification of the Venerable John Baptist
De La Salle might be securely proceeded with. According
ly, it was solemnly celebrated at the Vatican on February
19th 1888.
After these events, it pleased God to work several other
miracles through the intercession of the newly Beatified. Two
were selected that were submitted in order to obtain the Can
onization.
The first was in favour of young Leopold Tayac, a pupil of
the Boarding School of Rodez, in France. He was attacked in
1888 with pneumonia, which tainting and infecting the blood
as it did, was judged by the doctors as absolutely incurable.
The Director of the Boarding School, as soon as he learned of
the gravity of the sickness, caused prayers to be said to Bless
ed De La Salle. But the sickness grew worse ; it was com
plicated with frightful convulsions, which affected the mind
BULL OF CANONIZATION 373
into execution the project he had long formed of resigning
the government of his Congregation. In this he followed
the counsels of humility and prudence ; he thought, in fact,
that if a Brother were placed in charge of the government, the
others would more willingly obey his orders, and that there
would be less danger of changing anything in the Institute.
He therefore discussed the project, now with some, now with
others ; at first, his efforts proved useless ; but finally, in an
Assembly held at Rouen, on Pentecost in the year 1717, his
desires were realized : Brother Barthelemy was elected in his
place. There remained another matter to be settled in the
same Assembly ; it was the revision of the Rules already ob
served for the greater part, arid which John Baptist had drawn up
about the year 1695. The Brothers entrusted the revision
entirely to John himself, who, after giving the last touch to
his work, sent to all the Communities of the Brothers the code
of Rules they were thenceforward to observe. Some time
afterwards, the Sovereign Pontiff, Benedict XIII. finding these
Rules full of wisdom, of the supernatural spirit, and of
an eminently practical character, gave them his approba
tion.
All this work being finished, John still lived for two years,
which he employed in assiduously meditating on heavenh
things, in chastising his poor body by fasting, scourgings and
hair-shirts; by giving example of obedience, and sustaining his
Brothers by exhortations and hearing their confessions. He
interrupted his retreat and silence but once ; it was, when the
Jansenists had the audacity to inscribe his name among the
number of those who w r ere commonly known by the name of
Appellants. He repelled this calumny by a public letter,
repeatedly affirming that he had nothing more at heart, that
he considered no duty more sacred, than to remain faithfully
and perseveringly obedient to the Roman Pontiff.
God, in oder to fill the measure of merit of His servant,
permitted him to be overwhelmed with opprobrium to the
end. Being, through envy, accused to the Archbishop of an
odious falsehood, he was deprived in conscientide foro of all
exercise of faculties, in virtue of a judgment of this prel
ate. The news of this condemnation reached the man of
God in his bed to which he was confined by the illness that
16"
374 BULL OF CANONIZATION
was to be fatal : lie listened to it with perfect meekness and
made no reply.
At the approach of Lent in 1719, great difficulty in breath
ing caused by asthma, then, an injury to his head caused
by the accidental fall of a door, were added to the rheumatic
pains from which John had already long suffered. When he
learned that with so many infirmities, he could not long sur
vive, he felt great consolation at the thought of soon entering
into the joy of His Lord. On the eve of the feast of St. Joseph,
to whom the Saint had consecrated his person and his Congre
gation, he made known his desire of celebrating the Holy
Sacrifice. God suddenly gave him the necessary strength, and
on the following day, he was in a condition to celebrate Holy
Mass. At this sight, his children abounded with joy, thinking
that he had entirely recovered his health. But hardly had a
few hours elapsed, when suddenly, he grew worse, and death
appeared imminent. John understood it, and wished to give
his disciples his last advice, to exhort them to walk with con
stancy in the way of religious perfection which they had en
tered. He recommended to them obedience, mutual charily,
and above ajl, respect and submission to the Apostolic See
whither, he said, he had sent two Brothers, who were to live
in Rome as witnesses of his inviolable submission, and of that
of all the members of his Institute. He recommended to them
to have great devotion towards our Blessed Lord, to unite
themselves frequently to Him in the adorable Sacrament of the
Eucharist ; to delight in loving His Most Holy Mother, and to
honour, in a special manner, her most chaste Spouse, the
Patron of their Society. Two days afterwards, he asked for
the last sacraments of the Church. Whilst awaiting the Holy
Viaticum of the Body of Jesus Christ, he had his room decorat
ed, asked to have his habit, surplice and stole put on; and
charity giving him strength, he adored the Holy Eucharist on
his knees, and received with the most profound respect. On
Thursday of Holy Week, he was anointed, and passed seven
whole hours in thanksgiving. Towards evening, at the request
of Brother Barthelemy, he blessed all the members of the Insti
tute. Then the prayers for the recommendation of the soul
were recited ; when they were finished, he resumed his exhor
tation to the Brothers not to have dealings with wordlinjs, to
BULL OF CANONIZATION 377
of the poor boy, and violently agitated his frail body. The
Director of the Boarding School, however, did not lose hope :
he exhorted his household to pray earnestly and with more
fervour. At his bedside was the mother of the boy, who
was at the point of death, when suddenly he became con
scious, cast at her a long and tender look, recognized her,
and affirmed that he was cured. The doctors being called,
testified with admiration that the frightful symptoms of the
disease had disappeared.
The second miracle happened in the same year in the reli
gious house commonly called Maisonneuve, near Montreal.
Brother Ncthelme, of the Institute of the Brothers of the
Christian Schools, having met with an injury to the spine, it
was followed by so serious an inflammation of the spinal cord
that it degenerated into complete paraplegia; besides, his legs
were swollen arid affected with deep ulcers. The poor sick
Brother implored the help of Heaven, but in vain, when his
Superior advised him to have recourse to their Blessed Foun
der. Brother Nethelme obeyed, and, when lie had received
Holy Communion at the altar railing, feeling himself tor
tured by violent pains, lie addressed himself to the Blessed
exclaiming: " If thou wish, thou canst cure me! " Instant
ly, strength returned to his limbs ; he laid down his crutch
and walked with a firm step; no trace of the ulcers was left.
After the threefold examination prescribed by law, We
declared, by solemn Decree of April 30th of last year, as au
thentic and certain, the two miracles submitted, to wit : the
instantaneous and perfect cure of Leopold Tayac, of a severe
attack of pneumonia, accompanied with cerebral and fatal
symptoms : and the instantaneous and perfect cure of Brother
Nethelme, of the Congregation of the Christian Schools, of a
transverse lumbar poliomyelitis and of ulcers in the legs.
There remained to be proposed in general Session of the
Sacred Congregation of Rites, the following doubt : May the
solemn Canonization of Blessed John Baptist De La Salle be
securely proceeded with? The general Session was held on
May 29th of last year ; all the members being present, both
Jur very dear Sons the Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church,
Lnd the Consultors of the said Sacred Congregations of Rites,
their views. We, after having learned them, and
378 BULL OF CANONIZATION
implored the help of God, proclaimed by solemn Decree of
July id, the sixth Sunday after Pentecost of the same year,
that the solemn Canonization of Blessed John Baptist De La
Salle might be securely proceeded with.
These preliminaries being concluded, and in order to carry
out in the final and most solemn ceremony all the wise pres
criptions of Our predecessors, concerning its publicity and
splendour, We began by calling to Our presence in Consistory,
on April 19th of the present year, all the Cardinals of the Holy
Roman Church, in order that each might express his views.
They first heard Our beloved Son Balthasar Capogrossi Guarna,
Advocate in the Consistorial Chamber, on the deeds of Blessed
John Baptist De La Salle ; after which, they unanimously pressed
Us to pronounce the canonical definition of lhat Cause. We
were careful, at the same time, that the Bishops, not only
those in our vicinity, but even those at the greatest distance,
should be notified of this important solemnity by special letters
of the Sacred Congregation of the Council, so that they might
come, if possible, in order to give their views also. They
came in great numbers from all the countries of the world,
and after having taken exact cognizance of the Cause, either
by what had until then been done, above all in the public
Consistory held in Our presence, as We have said, or by the
Acts of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, a copy of which was
given to each; all, in a semi-public Consistory, equally held
in Our presence, on May 10th of this year, agreed with the
views of our dearly beloved Sons, the Cardinals of the Holy
Roman Church. The minutes of this fact, drawn up by Our
dear Sons the Notaries of the Apostolic See, were taken to the
archives of the Sacred Congregation of Rites.
Wherefore, We decided that the Canonization should take
place on May 24th, which da\ happens to be, this year, the
feast of the commemoration of the Ascension of our Lord
Jesus Christ, and of His triumph over the enemy of the human
race. Meanwhile, We ordained a general fast, and We ear
nestly exhorted the faithful to redouble their prayers, above
all, in the churches in which the august Sacrament would be
exposed for public adoration, in order that they also might
derive the most abundant fruits from this grand ceremony,
and that the Holy Ghost might deign to assist Us in the accom-^
BULL OF CANONIZATION 379
plishment of this function, one of the gravest of Our charge.
Finally, the blessed day so ardently desired was at hand.
All the Orders of the clergy, both secular and regular, all the
Prelates and Officers of the Roman Court, all our venerable
Brethren who happened to be in Rome, Cardinals of the Holy
Roman Church, Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, Bishops,
Abbots assembled in the Vatican Basilica, clad in magnifi
cent vestments ; and We there made our entry, preceded by
them singing solemn litanies. Then, Our dearly beloved Son,
Cardinal Cajetanus Aloisi-Masella, Pro-Datarius, Pro-Prefect of
the Sacred Congregation of Rites, in charge of all that con
cerned this Canonization, exposed to Us, through the medium of
our dear Son Pacelli, Advocate of the Consistorial Chamber,
tlie wishes and prayers of the Venerable Prelates and of all
the Congregation of the Christian Schools, asking Us to in
scribe in the number of Saints, the Blessed John Baptist De La
Salle, and at the same time, the Blessed Rita di Cassia. When
the said Cardinal Aloisi-Masella and the Advocate of our Con
sistorial Chamber had repeated their request a second time
with more earnestness, and a third time with the greatest
entreaties, We, after having fervently implored the light of
Heaven, pronounced the following Decree : In honor of the
Holy and Indivisible Trinity, for the augmentation and the
glory of the Catholic faith, in virtue of the authority of Our
Lord Jesus Christ, of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and of
Our own, after mature deliberation and the vote of Our Vener
able Brethren, tlie Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, and
the advice of the Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops and Bishops,
We proclaim that John Baptist De La Salle, Priest, Founder of
the Congregation of the Christian Schools, is among the num
ber of Holy Confessors.
By the same Decree, We associated with him the Blessed Rita
di Cassia, a professed religious of the Order of Hermits of
SL Augustine, very celebrated for her zeal in imitating Jesus
Christ, her love for her divine Master, the practice of all the
virtues, and by the lustre of her miracles.
We have ordained that the commemoration of St. John
Baptist De La Salle be celebrated every year on May loth, and
be noted in the Roman Martyrolog\ ; and, to all the faithful
Who, on this day, shall venerate his relics, We have granted j
380 BULL OF CANONIZATION
in perpetuity, an Indulgence of seven years and seven times
forty days. Finally, We have given thanks to God, all mer
ciful and all powerful, for this immense benefit, and We have
assisted at the divine Sacrifice, offered solemnly by Our Vener
able Brother, Aloisius Oreglia, Cardinal Dean, Bishop of Ostia
and Velletri. After the reading of the Gospel, We addressed
a homily to the clergy and people, to exhort them, by their
great faith and charity, to draw down the favours, not only of
the Princes of the Apostles, but also of the Saints newly canon
ized , upon their persons , the Church and all the human fam
ily. AVe granted a plenary Indulgence to all the faithful
present at the ceremony, and We gave orders that this Our
Letter should be prepared, and despatched with the leaden seal
affixed.
And now, benediction, glory and thanksgiving to Jesus
Christ, God and Redeemer of the human race, who hath
clothed His faithful servant, John Baptist De La Salle, with the
splendour of His glory, and who, in view of our necessities,
lias proposed him to us as a model, in order that we may the
better know the supereminent charity of Jesus Christ which
surpasseth all knowledge, and be filled unto all the fullness
of God. For, it was because he burned with that supereminent
charity of Jesus Christ, which surpasseth knowledge, that John
Baptist generously abandoned family, dignity and riches, to
renounce himself, and that, applying to himself these words
of Jesus Christ, Suffer children to come to me, he devoted him
self entirely to the gratuitous education of the children of the
people in religion and in knowledge of the arts. He did so
with all perfection , in the power of God , by the armour of
justice on the right hand and on the left, by honour and dis
honour, by evil report and good report. And he was so filled
with the plenitude of God, that, foreseeing by divine instinct
the needs of ages to come, lie established, without omitting
a single one, all the kinds of institutions useful for the instruc
tion and education of youth. Hence, he was not content with
multiplying the number of schools for the poor and perfecting
methods, but he also established, (and was the first of all to
do so), schools that are to-day called professional, for impart
ing instruction in business and industries ; he conceived and
created a work still more praiseworthy, and of far superior
BULL OF CANONIZATION 381
utility, namely, normal schools for the formation of teachers;
and, inspired by faith, by zeal for the salvation of souls, and
guided by his love for flic Roman Church, lie gave them laws,
and traced out excellent rules, that served and still serve as
the basis of numerous institutions that have sprung up after
his example. Henceforth, you who worthily bear the sacred
title of teachers, have a model whom you can contemplate,
whose virtues you can endeavour to imitate in your ministry,
and whom you can invoke as your intercessor with Cod , to
snatch from the domination of Satan and of his followers the
schools of Christian nations.
For these reasons, and after having examined maturely and
according to law all that there was to be examined, of Our cer
tain knowledge, and in virtue of the plenitude of Our Apostolic
Authority, We confirm , corroborate and decide anew, We
decree and publish for the universal Church all and each of the
things aforesaid : ordaining that to copies even printed ones of
these Letters, provided they be subscribed by a Notary Apostol
ic and bear the seal of a person constituted in ecclesiastical
dignity, there be attached absolutely the same faitli as to Our
present text, were it exhibited and shown.
And should any one presume to infringe this Act, express
ing Our definition, ordinance, concession and will, make any
attempt thereon, or have the temerity of contravening it, let
him know that lie would incur the indignation of (iod Almigh
ty, and of His Holy Apostles Peter and Paul.
Given at St. Peter s in Rome, in the Holy Year of the Incar
nation of Our Lord, one thousand nine hundred, the IX. of the
Calends of June (May 24th), the twenty-third year of Our
Pontificate.
& I, LEO, Bishop of the Catholic Church.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE 5
CHAPTER I.
EDUCATION (1651-1678)
Childhood of St. John Baptist De La Salle (1651-1660) ... 7
John Baptist at the college des Bons-Enfants. He enters the
clerical state. He becomes a Canon of Bheims (1660-1669). 11
John Baptist De La Salle follows the course of the Sorbonne
and forms himself to the practice of the sacerdotal virtues
in the seminary of Saint -Sulpice (1670-1672) 16
John Baptist De La Salle takes care of his family. He devotes
himself to study and takes part in works. He receives
holy orders. - The priesthood (1672-1678) 21
CHAPTER II.
THE FIRST SCHOOLS (1678-1682)
John Baptist De La Salle consolidates the work of Nicolas
lloland (1678) 26
Madam Maillefer sends Nyel to Bheims. Foundation of the
school of Saint-Maurice (1679) 29
The school of Saint- Jacques and the school of Saint- Sympho-
rien. How John Baptist was led to direct the teachers
(1679-1680) 34
John Baptist by imperceptible degrees brings the teachers into
his house. He establishes schools at Rethel, (Juise, Cha
teau -Porcien and Laon (1680-1682) 38
384 TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER III.
THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE INSTITUTE 1682-1688)
John Baptist De La Salle quits his splendid home. His
community is renewed. He becomes confessor of the
masters (1682) 44
John Baptist De La Salle resigns his canonry (1683; .... 47
John Baptist De La Salle sells his patrimony and distributes
the proceeds to the poor (1683-1684) 53
The first assembly. The first vows. The religious habit
(1684) 56
The creations of John Baptist De La Salle : novitiate, junior
novitiate, seminary for country schoolmasters (1684-1685) . 60
The fervour of John Baptist De La Salle and of his first
Brothers (1685-1688) 63
CHAPTER IV.
THE SCHOOLS OF SAINT-SULPICE (1688-1691)
John Baptist De La Salle takes possession of the charity schools
of Saint -Sulpice (1688; 67
John Baptist De La Salle becomes a butt to opposition (1688) . 70
Difficulties relative to the habit of the Brothers (1689-1690) . 73
Lawsuit instituted by the masters of the u petites ecoles
(1690). . . . * "&
Internal trials of the Institute. Illness of the holy founder,
and death of Brother Henri L Heureux ( 1690 -1691). ... 77
CHAPTER V.
THE NOVITIATE OF VAUGIUARD (1601-1698)
John Baptist De La Salle establishes a house of retreat and
then a novitiate at Vaugirard (1691-1692) 82
The community of Vaugirard. The virtues practised in this
community. Trials during the famine (1692-1694) ... 86
The retreat of 169i. Perpetual vows and the election of a
Superior (1694) 93
The works of John Baptist De La Salle in the solitude of Vau
girard (1694-1698) ".". . 97
TABLE OF CONTENTS 38o
CHAPTER VI.
DEVELOPMENT AND OPPOSITION 16U8-1705
The Brothers in the Grand Maison. The works organized
therein (1698) 103
Extension of the school work in Paris. Seminary for country
schoolmasters at Saint -Hippolyte (1698-1699 108
The founding of schools outside Paris : Ghartres, Calais,
Rome, Troyes, Avignon (1699- 1703 Ill
John Baptist De La Salle is calumniated with the Archbishop
of Paris, and deposed from his office of Superior 1 1702 \. . 118
John Baptist De La Salle is owerwhelmed with trials (1703 . 125
The regret of John Baptist De La Salle for leaving the Grand
Maison. He fixes his residence in the faubourg Saint-
Antoine ^1703-1704} 129
Violent persecution by the schoolmasters and writing-masters
1704-170(5 132
CHAPTER VII.
THE ESTABLISHMENT AT ROUEN AND DIVERS SCHOOLS
(1705-1712)
The schools of Darnetal and Rouen i 1705-1707) 139
Saint- Yon : novitiate, boarding-school, reformatory ,1705- 1 .709). 144
The opening of schools outside of the capital (1705-1711 } . . 149
The famine of 1709. Return of the novitiate to Paris (1709). 154
A training school for masters at Saint-Denis. The Clement
lawsuit 1707-1712 159
CHAPTER VIII.
SOJOURN IN THE SOUTH (1711-1714
John Baptist De La Salle visits the establishments in the
South (1711-1712 ... s 164
John Baptist De La Salle at Marseilles. His novitiate. -
Terrible persecution raised against him 1712-1713 . . . 169
John Baptist De La Salle at Grenoble. He visits the Grande-
Chartreuse and makes a retreat at Parmenie (1713-1714 . . 174
What took place in the North during the absence of John
Baptist. The Brothers recall their Superior in the name
of obedience ; 1712-1714, * .... 179
Life and Virtues. 1 7
386 TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER IX.
LAST YEARS (1715-1719)
John Baptist De La Salle transfers his novitiate to Saint-Yon.
- He visits Boulogne and Calais (1715-1716) 185
John Baptist resigns the office of Superior. Election of
Brother Barthelemy (1716-1717) 190
John Baptist s stay at Saint -Nicolas du Chardonnet. His
return to Saint -Yon and the holy life he there leads (1717-
1718) 195
The last struggles and the last hour (1719) ,200
CHAPTER X.
THE MAN
Introduction 208
Physical portrait 210
The qualities of his mind 211
His moral character , .220
CHAPTER XI.
THE CHRISTIAN
Preamble 233
His faith and life of faith 234
His hope and confidence in God 240
His love of God 245
His love of Jesus Christ 249
His love for the Most Blessed Virgin, St. Joseph and the
other Saints 255
His spirit of religion 259
His charity for his neighbour 264
His detachment from wordly goods 269
His chastity and mortification of the senses 273
Interior mortification by obedience and humility 278
TABLE OF CONTENTS 387
CHAPTER XII.
THE PRIEST
Preamble .284
The esteem of John Baptist for his priestly vocation .... 285
His zeal for the salvation of souls . 288
How John Baptist was called to exercise his priestly /eal in
education 294
How education was in the eyes of John Baptist an apostolic
function
CHAPTER XIII.
THE FOUNDER
Preamble < 3Q7
How the founder allowed himself to be guided by Providence. 308
How John Baptist cared for the members of his Institute. . . 313
With what religious elements John Baptist formed the soul
of his Institute 318
The organization of the Institute 323
John Baptist De La Salle as a religious .328
CHAPTER XIV.
THE DESTINY OF HIS WORK
Preamble 339
In the eighteenth century 333
Under the Revolution and the Empire 339
Under the law of liberty of education 344
The social influence of the Institute . 349
The glory of John Baptist De La Salle 353
LIST OF THE ESTABLISHMENTS FOUNDED BY ST. JOHN BAPTIST
DE LA SALLE 359
SUPERIORS GENERAL OF THE INSTITUTE FROM THE FOUNDATION. . 3G1
BULL OF CANONI/ATION OF ST. JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE , . 363
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