Important Facts

 Birthdate: April 30, 1651

 Birthplace: Reims France
 Eldest son of a wealthy &
influential family
Mother: Nicolle Moet – owner
of vineyard that produces
expensive champagne
Father: Louis de La Salle –
Magistrate, king‟s counselor
and president of the royal
court in Reims
Reims, France - Where it all began

In this key historical

city of France, long
associated with the
crowning of the French
kings, De La Salle‟s
family lived and
prospered. For the first
37 years of his life, it
was the place that he
called home.
Hotel de la Cloche

then now
SJBDLS As a Scholar – a person who is
highly educated or has a gift for study
Age Accomplishments Dates
10 Received a symbolic tonsure and he began
his studies for the priest-hood

15 Became a canon at the Cathedral of Reims

19 Entered the Seminary of St. Sulpice and Oct 17, 1670
studied in Sorbonne University, Paris

20 De La Salle suspends his studies in Paris April 18, 1672

and returns to Reims to take charge of his
family
Why he needed to suspend his studies and
return to Reims

 St. John Baptist‟s mother, Nicolle Moet dies at the

age of 37 on June 19, 1671 and was buried the
same day
 10 months after, his father, Louis de La Salle, dies
in Reims at the age of 47 and is buried the
following day
 This situation forced SJBDLS to leave the seminary
in 1672 to take charge of his brothers and sisters.
Tonsure: refers to the practice of cutting or
shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as
a sign of religious devotion or humility.

De La Salle says his first Mass at Reims Cathedral

Canon- an
advisor to the
archbishop,
attending daily
liturgical
services and
receiving
significant
benefices
Young De La Salle as canon
St. Sulspice Seminary
Cathedral of Reims
Age Accomplishments Dates
24 De La Salle is ordained as a deacon March 21, 1678
(rank before becoming a priest) in the
chapel of the Archbishop of Reims
26 He obtained his Licentiate in Theology Jan. 26, 1678
from the University of Reims
26 De La Salle is ordained to priesthood April 9, 1678
in the chapel of the Archbishop or
Reims
27 He becomes involve with teachers, April 15, 1679
students and the poor. The first
school initiated by Adrien Nyel with
the help of De La Salle.
A chance encounter with Adrian Nyel would
begin the Lasallian schools
Age Accomplishments Dates
28 He received his Doctorate n Theology April 21, 1680
from the University of Reims
32 De La Salle resigns his position as August 1683
Canon of the Cathedral of Reims,
giving up the status, benefits, income,
and responsibilities related to that
position
33 The teachers adopt the name of Sept 1684
“Brothers of the Christian Schools”
(Fratres Scolarum Christianarum) and
adopt a simple, black religious habit
based on the professional dress of the
day
He welcomed charity
teachers in his own
home. They were
referred to us
“gamblers, drunkards,
libertines, ignorant,
brutal, card-players
in taverns, fiddlers in
haunts of pleasure
and at village
festivals.”
Resigns canonry
Distributes wealth to
the poor
Heroic Vow:
De La Salle, Nicolas
Vuyart, and Gabriel
Drolin, in Paris and in
private, pronounce the
heroic vow: to together
establish this Society,
even if they „should
have to beg and live on
bread alone‟.
Age Accomplishments Dates
67 De La Salle passes away at 4:00 April 7, 1719
a.m. on Good Friday. Brother
Barthelemy, who was with him,
suggested that he offer up his
sufferings, to which he replied.
“Yes. I adore God guiding me in all
the events of my life.”
He was canonized as Saint May 24, 1900
Declared Patron Saint of Christian May 15, 1950
Teachers by Pope Pius XII
De La Salle died in 1719 at Saint Yon in Rouen
among his fellow Brothers.
De La Salle buried in
the church of Saint
Sever
Source:
content and illustrations
https://www.dlsfootsteps.org/