BRIEF HISTORY OF THE BROTHERS ARRIVAL IN THE PHILIPPINES

The arrival of the Brothers in the Philippines was put into

motion by one man, Archbishop Jeremiah James Harty,
the first American Archbishop of Manila. He arrived in
Manila during a time where strong anti-friar sentiments,
mainly due to the aftermath of the Philippine Revolution,
were causing the established Catholic institutions to lose
ground to their secular counterparts. Protestantism
surfaced in the Philippines upon the arrival of the
Americans, liberalizing the concepts of religion and
education. This led to the rise of non-sectarian private
elementary and secondary schools which did not include
Catechism among their subjects.

Archbishop Harty maintained a passionate belief in Christian education. It was his ardent desire
to establish a school that would provide young boys with a solid Catholic Education and, at the
same time, teach them the English Language. 

The American Archbishop had a great admiration for the type of education that the Brothers of
the Christian Schools offered. In 1904, he requested Br. Clementian, then Superior General of
the Brothers of the Christian Schools, to open a school in the Philippines, but his initial request
was rejected. However, Archbishop Harty persisted with his requests and eventually received a
Papal mandate in 1907 for the Brothers to formally open a school in Manila.

The First Brothers Community. 

On the 10th of March 1911, the

three Founding Brothers arrived
in Manila via Europe. Brs.
Blimond Pierre (Eilenbecker),
Aloysius Gonzaga (McGiverin)
and Augusto Correge became
guests of Archbishop Harty. In
two months time, on 13 May, the
six remaining Brothers of the
Founding Community arrived in
Manila. They were Br. Ptolomee
Louis (Duffaux), Br. Goslin
Camillus (Henri), Br. D. Joseph, Br. Celba John (Lynam), Br. Imar William (Reale), and Br.
Martin.

De La Salle College officially opened its doors to 125 youngsters on 16 June 1911 in a
13,000-square meter property on Nozaleda Street in Paco, Manila. By 10 July, the total number
of students reached 175. Forty were boarding students, while those who took a mid-day meal on
campus were termed half-boarders. Br. Blimond, a native of France, became the first head of the
college.
    The newly-founded school focused on the basics of education known as the three R’s, which
stood for Reading, ‘Riting, and ‘Rithmetic.  De La Salle College was determined to challenge the
increasing number of non-sectarian schools by including Catholic Education in its curricula for
the primary graders. DLSC revived a traditional activity in a typical Catholic school during the
Spanish era by conducting a Communion Mass on December 17, 1911.

         To address the need of additional teachers, Brothers Alexis, Basilian and Anthony were
assigned to teach at De La Salle College in 1914.  Brothers Donatian Felix, V. Andrew, Albinus
Peter, Falvius Leo, Alphonsus Henry, Felix and David King were sent to the school to teach
various subjects from 1917-1929.  

         A Catholic Spanish newspaper, La Libertad, acknowledged De La Salle College in one of its

editorials, stating:

“In spite of its two years of existence, it has taken very gigantic steps in the field of letters so
that today, its name can be heard by everyone in the archipelago repeated by many to the
wonder of the ignorant and the atheist. There is hardly any province in our beloved country
that does not send one of its sons to the seat of the said school, drinking from its fountain the
laudable instructions of its learned teachers”.

         Further, the editorial gave additional commendations through these words:

“Religious imprint on this great center is a distinctive seal that characterizes it among the
other colleges and schools which gives instructions in the language of Milton. They are right to
say that De La Salle College is the primary solution to the transcendental problems that the
exigencies of our present government impose on our Catholic country. It can be said that the
triumph of De La Salle College is complete. Rare, very rare, are the colleges that have been
founded which can really wave the flag of victory as De La Salle College”.

        Bro. Acisclus Michael played a vital role in transferring De La Salle to its new place upon his
entry as school director in 1915.  The school was given full accreditation in awarding high school
diplomas in the same year.  He organized the De La Salle Debating Club in 1916 to enhance the
communication skills of his students using English as medium.

       With the consent of his Superiors, Bro. Michael was given authority to purchase a piece of
property which would accommodate the school’s growing population. He found an area at the
southern portion of Taft Avenue which was larger than the one at Nozaleda. Despite his limited
funds, a competition of architectural designs was held. Tomas Mapua, who later founded the
Mapua Institute of Technology, won the contest.  With the additional assistance secured by Bro.
Michael from Singapore, The dream of De La Salle to have a bigger campus became reality.  De
La Salle formally transferred to Taft Avenue on October 3, 1921.  

        The school’s first literary magazine, The Green and White, first appeared on August 24,
1924. This magazine was transformed as the school’s yearbook in 1937 and renamed La Sallite.
        Before the emergence of the First World War, De La Salle had established its reputation as
the best school for commerce in the entire archipelago. In 1925, the school began to offer six
additional subjects in its courses such as Shorthand, Business English, Business Law, Spelling,
Oral Expression and Commercial Correspondence. The Commission of Private Education under
the colonial government also authorized De La Salle to grant Bachelor and Master of Science in
Education Degrees.   A decade after the war, the school began to retool its specialization toward
technical education including the different engineering courses: civil, mechanical, electrical and
chemical engineering.

        De La Salle College played an active role during the XXXIII International Eucharistic
Congress, a Catholic assembly that took place in Manila from February 3 to 7, 1937.  The school
gymnasium was made as the “starting point” of the final procession. Student cadets performed
as ushers and honor guards for the Blessed Sacrament and served as flag bearers of the different
countries during the procession.

         During the Japanese occupation, La Salle Campus served as a shelter for the homeless
families.

       De La Salle University began to accept women enrollees that commenced the school’s
co-educational system in 1973.  It was given a university status in February 1975, and was
declared an autonomous university by the Commission on Higher Education in 2010.
 
      The founding of De La Salle University was indeed a milestone event that shielded Catholic
Education in the Philippines from the growing popularity of non-sectarian schools during the
American colonial years. Quoting a passage from “The Journal of History- A Century of
Education in the Philippines”,

    “The DLSU-Manila experience indicates that while the American educational system was
geared towards pacification, the main rationale underlying the establishment of De La Salle
College in 1911 was the preservation of the Catholic faith. The college was primarily designed
to cater to the needs of the affluent sector of society, the reason being that the public school
system could very well serve the needs of the masses. The Christian Brothers successfully
managed to cope with the challenge posed by the American educational policies and other
difficulties that became manifest as they embarked upon their work.”  
Today, there are now 50 professed Filipino Brothers. These men continue the legacy set forth by
the Founding Brothers and the mission of the Founder 300 years ago.