Saint John Baptist de La Salle
John Baptist de La Salle was born into an upper-class family in Reims, France. He enjoyed a life of honor and social prestige, as well as an excellent and expensive education. When John was eleven, he and his parents made a promise of his lifelong service to the Church. At age sixteen, he became a canon of the ornate Reims Cathedral, acting as the cathedral’s caretaker and advisor to the archbishop. He had to return home when both of his parents died to care for his six younger siblings and to oversee the family estate. Over the next five years, he completed his theological studies and was ordained a priest at age twenty-six. He then completed his doctorate of theology and immersed himself in the life of a young and well-respected priest. Father de La Salle’s spiritual director, Father Nicolas Roland, had a saintly heart for the poor and the education of children. He helped found the Sisters of the Child Jesus whose mission was to care for the sick and educate poor girls. Father de La Salle served as chaplain and confessor and assisted them with their work. When Father Roland was dying, he exhorted Father de La Salle to continue on. Not drawn to the work, he reluctantly agreed and soon met Adrian Nyel, whom he assisted in founding two schools for poor boys in Reims. Father de La Salle invited the teachers into his home, sharing meals with them, and teaching them how to be better teachers and men of God. To devote more time to them, he invited the teachers to live with him, drawing criticism from his wealthy relatives. Resistance and criticism from his social peers and even the bishop for associating with poor boys and poorly educated teachers continued. After prayerful consideration, Father de La Salle resigned as cathedral canon and devoted himself full-time to the education of the poor. Father de La Salle remarked later in life that if he had known what God would ask of him from the beginning, he would have never said “Yes.” But God, in His perfect wisdom, led him one step at a time, and Father de La Salle only had to respond to one gentle prompting of grace at a time.
