De La Salle Christian Brothers Come to America

Today in 1848, the first De La Salle Christian Brothers arrived in America on Manhattan’s lower East Side open first school at 26 Canal Street. The following is taken from the Institute’s website:

Monsieur de La Salle had the idea of setting up gratuitous schools where the children of workmen and the poor would learn reading, writing and arithmetic, and would also receive a Christian education through catechisms and other forms of instruction appropriate for forming good Christians. For this purpose he brought together a group of young unmarried men. He strove to have them live in a way which was consistent with the end of their Institute, and in order to recreate the life of the first Christians . . . he composed Rules for them.

Today, the Brothers minister, together with over 100.000 lay colleagues, to more than 1.000.000 students in 82 countries.