De La Salle Christian Brothers
Information
Mission (1+ year commitment,) Religious
Men
Active
Teaching, social work, campus ministry
Get in Touch!
2025290047x104 Chris Swain
Location(s)
San Francisco, CA, Portland, OR, Yakima, WA, Blackfeet Reservation, MT, Tuscon, AZ, Santa Fe, NM, Chicago, IL, Minneapolis, MN, Winona, MN, Memphis, TN, St. Louis, MI, New Orleans, LA, New York, NY, Washington, DC, Baltimore, MD, Rhode Island, Albany, NY, Warren, MI, Toronto, CA, Montreal, CA
Patron Saints/Famous Saints of the Community
Saint John Baptist de La Salle, is the founder of our community and Patron Saint of Teachers.
Blessed Brother James Miller, FSC is one of our most recent to be beatified as a martyr in Guatemala, he was beatified in Dec. 2019.
Saint Miguel Febres Cordero, FSC was the first Saint from Ecuador and his name graces many of our middle schools as San Miguel Schools.
Charism/Apostolate
As Brothers of the Christian Schools, we are passionate about our mission of providing a human and Christian education to the young, especially those on the margins.
Founded over 300 years ago by Saint John Baptist de La Salle, who in seeing a need and being moved to respond, began a new form of religious life, a Gospel-centered community of men committed to responding to the educational and spiritual needs of young people in his day.
Today the Lasallian charism and mission continues today in 79 countries, serving one million young people each year.
Together in community, as Brothers, we live out the Gospel and our Lasallian charism through the ministry of education.
As Brothers, we are called to be evangelizers through the ministry of education to young people, especially those on the margins. While each of our vocational journeys is unique, there is unity in our shared response to God’s call to provide a human and Christian education to young people.
History
Saint John Baptist de La Salle established a unique group of lay religious men dedicated exclusively to education – the Brothers of the Christian Schools. Today the educational movement that he began continues to inspire educators around the world. Learn more about the story at https://www.brothersvocation.org/about-us/our-founder/
Prayer Life
Our spirituality as Brothers is first rooted in the Gospel. As we live out our religious consecration to God in the footsteps of Jesus, the Gospel is at the heart of our mission.
Living the Gospel and incarnating it as we proclaim it, is the basis of our vocation; this is its value and necessity in the world of today.
Lasallian spirituality has certain points of emphasis, which make it a distinct spiritual way. Certainly, these same elements are found in other forms of spirituality, but the Founder uniquely integrated them in the light of his experience, in order to help his Brothers live their vocation, which was something new in the Catholic Church.
Focus on the Trinity
Incarnation
Spirt of Faith and Zeal
Remembering the Presence of God
Life of Prayer
Union in Community
Mary as Model
Shared Spirituality and Charism
Living a spirit of faith and zeal, as Brothers and with our Lasallian Partners, we embrace a spirituality rooted in: a spirit of community and relationship, faith and zeal, and a practical understanding that God calls us together to witness the Gospel together associated for a common mission.
Traditions
Brothers as Apostles
As Brothers, through our religious consecration and rooted in living the richness of our baptism in a distinctive way, we are called to be apostles.
"We are called to be apostles in virtue of our religious consecration, not just teachers. We are to be excellent teachers, yes, but more than that. We are to be loving men, concerned for young people, yes, but more than that.We are to be evangelizers. We are called to be zealous men. Zeal is of the essence of our vocation. And let us not confuse zeal with professionalism. We must, of course, be professionals, but zeal is more. Zeal involves an ardent desire to help young people grow in the spirit of Christianity." Brother John Johnston, FSC
In addition to the evangelical counsels (poverty, chastity, obedience) as Brothers, we have two additional vows that unite us to one another and in solidarity with Brothers around the world.
Association for educational service of the poor
Stability to the Institute