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Principal events of De La Salle's life - Coggle Diagram
Principal events of De La Salle's life
Timeline
1651: De La Salle is born in Reims, France, on April 30.
1661: At age 10, De La Salle participates in a ceremony to formally indicate his interest in becoming a priest. (other authors said at the age of 11)
1666: De La Salle is named Canon of the Cathedral of Reims.
1671: Nicolle Moët de Brouillet, De La Salle’s mother, dies.
1672: Louis de La Salle, De La Salle’s father, dies.
1678: De La Salle receives his licentiate in theology. De La Salle is ordained as a priest. Nicolas Roland dies, leaving De La Salle to oversee the Sisters of the Child Jesus.
1679: A providential encounter with Adrien Nyel at the convent of the Sisters of the Child Jesus involves De La Salle with establishing free schools for poor boys.
1680: De La Salle receives his doctorate in theology. De La Salle invites the teachers into his home for meals, meetings, and prayer.
1681: De La Salle brings the teachers into his home as their residence.
1683: De La Salle resigns his position as canon, giving up his status and income
1683-1684: De La Salle gives away his wealth to feed the poor during a famine.
1686: The first General Assembly is held, where the teachers adopt the name “Brothers of the Christian Schools,” decide on a simple habit, and take a vow of obedience.
1688: De La Salle and two Brothers travel to Paris to assume direction of a parish school at the invitation of the pastor, marking their first establishment outside of Reims.
1690: The Brothers face challenges: some Brothers leave, others die; De La Salle suffers a near-fatal illness; new schools open; opposition and legal battles continue.
1691: De La Salle and two Brothers profess a “heroic vow” to establish the “Society” even if all others leave, and they have to beg for bread.
1694: The first General Chapter is held, where De La Salle and 12 Brothers make perpetual vows and adopt the first Rule.
1702: Brothers Gabriel and Gerard Drolin leave France to extend the work to Rome.
1705: The Brothers open an establishment at St. Yon, which includes a novitiate, boarding school, and home for delinquent boys. Formal permission is given to print all works prepared by De La Salle for use in the schools.
1711: The Clément family wins a lawsuit against De La Salle, which costs the Institute money and property and degrades De La Salle’s integrity. De La Salle leaves Paris for the south of France.
1714: The Brothers summon De La Salle back to Paris from Parménie, demanding that he resume leadership of the Institute. De La Salle returns to Paris.
1717: The second General Chapter elects Brother Barthélemy as the Superior General.
1718: De La Salle resides at St. Yon, writing and ministering, but becoming increasingly ill.
1719: De La Salle dies at St. Yon on Good Friday, April 7.
1724: The Institute receives state recognition as a legal entity.
1725: The Church recognizes the Brothers as an Institute of Pontifical Right in a papal bull of approbation.
1888: De La Salle is beatified on February 19.
1900: De La Salle is canonized on May 24.
1950: De La Salle is proclaimed patron of all teachers of youth on May 15.
Places
Reims
John Baptist de La Salle was born in this place.
His devout parents named him after John the Baptist.
He chose to pursue the priesthood and underwent an official ceremony at the age of 11 to confirm that intention.
When he was 16, his uncle resigned from the distinguished position of Canon of the Cathedral Chapter of Reims in his favor.
De La Salle meets Adrien Nyel at the door of the Sisters of the Child Jesus convent. Nyel came from Rouen, carrying a letter of recommendation from a cousin of John’s, Madame Maillefer. John promises Nyel to help him in the setting up of schools for poor boys in Rheims.
Paris
At the age of 19, De La Salle moved to Paris so that he could study at the Sorbonne while residing at the prestigious Seminary of Saint Sulpice.
Among the regular tasks of the seminarians was to teach catechism to the poor, which De La Salle certainly did do
This major center of French culture and government was where De La Salle and the first Brothers came in 1688 and demonstrated that their ministry reached beyond the confines of the diocese of Reims.
He was to spend 18 years in Paris.
After resigning his canonry, then giving away his wealth to the needy, De La Salle divested himself of all other cares and decided to establish his Institute in Paris.
Parmeine
A short time of spiritual renewal and healing with Sr. Louise.
One of the most significant retreat locations in the Lasallian world, Parmenie is where De La Salle came — albeit for a short time — at a key moment in his life.
The name Parmenie (Latin “para moenia” for “alongside the walls”) indicates that the place was heavily fortified.
De La Salle Meets Sister Louise
De Saleon Asks De La Salle to Cover His Position at Parmenie Retreat
Brothers Request their Superior
It was either at Parmenie or at Grenoble that De La Salle received the letter from the Brothers in Paris.
Both Blain and Maillefer say that the founder spent a fortnight at Parmenie, but Brother Leo Burkhard argues convincingly for a stay of the greater part of four months (February-June of 1714) with a few returns to the Grenoble community.
In 1964, just 250 years after De La Salle’s sojourn, the Brothers acquired title to Parmenie.
Rouen
moved to the city of Rouen with Brother Barthélemy and the novices.
At a complex of buildings called Saint Yon (Links to an external site.) — which housed the novitiate, a boarding school, and a juvenile center — he began to make arrangements for another General Chapter.
The Brothers at this time constituted 23 houses and 34 educational establishments throughout France, with 100 Brothers and some 18 novices
After Brother Barthélemy had visited all the communities to gain their agreement to the assembly, the “principal Brothers” assembled in May of 1717.
At the request of the assembly, the founder subsequently drew up a definitive revision of the Rule based on their discussions and input.
The assembly formally elected Brother Barthélemy as the new Superior, and De La Salle was assiduous in obeying the authority of the new Superior.
Clément Affair Money Returned
De La Salle was renowned in the area, and at Saint Yon, as a confessor.
De La Salle died in 1719 at Saint Yon in Rouen among his fellow Brothers.