John Baptist De La Salle was born on April 30, 1651 in Rheims, France. The oldest son of a councilor of Rheims, he was made a canon of the cathedral at the age of 16 and was ordained a priest at 27.
In his early years as a priest, France was faced with numerous challenges arising from constant foreign and internal wars, which had resulted in famine, ruin, and untold suffering to the people. There was a neglect of schools and ignorance and vice abounded. John, strongly drawn by his love for the poor was asked to help found two free schools for the poor at Rheims. This job he did so well, taking personal and active interest in the teachers, their methods and motivation, in addition to feeding and housing them. This informal cohabitation eventually gave birth to the Institute of Brothers of Christian Schools, a congregation founded about 1680. John and his brothers championed education for the poor, a situation that was later to become the apostolate of the congregation. John Baptist De La Salle is reputed among the world’s greatest thinkers and educational reformers.
A model for piety and humility, John Baptist De La Salle died on April 7, 1719 and was canonized by Pope Leo xiii in 1900. He was declared patron of all teachers in 1950.