Saint Jean-Baptiste de La Salle or John Baptist de La Salle (30 April 1651 – 7 April 1719) was a priest, educational reformer, and founder of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. He is a saint of the Roman Catholic church and the patron saint of teachers.
He dedicated much of his life to the education of poor children in France; in doing so, he started many lasting educational practices. He is considered the founder of the first Catholic schools.
Contents [hide]
1 Life and work
2 Sisters of the Child Jesus
3 Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools
4 See also
5 References
6 Further reading
7 External links
[edit]Life and work

Jean Baptiste de la Salle was born to a wealthy family in Rheims, France on April 30, 1651.[1] He was the eldest child of Louis de la Salle and Nicolle de Moet de Brouillet. La Salle received the tonsure at age eleven and was named canon of Rheims Cathedral when he was fifteen. He was sent to the College des Bons Enfants, where he pursued the higher studies and, on July 10, 1669, he took the degree of Master of Arts. When de la Salle had completed his classical, literary, and philosophical courses, he was sent to Paris to enter the Seminary of Saint-Sulpice on October 18, 1670. His mother died on July 19, 1671, and on April 9, 1672, his father died. This circumstance obliged him to leave Saint-Sulpice on April 19, 1672. He was now twenty-one, the head of the family, and as such had the responsibility of educating his four brothers and two sisters. He completed his theological studies and was ordained to the priesthood at the age of 26 on April 9, 1678. Two years later he received a Doctorate in Theology.[2]
De la Salle was a man of refined manners, a cultured mind, and great practical ability, in whom personal