Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools

The Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools is a Roman Catholic religious teaching order, founded by John Baptist de la Salle. De La Salle was a canon of the cathedral and came from a wealthy family. He had the idea of setting up free schools where the children of the working class and the poor could learn reading, writing and arithmetic. They would also receive religious instruction, and other training appropriate for forming good Christian citizens.

Related Topics:
Roman Catholic - Order - John Baptist de la Salle - Canon - Cathedral - School

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To this end, he brought together a group of men to live in community and conduct the schools. He is credited with establishing a regimen of education which emphasized the good of the student, banning corporal punishment from their institutions. The founding of the order is generally dated to 1680. It was the first religious community of men in the Catholic Church not to include clergy, the Institute being comprised solely of lay brothers who are often called Lasallian Brothers.

Related Topics:
1680 - Catholic Church - Lay brothers

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Today the order runs schools in 80 different countries, in both developed and developing nations. The community is headed by a Superior General with the assistance of a General Council. As of 2005, the Superior General is Brother Álvaro Rodríguez Echeverría, FSC, of Costa Rica.

Related Topics:
Superior General - As of 2005 - Álvaro Rodríguez Echeverría - Costa Rica

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From 1882 until 1989, a non-profit arm of the order ran a winery in the Napa Valley at Greystone Cellars near St. Helena, California. Most famous for Christian Brothers Brandy, the operation and rights to the name were sold to Heublein, Inc. in 1989. http://napanews.com/templates/index.cfm?template=story_full&id=70A6F313-96FE-43D6-BAC8-2C909DBE1019

Related Topics:
1882 - 1989 - Winery - Napa Valley - Greystone Cellars - St. Helena, California - Brandy - Heublein, Inc.

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