St. John Baptist
de La Salle

      John Baptist was shunned by many sides of French society. His teachings with French as a medium instead if Latin were greatly criticised by traditional teachers, who believed that Latin was the only truly civilised language suitable for teaching. But John Baptist stood fast and continued his work, while constantly improving the quality of education he was offering. New schools were opened, and John Baptist de La Salle's name became famous throughout France.

      John Baptist's success was substantial , but he never became proud overjoyed by his rewarding works. In fact, he always tended to hide behind his work, often gave credit to his teachers and helpers. In 1717, he stepped down from the leadership of the organisation, but remained a great influence on the Brothers and their fellows.

      Form devotion almost all almost all his life to reforming education in France, John Baptist was gradually weakened physically. He died on Good Friday, April 7, 1791. He was canonised in 1900 by Pope Leo XIII and proclaimed 'Patron of all Teachers' by Pop Pius XII in1951. His feast day is celebrated on May 15.

      The Christian Brothers (De La Salle Brothers) are now known the world over. Today 15,000 Christian conduct schools, colleges and universities in some 80 countries. In Asia, the Brothers have establishments in Burma, Cambodia, Ceylon, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.