Pope Leo’s Address to the Brothers of the Christian Schools
Clementine Hall – Thursday, 15 May 2025
In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, peace be with you.
Your Eminence,
Dear brothers and sisters, welcome!
I am very pleased to receive you, on the occasion fo the third centenary of the promulgation of the Bull In apostolicae Dignitatis Solio, with which Pope Benedict XIII approved your Institute and your Rule (January, 26 1725).
It also coincides with the 75th anniversary of the proclamation, by Pope Pius XII, of Saint John Baptist de La Salle as “Heavenly Patron of all educators” (cf. Apostolic Letter Quod ait, 15 May 1950: AAS 12, 1950, 631-632).
After three centuries, it is good to see how your presence continues to bear the freshness of a rich and vast educational entity, with which, in various parts of the world, you still dedicate yourselves to the formation of young people with enthusiasm, fidelity and a spirit of sacrifice.
It is on the occasion of this Jubilee that I would like to pause and reflect with you on two aspects of your history which I believe to be important for us all: attention to current events and the ministerial and missionary dimension of teaching in the community.
1 Attention to current events
The beginnings of your work tell us a lot about “current events”.
St. John Baptist de La Salle began by responding to the request for help from a layman, Adriano Nyel, who was struggling to maintain his “school for the poor”.
Your Founder saw in his request for help a sign of God; he accepted the challenge and set to work.
Thus, beyond his own intentions and expectations, he gave life to a new system of education: that of the Christian Schools, free and open to all.
Among the innovative elements he introduced in this pedagogical revolution was the teaching of classess rather than individual pupils.
French was introduced as the language of instruction, accessible to all, instead of Latin.
Sunday classes, which were open to young people who had to work during the week;
and the involvement of families in the school curriculum, according to the principle of the “educational triangle”, which is still valid today.
In this way, problems, when they arose, did not discouraging him but, stimulated him to seek creative answers and to venture onto new and often unexplored ground.
All this can only give us food for thought and raise useful questions.
What are the most urgent challenges facing today’s young people?
What values should be promoted? What resources can we count on?
Young people today, like those of any age, are a volcano of life, energy, feelings and ideas.
It can be seen from the wonderful things they are able to do, in so many fields.
But they also need help to allow this great wealth to grow in harmony,
and to overcome what, though in a different way than in the past, can still hinder their healthy development.
For example, while in the seventeenth century the use of Latin was an insurmountable barrier to communication for many people, today there are other obstacles to overcome.
Think of the isolation caused by the proliferation of relationship models increasingly characterized by superficiality, individualism and emotional instability;
Think of the spread of patterns of thought weakened by relativism; and the prevalence of rhythms and lifestyles in which there is not enough space for listening, reflection and dialogue, at school, in the family and sometimes among peers themselves, with the consequent loneliness.
These are demanding challenges, but we too, like Saint John Baptist de La Salle, can turn them into a springboard for exploring ways, developing tools and adopting new languages to continue to touch the hearts of students, to help them and to encourage them to face every obstacle with courage, so as to give the best of themselves in life according to God’s plans.
In this sense, the attention you pay in your schools to the formation of teachers and to the creation of educational communities is praiseworthy in which teaching is enriched by the contribution of all.
I encourage you to continue on this path
2. The Ministerial and Missionary dimension of teaching in the community
But I would like to point out another aspect of the Lasallian reality which I consider important. Teaching lived as ministry and mission, as consecration in the Church.
Saint John Baptist de La Salle did not want there to be priests among the teachers of the Christian Schools, but only “brothers”, so that all your efforts would be directed, with God’s help, to the education of the pupils.
He loved to say: “Your altar is the pulpit”, thus promoting a reality hitherto unknown in the Church of his time: that of lay teachers and catechists, invested in the community with a true “ministry”, according to the principle of evangelizing by educating, and educating by evangelizing.
(cf. Francis, Address to participants in the General Chapter of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, 21 May 2022).
In this way the charism of the school, which you embrace with the fourth vow of teaching, in addition to being a service to society and a valuable work of charity, continues today to be one of the most beautiful and eloquent expressions of that priestly, prophetic and royal ‘munus’ (mission) which we have all received at Baptism, as emphasized in the documents of the Second Vatican Council.
Thus, in your institutes of formation, religious brothers, by their consecration, make prophetically visible that baptismal ministry which inspires all (cf. Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 44), each according to his status and duties, without distinction, “to devote all their energies as living members to the growth of the Church and her continual sanctification” (ivi, 33).
For this reason, I hope that vocations to the Lasallian religious consecration may increase, that they will be encouraged and promoted, in your schools and outside them, and that, in synergy with all the other components of formation, they will contribute to inspiring joyful and fruitful paths of holiness among the young people who attend them.
Thank you for what you are doing! I pray for you, and I impart to you the Apostolic Blessing, which I gladly extend to the entire Lasallian Family.
