IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF DE LA SALLE

Part One: REIMS, LAON, LIESSE & BROUILLET

REIMS

WJB = ‘St John Baptist de La Salle’ by WJ Battersby (St Mary's Press: re-printed 1965)
M: ‘SJBDLS Two Early Biographies’ by Maillefer & Bernard (Lasallian Publications, 1996)
LS: ‘The Work Is Yours’ by Luke Salm (2nd Edition, Christian Brothers Publications, 1996)

GENERAL INTRODUCTION
Before becoming the Cradle of the Institute, Reims had been the cradle of French
Christianity. Reims is one of the oldest and most historical towns in France. In early Roman
times, the town was the capital of the Celtic tribe, the Rémi.
The city (population 200,000; 30,000 in De La Salle’s day) lies 129 km (80 miles)
east-northeast of Paris on the banks of the small River Vesle in the wine growing region of
Champagne. Reims is particularly famous for its wines (subterranean Reims has 17 kms of
tunnels storing champagne and wine). Note that De La Salle’s mother was of the great Moët
family. For many centuries, the kings of France were crowned in this city and many
memorials remain to testify to its historical importance. Joan of Arc led the dauphin,
Charles VII to be crowned here on July 17, 1429. For a long time, the city was more
important than Paris. From the 4 th century it was the seat of a bishop, later, of an
archbishop, and the centre of efforts to evangelise the Franks. St Rémi, Archbishop of
Reims, baptised Clovis (king of the Salian Franks, making him the first Christian king of
France) and all his warriors on Christmas Day in 496, and so began the tradition of
anointing kings (that was to last until Charles X in 1825).
The number and size of Reim’s churches illustrate the town’s wealth and importance
in the Middle Ages, at which period the confines of the town formed an oval shape easily
discerned on modern maps. The walls and ramparts of medieval times can still be seen. In
World War I, as Reims lay within the battle zone, there were more than 5,000 casualties and
80% of the town was destroyed. In World War II, it suffered additional damage but less so
than in the previous war. The capitulation of the German forces in France was signed at
Reims on May 7, 1945 at 2:41 am.

De La Salle and Reims

Our Founder lived in Reims for about 40 years, at 3 different residences:
1651 – 1664: Hôtel de la Cloche, 40 Rue de l’Arbalète
1664 – 1687: Hôtel des Postes
1682 – 1688: Rue Neuve (20 Rue de Contrai), now called Rue Gambetta
On moving to Paris, De La Salle never again lived in his native town, though he left
several successful schools.
(insert here a half page illustration of the Hôtel de la Cloche, 19 th century engraving)

The Hôtel de la Cloche (or Hôtel de La Salle or Maison Natale, as the house is
sometimes called) is situated at 40 Rue de l’Arbalète (Street of the Crossbow). It was built
in 1545 and bought by François de La Salle in 1609.
In this house, in 1650, there lived a family of magistrates. Louis de La Salle had a
Master of Law degree and was a municipal magistrate at the praesidium, an intermediary
court which handled various civil and criminal cases. In that year, 1650, he married Nicole
Moët de Brouillet (who was of the feudal nobility by birth, but she became of the
bourgeoisie through her marriage). The first child of their marriage was John Baptist de La
Salle, born April 30, 1651. He was to be the eldest of 11 children, 4 of whom died in
infancy. The first 13 years of his life were spent in this house.

College des Bons-Enfants

WJB: pp. 8-15; LS: pp. 11-14, 16
The present day Lycee, or Grammar School (which awards the French Baccalaureate
to 18 year-olds) is built on the site of the College des Bons-Enfants. Above the entrance on
the Rue de l’Universite we read in Latin: Collegorium Bonorum Puerorum Universitatis
Remensis (Good Students’ College of the University of Reims) engraved in stone.
Around the corner, in the Rue Vautier-le-Noir, is the other entrance which has the 16 th
century door of the original college.
De La Salle enrolled at this college on October 10, 1661 at the age of 10. For 5 years,
he studied Latin and Greek Grammar; then followed 2 years of Rhetoric (oratory, debates,
plays, poems, discussion - all in Latin) and then another 2 years of Philosophy (including
Aristotle, logic, ethics, botany, mathematics, astronomy, and metaphysics.) The lessons were given
exclusively in Latin and it is interesting to note De La Salle's reaction to these studies when he
founded schools for the ordinary people of the town. These children were to be taught in the
vernacular, French.
De La Salle did so well in his Literature course in 1666 that the Chancellor of the
University, Pierre Dozet, a distant relative, decided to cede his position as Canon of the Cathedral of
Reims to him, in recognition of his brilliant achievement in Literature.
His certificate of Maitrise-es-Arts (Master of Arts) from the College des Bons-Enfants with
the citation summa cum laude (with highest honours) is dated July 10, 1669. He had to pass two
sets of oral examinations, the first in Logic and Moral Theology, the second in Philosophy, each
exam lasting 3 hours. This degree gave him the right to teach in the colleges and to enrol in one of
the University Faculties of Law, Medicine or Theology.
The 16th century entrance into this small college was on Rue Vauthier-le-Noir, a short walk
from his house down the street which now bears his name, and then two turns to the left. The
school dates from the 9 th century and has always been closely associated with the University
of Reims.
After the Revolution, the Brothers lived in the College until it was transformed into an
official Lycee under the Napoleonic regime. Thereafter they lived for two years (1804-1806),
opposite the Lycee, in a part of the ancient Abbey of Saint-Pierre-les-Dames. In 1806, they
settled in the Carmelite house where they stayed for 30 years (1806-1836).
 The chapel of the College des Bons-Enfants, where De La Salle worshipped as a boy, is
now a dining room of the Lycee.

Palais de Tau (Archbishop’s Palace)

There is an entrance fee to the Episcopal Palace (Palais de Tau). Here you will find
some of the huge statues, which have since been replaced on the exterior of the Cathedral.
Look for the Pilgrim of Emmaus (in a corner).
In the Museum also are pictures of the Cathedral when it was severely damaged in
1918. There are some stone water spouts here which now contain lead from the roof that melted.

The roof of the chapel had to be replaced after 1918. In the room to the right just as you
come out of the chapel are stored a number of items belonging to De La Salle, including his
paten (a large plate) and the water jug/cruet (both engraved with the family arms) that he is
thought to have used at his first Mass here (and possibly his chalice, too). WJB: p. 32
The tapestries that sometimes adorn the Cathedral itself are on display in the Palais, as
well as some coronation robes.
This palace was rebuilt between 1687 and 1692 under the episcopacy of Charles-
Maurice Le Tellier, a brother of the minister M. Louvois in Louis XIV’s government. 30
French kings had resided in this palace during their long coronation ceremonies. The
ornaments used are preserved here, as well as superb tapestries, and ‘reliquaries’ (elaborate
containers housing the relics of saints). Bombs severely damaged the Palais in the First
World War but it is now completely restored.
Its chapel dates back to 1230 and in this chapel the 11 year-old John Baptist de La Salle
received the clerical tonsure on March 11, 1662. Here he was also ordained to the minor
orders on March 17, 1668 and ordained to the priesthood on Holy Saturday, April 9, 1678.
The chapel had been re-constructed into a show-piece by Le Tellier and De La Salle's
surroundings for his ordination were more magnificent than they had been for the kings
crowned there. De La Salle was subjected to many a humiliation in this Palais at the hands of
Le Tellier who could not understand the canon's desire to divest himself of his position as
canon (with its promise of ecclesiastical advancement and revenues). De La Salle received Le
Tellier's approval for the Sisters of the Child Jesus here.
When for a short time (1686 or 1687) De La Salle succeeded in having Brother Henri
I'Heureux made Superior over him, the Archbishop immediately let his displeasure be known.
De La Salle obeyed the Archbishop and again took up direction of the young Institute
himself.

Bibliotheque Carnegie
Standing in the garden of the Archbishop’s Palace (or on the Cours Anatole France,
adjacent) one can look across at the neighbouring Bibliotheque Carnegie (post-918) and see
inscribed on the frieze beside the names of famed French writers and philosophers, those of
Colbert, Le Tellier, and De La Salle. De La Salle's name is partly concealed, but is to be found
in the corner, near Le Tellier's name at the corner of the Rue Voltaire.
 Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Reims

Reims Cathedral, like that of Paris and Rouen, is consecrated to Our Lady. It is
considered one of the most beautiful Gothic structures in the world. Under the cathedral, traces
of three others have been found, dating from the 5 th (401) the 9th and the 12th centuries.
Artillery shells in World War I severely damaged the cathedral. A central tower, then
destroyed, has not been re-built. It was here in the 5 th century that St Rémi baptized King
Clovis, and it is the place where most of the French Kings have been crowned. The actual
building was begun in 1211. The west front, which is covered with some of the finest
specimens of Gothic statues and reliefs, has three very fine portals with a large and
beautiful rose window above them. Above the rose window is a royal gallery and above this
two towers soar to the height of 270 feet.
The interior of the cathedral is striking in its proportions: 455 feet long, 125 feet high and
98 feet wide. Much of the old glass has been destroyed, but the rose window is still impressive. In
niches on the west wall are over 100 statues, mostly of the 13 th century. Of all statues, note
particularly that of the Glorification of the Virgin and, at the left porch, that of L'Ange au
Sourire (the smiling Angel).
The Chapter House recalls the Chapter Room where De La Salle, Roland and the
other canons counselled the Archbishop.
It was on January 7, 1667 that he entered the cathedral through the magnificent main
portal to take possession of stall 21 which his relative, Pierre Dozet, had resigned in his favour.
The choir stalls are not the originals. They were replaced in 1745. The original misericord is
now in Hôtel de La Salle (WJB: pp. 11, 15). From this cathedral, 2 canons became saints, 4
others popes, 14 archbishops, 37 bishops and 23 cardinals. De La Salle remained a canon
till August 16, 1683 when Archbishop Le Tellier finally accepted his resignation.
De La Salle celebrated his first Mass after ordination on Easter Sunday April 10,
1678 in what is now the Lady Chapel, the first on the left. In this chapel is another statue
of the Founder by Lejeune. Some relics of the Founder are now kept in the main altar of the
cathedral.
In the square outside the cathedral there is a statue of St Joan of Arc, commemorating
her presence at the coronation of Charles VII on July 17, 1429. On the north side of the square is
the Palace of Justice, with the Theatre beside it. Across the Rue de Chanzy from the Theatre, is
the 18th century Abbey of Saint Denis, which now houses the Museé des Beaux-Arts (Museum of
Fine Arts). North of the Cathedral across the Rue Carnot, is the Place du Forum, the site of the
Roman Forum. From here, the Rue Colbert, named after the great Finance Minister, leads to
the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall), a handsome Renaissance building of the 17th century. North of
this again lies the Porte de Mars (Gate of Mars), a Roman triumphal arch of the 2nd century.

Hôtel des Postes (1664-1682), Rue Sainte Marguerite

De La Salle and his family lived here from 1664-1682, and in particular, on the
following occasions: (1) when Pierre Dozet, a relative, resigned his canonry (1667) in favour of
the 16-year-old De La Salle; (2) when he was ordained to minor orders (1668); (3) when he
was awarded the Master of Arts, summa cum laude (1669) and (4) when he did his first
year of theological studies at the University of Reims. LS: pp. 14-19
 At the age of 19, he left this locality for St Sulpice, Paris. He returned to the House
(associated with mail distribution in former time) in April 1672, on the death of his parents.
When he returned from Paris to take charge of the family at Reims, he sought Canon
Nicolas Roland as his spiritual adviser. Encouraged to continue in his training for the
priesthood, De La Salle had to journey to Cambrai for ordination to the sub-diaconate and
back to Paris (1676) for his ordination to the diaconate. He was ordained priest on April 9, 1678.
Throughout all this time, he devoted himself to the education of his 4 brothers and 2 sisters.
It is here that De La Salle made his first notable contributions to the cause of Christian
schools. In 1679, he obtained the legal recognition of the Sisters of the Infant Jesus, and in the
same year, he welcomed into his house, Adrien Nyel, sent to him by his relative Madame de
Maillefer with the intention of opening a school for poor boys in Reims.
At Christmas of the same year, the first teachers recruited by Adrien Nyel were given a
home by De La Salle who installed them in the Maison Ruynart in the Rue de la Grue, a
stone's throw from his own house. A synod at the time referred to the teachers in charity
schools as:
“gamblers, drunkards, libertines, ignorant, brutal, card-players in taverns, fiddlers in haunts
of pleasure and at village festivals.”
And Claude Joly, the Paris Precentor, was accused of employing “low pot-house
keepers, second-hand clothes shop proprietors, cookhouse keepers, barbers, fiddlers, flunkeys
and marionette-string pullers.”
“If I had even thought that the care, motivated by pure charity, which I gave the school
teachers would ever impose on me the duty of residing with them, 1 would have stopped
it. For, since quite naturally I considered lower than my valet the men I was obliged to
employ in the schools, especially at the beginning, the very thought of having to live with them
would have been intolerable to me. And as a matter of fact I felt great distress in the early
period when I had them come and live in my house, a period that lasted two years.”
(Blain 1:169)

In the following year, 1680, on the feast of St John the Baptist, De La Salle
welcomed them to his own table and, one year later, on the advice of Father Nicolas Barré, he
welcomed them completely into his own home for board, lodging and religious practice.
The first teacher to die was a Christophe who died in this house on May 24, 1682 in the
arms of De La Salle.
In June 1682, the house on the Rue Sainte Marguerite was sold. By that time De La Salle's
sisters and brothers had already left the house except for Jean-Louis who remained with the
pioneer teachers and the company of priests who frequented the De La Salle house. We do not
know how many of the original group of teachers followed De La Salle to the rented house in
the Rue Neuve, but evidently there were no more than five.

Rue de La Salle
The less than impressive Rue de La Salle was so-named in 1842 (formerly called the
Rue Pidarde) “to preserve, conjointly, the memory of John Baptist de La Salle and that of M.
Felix Rivals de La Salle, whose valuable library was bequeathed by him to the city of Reims during
the last century” (Journal of Reims, 1-3 Dec. 1841; Ms 1896).
 Chapter Door
You will see the doorway (from the Rue Carnot side) of the old Place du Chapitre
known to Canon De La Salle.

Musée des Beaux-Arts (formerly Saint Denis Abbey)

No. 8 Rue Chanzy is the former Abbey of Saint Denis, currently the Musée des Beaux-
Arts (Museum of Fine Arts) where De La Salle followed courses of theology from 1669-78 and
where Brother Henri I'Heureux also studied in 1688. The Museum is very rich in tapestries
and historical portraits.

Motherhouse of the Sisters of the Child Jesus

LS: pp. 28, 30, 52
This is situated at 48 Rue de Barbâtre, a few streets from the College des Bons-Enfants.
This is the impressive headquarters of the Congregation begun by Canon Nicolas Roland. This
has been their Motherhouse since the very beginning in 1670. Directly across the street is the
original facade of the old Carmelite Monastery (now a newer building) where Canon Roland
made his annual private retreats.
It was at the door of this convent that Adrien Nyel met De La Salle for the first time -
March 1679. Nyel was in town at the request of Mme Jeanne Dubois Maillefer, a wealthy
lady of Rouen and a distant relative of De La Salle by marriage. She had given Nyel money
and encouragement to begin a free school for poor boys in Reims (her native town).
Nyel was calling upon the Sisters for their aid, and that of young Father De La Salle, to
whom he bore a letter of introduction. Since he was a stranger in town, Nyel was invited by
De La Salle to be his house guest while they both worked on the preliminaries necessary to start
a free school. The Sisters proudly display an early drawing of the encounter between Nyel and
De La Salle.
“God, who directs all things with wisdom and moderation, and who does not force the will
of men, wishing to have me completely occupied with the care of the schools, involved me
unexpectedly and in a short time, so that one commitment led to another without my being
aware of it.”
(Maillefer, p. 9)
People would be less likely to discover (and jeopardize) Nyel's plans if he stayed with
De La Salle than if he stayed elsewhere.
In a conference room near the Chapel is a large painting of the Nativity which used to be
in the convent chapel and which De La Salle would certainly have known there, possibly
fostering his devotion to the Child Jesus.
The tall stone chapel is original to the Founder's time. The wooden panelled chapel is at
right angles to the stone chapel and connects with it.
In the Archives is a model of the original house. You will see where De La Salle and
Nyel met (site of the present door).
In the house, the Sisters have a chasuble belonging to Fr. Roland, which De La Salle
probably used when he celebrated daily Mass for them here (the lining of this chasuble is
presently to be seen in the Hôtel de La Salle). The Sisters treasure the death mask of Fr. Roland
who had refused to allow his portrait to be painted in his lifetime. Fr. Roland, having been too
harsh on himself, succumbed to an epidemic in the orphanage.
The Canon-Founder died in this convent on April 27, 1678, eighteen days after De
La Salle's ordination. Here he is buried in the floor of the crypt.
On Canon Roland's death, his good friend De La Salle became the unofficial protector
of the Sisters. He said daily Mass for them in the chapel they still use today. Ten y ears later,
in 1688, Louis de La Salle, his brother, was ordained in this chapel.
After Roland's death, De La Salle wrote the preface to the published works of Nicolas
Roland; and he brought his family influence to bear so that the Sisters were able to secure official
recognition as a Congregation (Letters Patent, 1679), the original of which is still kept in
the House Archives.
It was from the Sisters’ chapel here at Rue de Barbâtre, that Adrien Nyel was
buried after the Requiem Mass celebrated by De La Salle and attended by all the Brothers
of Reims with their pupils.

Saint Maurice - First School by Adrien Nyel (1679)

WJB: p. 37; LS: pp. 32-33, 37
Almost at the corner of the Rue du Barbâtre and Rue St Maurice, the presbytery,
which is not very old, recalls the curé Father Nicolas Dorigny, friend of De La Salle, who
was looking in 1678 for an ecclesiastic willing to live there and run a school in the parish.
Father Dorigny eventually received with enthusiasm the suggestion of confiding the school
to Adrien Nyel. From April 15, 1679 Nyel and his young helper lodged at the presbytery
opposite the side door of the church.
The church of St Maurice suffered an incendiary in 1943 and only the chapel of Our
Lady, built in 1546, remains of that which was known to Nyel and De La Salle. At each side
of the door are statues (damaged) of Nicolas Roland and De La Salle (a Brother kneels before him
with two boys). A plaque erected in 1881 is inscribed:
To the memory of the Venerable JBDLS,
Canon of Reims, born at Reims, 30, April 1651;
Founder of the Brothers of the Christian Schools;
1679 the first Christian school opened at the presbytery of St Maurice;
M. Nicolas Dorigny. Curé 1881

The former College of the Jesuits

The imposing building in the Place de Musée, to the right of the west front of the
church of St Maurice was an ancient hospice, now a museum. It was once the College of the
Jesuits and it was here that Nicolas Roland studied. It was partly from here that Roland and
De La Salle developed a strong filial devotion to Our Lady.
From 1842-1880 they had two classes in the College for young orphans.

Church of Saint Jacques

 WJB: pp. 37, 51; LS: pp. 32, 37, 41
This is older than the Cathedral by 30 years and so De La Salle would have known this
church. To gain access to this church you may need to enter via the sacristy door which is off
a small yard, through a metal gate on the pedestrianized Rue Condorcet. De La Salle once
substituted for one of the Brothers in the school of St Jacques, and on that occasion he
dressed in the Brother's habit - a habit which appeared novel and very peculiar to the people.
One of the pupils of this school, after the time of De La Salle, viz in 1724, joined the
Institute and took the name of Brother Leon. He was put to death at Rochefort, May 21, 1794,
for refusing to take the schismatic oath required by the government.

Ecole Saint Jean-Baptiste de La Salle "Cradle of the Institute"

Rue Neuve (Rue de Contrai)

WJB: pp. 54-56; M: pp. 43, 216-219, 221, 224, 227; LS: pp. 37-38, 40-42, 44, 55, 65, 203
This "Cradle of the Institute" in what was then known as the Rue Neuve (presently
called Rue Gambetta) is no. 20 Rue de Contrai. Our present day school occupies the site of
the original FSC school (which was the first FSC boarding school) here on Rue Gambetta. The
entrance to the school is now on Rue de Contrai.
It is the first de facto Mother House: De La Salle resided here 1682-1688, until his
departure for Paris. Here important events in his life took place:
In August 1683 he renounced his position of Canon of Reims; the community sang the
Te Deum in thanksgiving.
1683-4 he distributes his rich inheritance daily to the poor.
In view of the objections of his family and relatives to having the school teachers
living in their family home at Rue Sainte Marguerite, De La Salle rented a building at Rue
Neuve and went to live there with the schoolmasters on June 21, 1682 (the anniversary of
taking the Masters into his own home - not because it was his patron's feast day but because
that was the only day each year when people were allowed to move house). The property
consisted of two dwelling-houses with their out-offices, yards and gardens and so was quite
spacious. For close on twenty years after, the property was held on a lease, but in 1700, De La
Salle purchased the property outright. Since the Institute, as such, did not have a legal
corporate existence yet, the house had to be vested in trustees so the Founder prevailed on his
brother Louis, a canon, Claude Pepin, and a priest, Pierre Laval, to form a committee of
trustees. After the death of the Founder, his brother, Louis and later his youngest brother
Pierre, were careful to fill any vacancies in this committee and to ensure continued ownership
of the property for the Brothers.
Most of the early teachers when they realized that they were being turned into some
kind of religious cleared out and found jobs elsewhere. However, these were quickly replaced by
generous young men who responded to the Founder's ideals. Then in a ‘Chapter of 1684,’
attended by Brothers from the schools in Reims as well as those from Guise, Laon, Rethel and
Château-Porcien, the crucial decision was taken that henceforth they would consider themselves
"religious", "Brothers of the Christian Schools", that they would wear a special habit and
bind themselves to the service of God by vows. On Trinity Sunday of that year twelve of
the principal Brothers made a vow of obedience for one year. They walked through the night
of that Sunday, all the sixteen miles to the famous sanctuary of Our Lady of Liesse, where on the
Monday morning De La Salle said Mass for them, after which they placed their new enterprise
under the protection of the Mother of God. The Institute was launched!
As one would expect from a new and young religious community, great fervour reigned
in the Rue Neuve. Nicolas Bourlette who is singled out by Blain for a special brief biography was
typical of the desire for sanctity of the young neophytes. Between 1683 and 1687 five young
Brothers died.
The Brother's house here was referred to as La Petite Trappe because De La Salle and his
Brothers were leading a life of great austerity according to their first Rules, an austerity
comparable to that of the Trappist monks! (WJB: p. 67)
The primary purpose of the residence in the Rue Neuve was to be a home for the
schoolmasters who taught in the three schools in Reims. It was used as well to house the
young men who were sent by their parish priests to be trained as teachers for country parishes.
Of these the Founder says in his Memoir sur I'Habit.
“They live in a separate house that is called a 'seminary'. The young men remain only a few
years, sufficient to train them thoroughly in piety and in the duties of their state. They wear no
special costume, dressing like ordinary seculars, except that their clothes are black or dark
brown, the only distinguishing feature being a rabat. They also wear their hair shorter than is
customary. They are taught to sing and to read and write perfectly. No charge is made for
their maintenance. When they are trained they are sent to some town or village to be
schoolmasters and parish clerks. After that they have no further connection with the
community except what arises from friendship and gratitude. They are welcomed back to
make a retreat if they so wish.”
Although they lived as boarders, several of them were captivated by the same ideals as
the Brothers and so many of them passed over from the training college to the Brothers’
community.
When De La Salle left for Paris he left the Rue Neuve in the capable hands of Henri
L'Heureux who, when he himself was called to Paris for theological studies, handed over to Brother
Jean-Henri. Blain tells us that is was Jean-Henri’s fault that 8 of the 16 Brothers who then
constituted the young society left between 1688 and 1692. Only one recruit joined in that
time. (WJB: pp. 91, 114; LS: p. 69)
There was also in the buildings a "juniorate". Here boys who wished to become
Brothers, but who were too young for the schools, were committed to the charge of one of
the Brothers and taught Christian doctrine, reading, writing and the other subjects they
would later need. When they reached the age of sixteen, they were incorporated in the
community. There was no novitiate strictly speaking but young men who joined the
community were given some months of training before they were sent to teach.
It was here that the Brothers dressed for the first time in the black habit and white rabat.
Here De La Salle lived in a miserable attic room and humbly submitted as “inferior” to
Brother Superior, Henri L'Heureux (until Archbishop Le Tellier heard that a layman was in
charge of the society and told De La Salle to assume once more the direction of the young
Institute).
In 1791, the Director of the Community and his 21 Brothers unanimously rejected the
law of separation of church and state and they were expelled in 1792. The school was transformed
into a military barracks and later into a cotton mill until the return of the Brothers in 1880. In that
year, the Institute, undercover of a group of lay well-wishers of the Institute, bought back the
property and built on it a boarding school which has prospered to our own day. The original
buildings of the Rue Neuve had disappeared in the meantime but the ground on which they
had stood was included in the purchase, so when the Superior General of the time,
Brother Irlide, came there on a visit, the first thing he did was to kneel down and kiss the
ground. The present school was rebuilt after the First World War.
De La Salle's sister, Rose-Marie, (1656-1681) became a Canoness Regular of St
Augustine in their nearby community on the Rue Neuve. De La Salle visited her several
times. The accounts of De La Salle's management of his deceased father's estate make
mention of his regard for his sister, e.g. in addition to the cost of her board (200 livres
annually) “some thread, currants, two small jars to hold jam and sugar; Portuguese
oranges; 10 sols for an inkstand; 4 livres for a pair of stockings and an iron candlesnuffer.”

Basilica of Saint Rémi

WJ B: p. 296; M: pp. 11-12, 35-36, 214, 288; LS: p. 32
To the south of the Cathedral, the Rue Gambetta (i.e. Rue Neuve) leads past the Church
of St Maurice (where Nyel started his first school) and the General Hospital (previously
the Jesuit College) toward the Basilica of Saint Rémi. This is the oldest church in the city and
one of the finest in northern France. It was built in Romanesque style in 1005-49 on the site of a still
earlier church and was given Gothic vaulting in 1162. In actual size the church is as long as
Notre-Dame in Paris. It contains the thousand year old tomb of Saint Rémi, archbishop (at
the age of 22) and patron of the city. It was Saint Rémi who baptized Clovis, the first Christian
king of France. The basilica was badly damaged in the First World War.
De La Salle had a very great devotion to Saint Rémi and would very frequently
spend the whole night in prayer in the Abbey Church of Saint Rémi, with the “ connivance”
of the church sacristan who would lock him in at night, opening the church only the next
morning.
De La Salle's nephew Dom Elie Maillefer was librarian of the Abbey here.

“You must devote yourself very thoroughly to prayer in order to succeed in your ministry. You
must constantly represent the needs of your disciples to Jesus Christ, explaining to him the
difficulties you experience in guiding them. Jesus Christ, seeing that you regard him as the
one who can do everything and yourself as an instrument to be moved only by him, will not fail to
grant you what you ask”.
(MTR 4)

“Try to find in prayer your consolation in times of aridity because then you will find God in it
in a purer way. Persist in it with faith and constancy during aridity and darkness, even though
at such times you find no attraction to it. This is a very profitable and sanctifying state to be
in... If you cannot pray, tell God that you cannot, and remain at rest... in your nothingness
before him, as one incapable of anything at all; that will be your prayer.”
(quoted p. 227 of 'Announcing the Gospel')

Carmelite Monastery
Numbers 90-94 Rue du Barbâtre. It is built on the site of the old monastery of the
Carmelite Friars, who again occupy part of the building (the doorway onto the street from the
Cathedral side of the town leads through a small garden to a small oratory for 3 or 4 people).
Here, Father Nicolas Roland used to make his private annual retreats.
The Brothers lived here for 30 years: 1806-1836 and the Superior General to be, Brother
Philippe, was Director from 1819-1822.

Ecole Saint Joseph, Rue de Venise

Number 37 Rue de Venise. This was a Brothers' boarding school (1845-1904) but
now belongs to the Jesuits. Its magnificent Gothic Chapel with its needle-like steeple was
richly adorned by some artistically gifted Brothers. It still contains a number of souvenirs of
the Brothers. In the present Jesuit school chapel are mosaics around the main altar, of De La
Salle, Brothers and boys, placed there when the school was under our direction. It is evident
that in the place of the present tabernacle stood a statue of De La Salle.

Church of Saint Jean-Baptiste de La Salle

The church of Saint Jean-Baptiste de La Salle, Avenue Jean-Jaures, in a suburb of Reims,
was consecrated in March 1893. The statue above the main altar is the work of the famous
Italian sculptor Cesar Aureli.

Basilica of Saint Clotilde

Built to celebrate the 14th centenary of the baptism of Clovis of the Franks (496), it
is in the Byzantine style. The mosaic of the cupola shows Saint De La Salle among the saints
of France. His image appears also in the sumptuously adorned crypt.

ADDITIONAL JOURNEYS FROM REIMS

LAON
WJB: pp. 90, 118; LS: pp. 36, 41, 55, 70, 96, 101, 120, 173 and 176
Laon, our destination, is 45 km northwest of Reims. The N44 from the heart of Reims
leads directly to Laon. This capital of the Department of Aisne is situated on a narrow ridge in
the midst of a fertile plain. Part of the town is on the ridge, another part is 300 feet down a
deep hollow (the two joined by a rack railway or by a flight of 263 steps).
Laon Cathedral (12th-14th centuries) served as a model for other cathedrals in Europe. It is
famous for the “bulls” in the towers.
In 1682, NyeI left Guise and, in doing so, would have caused its ruin had not De La Salle
stepped in. Nyel did not make satisfactory arrangements for the school at Laon but, with the
intervention of the parish priest, Fr. Guyart, the school remained open.
In 1687, the Director of the Guise school fell ill, beyond cure, the doctors said. He
expressed the wish to see De La Salle before he died. A messenger was dispatched to Laon
(midway between Guise and Reims) and another messenger covered the remaining distance.
De La Salle then set out on foot with a young Brother at 1:00 pm on a hot summer's day. He
stopped at an inn at nightfall then set out again at 3:00 am. But, fasting and being tired, when he
reached Laon he was near collapse. The Brothers at Laon insisted that he complete the journey
by horse. As soon as the dying Brother saw De La Salle, he declared himself cured and, being fully
recovered in a few days, this was considered a miracle.
 In 1688, another two Brothers fell ill, this time at Laon, one critically. De La Salle
(who at this time, due to the troubles in Paris, had secretly left Reims and had gone to the
monastery of the Carmelites at Louviers, where he gave himself up to prayer) was called from
retreat and gave the Last Rites before the Brother died. On seeing the exhaustion of the Brothers
there, De La Salle (on the advice of the doctor) closed the school for two months.
It was here in Laon that Gabriel Drolin once taught.
With the “connivance” of the Municipality and the help of the parents, the Brothers
continued their work here during the Revolution.

LIESSE
Notre-Dame-de-Liesse (Our Lady, Cause of our Joy)
M: p. 286; LS: p. 43
Notre-Dame de Liesse, a centre of Marian pilgrimage, is situated about 45 km north-west
of Reims. We proceed along the N44 (towards Laon) for some 30 km. We take a right turn at
the village of Aubigny-en-Laonnois, then travel directly north for 12 km through open
country and villages. (Alternately, we travel the 45 km direct to Laon and the 10 km north-east
along the main road N37).
De La Salle often covered this distance on foot as a pilgrim. He sent Adrien Nyel here
in March 1679, advising him to make this pilgrimage, and after that to attempt the opening of a
first school.
De La Salle made Our Lady the “superior” of his young Institute: “I want Mary to be the
Director and Queen of our schools.”
The day after Trinity Sunday, 1686, when the Founder and the Brothers took their
first vows, they made the pilgrimage to Liesse and again pronounced the vows at the foot of the
statue of Our Lady, Cause of our Joy (the black Madonna).
De La Salle visited Liesse on his visits to the communities of Laon and Guise.
The Church is now a minor basilica. The second chapel to the left is dedicated to De La
Salle. The stained-glass window was offered by the Superior General, Brother Gabriel-Marie,
after his cure of serious tuberculosis, a cure which was attributed to Our Lady of Liesse. Several
commemorations are made within this church. A beautiful window depicts De La Salle
kneeling with five Brothers before Notre-Dame de Liesse. The inscription on the window
reads: “1684: St John Baptist de La Salle consecrated his Brothers to N.D. de Liesse.” This
event is also commemorated on a plaque; another plaque under the statue of De La Salle recalls
the consecration of the Institute in 1902. Further: “30 June 1934: The members of the
General Chapter, gathered for the election of Brother Junien Victor, came to N.D. de Liesse
with the homage of 18,000 Brothers of the Institute on the anniversary of the consecration
made by our Founder.”
Brother Athanase-Emile, Superior General, accompanied by a delegation made the
same act of homage in 1951, the year of the Tri-centenary.
One of the orders of Sisters in Liesse village is that of Father Nicolas Barré, the Sisters of
the Infant Jesus (also called the Dames of St Maur).
 In the sacristy of the basilica are tiled plaques for sale of most patron saints.

You offered yourself to God when you left the world. Can it be said that you kept nothing
back? Have you given yourself totally to his service? You ought not to rest content with
having once given yourself to God. You should renew this offering every day, and consecrate
all your actions to God by doing them all for his sake.
(Med. 104)

BROUILLET
WJB: pp. 1, 5; M: pp. 21, 77, 200, 203, 227, 273; LS: p. 8
Guibert, author of the "Histoire de Saint Jean-Baptiste de La Salle" for the
Canonization in 1900, may have been the first to suggest that the young Jean-Baptiste used to
visit his grandparents at Brouillet. There is a paragraph in the introduction to his book which,
translated, is as follows: "It was in 1555 that a Nicolas Moët bought the territory of Brouillet
and became its Seigneur. But the Moët family did not take up residence there but used it only as
an occasional place to visit. Only a century later did Jean Moët take over the property as
his permanent residence: the transaction is to be found in the deeds dated 1662. Many
times, no doubt, Jean-Baptiste de La Salle accompanied his venerable grandfather to the
country retreat at Brouillet and there received from him lessons and examples of piety.”
More detailed information about Brouillet is given by Aroz, first in CL 26, pp. 131-138
and then (reworking the same material) in CL 41.1, pp. 76-78. e.g., the domain of Brouillet, from
which Jean Moët derived his title of nobility, was not inconsiderable. Its existence is attested
from 1501. It was then a mere cottage dwelling belonging to Pierre de Thuisy who sold it to
Nicolas Moët in 1555. According to a lease drawn up between the latter and a certain Lasnier
family, the property had become “a thatched house, courtyard and garden situated in the village
of Brouillet... with another house and twenty acres of land in Foligny.” Both
properties were enlarged by Philippe Moët and were described in 1632 as “a house situated in
the village of Brouillet consisting of a main front block of living rooms, kitchen, basement-
storerooms, and attics, the roof pitched and covered with flat tiles. In addition to this main
building there are thatched stables and a tile-covered dovecote.” Jean Moët inherited the
property from Philippe, his father, and defended his rights as possessor against the claim of
Simon de France and certain villagers.
An agreement signed April 30, 1658 settled the rival claims and recognized M. de
Brouillet's honorific position with regard to the (Brouillet) church - which gave him a “bench
at the right side of the church and above” that of M. de France. “The bench to be of sufficient
length to accommodate the said Sieur de Brouillet, his wife and his family… the said M. de
France to have his bench some distance below according to his rank as bourgeois.”
These clauses, simple as they are, would suffice to prove the presence of Jean Moët at
Brouillet. But there are others more conclusive. In 1662, in a sales contract to a Marie
Desnoilles, Jean Moët is described as “the Seigneur de Brouillet, his place of residence.” For eight
years at least (1662-1670), he spent a part of each year at this country property. Jean Moët was
married to Perrette Lespagnol. On more than one such occasion, no doubt, the kindly and
religious-minded grandfather invited his grandson (who was also his godson) to spend some
time at Brouillet. Together they would have explored the grounds, the woods, the sheepfolds
and the outhouses, making a survey of the surrounding countryside.
"Orphans since April 8, 1672, Jean-Baptiste de La Salle and his sisters and brothers
were blessed with the tender love of their maternal grandmother, Perrette Lespagnol, whose
ways and virtues kept them in mind of their mother's. No doubt, they loved to gather around
her and to accompany her to the little village church, saying their prayers along with her,
devoutly kneeling, like her, at the foot of the altar at a place where a tablet would one day mark
the spot where her husband's heart, at his wish, would be buried. For Jean Moët loved the
land-workers and farm-hands of Brouillet. He was noble not only by title but, still more, by the
virtuous qualities that adorned his life...”
A wall tablet on the right hand wall, near the sanctuary, has the following epitaph:
TO THE MEMORY OF/MESSIRE JEAN MOËT, SEIGNEUR DE BROUILLET/ AND,
PART, OF DUGNY, LOUVERGY, BRONVILLE ETC./SON OF MESSIRE PHILLIPE
MOËT, AND GRAND/SON OF MESSIRE NICOLAS MOËT ALSO SEIGNEUR/ OF THE
SAID PLACES/ WHO, AFTER HAVING MADE/MANY GIFTS TO THIS CHURCH
DURING/ HIS LIFE WISHED THAT HIS HEART BE BURIED HERE. / HE DIED IN THIS
ESTATE OF BROUILLET ON /27 JULY 1670 AGED 71. HIS HEART/ IS INTERRED
AT THE FOOT OF THE ALTAR OF THIS/ CHURCH AND HIS BODY IN THE
CHURCH OF ST HILAIRE/ IN REIMS IN THE TOMB OF HIS ANCESTORS. AND (to
the memory) OF MESSIRE NICOLAS MOËT SEIGNEUR DE / BROUILLET AND, IN
PART OF OTHER/PLACES, (Jean's) SON, WHO DIED ON 25/ MAY 1706 AGED 74 AND
IS BURIED /AT REIMS IN THE SAID TOMB OF HIS ANCESTORS. PRAY TO GOD FOR
THE REPOSE OF THEIR SOULS.
A few centimetres to the right of the epitaph is a portrait, the one by Leger, of Jean-
Baptiste de La Salle, a very modest affair of 18 x 24 cm, linking the names of godson and
godfather, of nobleman and saint. Everything is humble in this 15th century church with its modest
bell-tower; likewise in this tiny village where flows the Brouillet, a stream finding its way into
the Ardre, a tributary of the Marne; humble too, now, the Moët residence, existing since the
15th century but now in a state of dilapidation: a magnificent staircase giving access to the
master bedroom, and a great dovecote are the only remaining vestiges of its ancient splendour.
Jean Moët died at Brouillet, July 27, 1670, as the epitaph above assures us. The death-
certificate, drawn up at Reims, gives the date as July 28. The burial took place on the 31st. The
time between the death and the burial would support the accuracy of the epitaph date.

Edited by Bro Nicholas Hutchinson, FSC

Summer 1977 (Pilgrimage)

Revised January 1984 (CIL Pilgrimage)
Revised Summer 1984 (for 1986 Pilgrimage
Revised May 2010 (La Salle Centre, Singapore)

Material taken from:

- Petit Guide du Pelerin LaSallien (1951)

- Sur Les Pas SJBDLS by Bro Yves Poutet, FEC (1980)

- 3 articles by Bro Lucian Belanger in "Lasallian Digest":
- JBDLS by Martin Dempsey
- JBDLS by W J Battersby
- Influence of JBDLS on Primary and Secondary Education in France by N. Van Lien

- Articles in the Irish District Newsletter by Bro Bernadine Doyle: Reims, Paris

- Articles in the Irish District Newsletter by Bro Lawrence O'Toole:

-Mother Houses of the Institute

- "Beginnings" by Bro Luke Salm

- "Encounters" by Bros Leo Burkhard and Luke Salm

With sincere thanks to Bro Edwin Bannion, FSC for his extensive research and his
clarification of many points.