School brothers
School brothers are the members of Christian religious orders , brotherhoods or Christian associations that are dedicated to the education and training of young people . To this end, the fraternities established various congregations of school friars, dormitories, recreational homes, and school facilities. Its members consist of clergy or lay people or both , depending on the organization .
The formation of the school brothers
The first Christian school facilities arose as early as the early 16th century.
Spain
In 1597 the Spaniard José de Calasanz (1557–1648) founded the first free elementary school . In 1617 the resulting order of the Piarists was founded. You work as an educator, teacher and pastor and focus on the pastoral care of the deaf .
France
Especially in France, the "school orders", which also include the school sisters, spread rapidly. During the French Revolution , the school brothers experienced a sharp decline, but this began to flourish in the 19th century. For the first time in all of Europe and America as well as in mission countries, the brotherhoods enjoyed a high reputation and promoted school education and evangelization .
- Jean Baptiste de La Salle (1651–1719) founded a free school for the poor in Reims in 1679 and in 1681 took on some poor school teachers in his house. From this in 1684 the congregation Brothers of Christian Schools arose . The biggest innovation was the division into school classes and the teaching in the mother tongue and not, as usual, in Latin .
- In 1817, the French Marcellin Champagnat (1789–1840) founded a religious educational institution for young people. The resulting Marist school brothers founded branches in Germany in 1914.
- In 1817, Father Guillaume-Joseph Chaminade founded the Marianists , which consist of priests and lay brothers. The Marianists wear a religious habit , but the ring of loyalty and a special Ansteckkreuz as a visible sign of belonging.
- In 1819, the French pastor Gabriel Deshayes (1767–1841) and the vicar general Jean-Marie de La Mennais (1780–1869) founded another brotherhood for the Christian education of young people under the name School Brothers of Ploërmel . The establishment of the institute initially had the primary goal of continuing the tradition of Christian schools in France, which were founded in 1679 by Jean Baptiste de La Salle.
- In 1821 the " Brothers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus " , also known as "School Brothers of the Sacred Heart", were founded by Father André Coindre in the Archdiocese of Lyon . Her focus is also on the establishment and management of training, educational and school facilities.
Ireland
In 1802, Edmund Rice founded the Congregation of Christian Brothers (Latin: Congregatio Fratrum Christianorum ), an order of brothers for Catholic schools, based on the model of the Presentation Sisters . In the same year he opened the first school in Waterford . Since the Christian Brothers took over the spirituality of the sisters, they are often also called "Presentation Brothers" or - to distinguish them from other congregations of the same name - also "Irish Christian Brothers".
20th century
The further development of the school brothers and school priests continued in the 20th century , they spread worldwide from France. It is believed that there are now nearly 50,000 school friars in over 85 countries around the world.
literature
- Carl Andresen , Georg Denzler : dtv dictionary of church history , Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, Munich, May 1982, ISBN 3-423-03245-6