Tercentenary of the Bull of Approbation of the Institute and the Year of the Jubilee

On 26 January 2025, it will be 300 years since Pope Benedict XIII, in 1725, granted the Bull of Approbation to the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. In this way, the Catholic Church approved the official recognition to the nascent Institute.
“The first edition of this Bull was issued in a Holy Year and it is our turn to celebrate it in a Holy Year,” says Brother Santiago Rodríguez Mancini, Director of the Generalate in Rome, highlighting the coincidence of the Tercentenary. God’s presence in our history In this sense, the Lasallian religious continues, “the Holy Year celebrates the incarnation of the Word. And that is the key to reading this event: to see the approbation of the Institute as one more effect of the incarnation of God in history“.
In addition to the celebration of the Tercentenary of the Letters Patent and the Bull of Approbation of the Institute, this year the Lasallian Family celebrates the 75th anniversary of the declaration of St. John Baptist de La Salle as Universal Patron of Teachers by Pope Pius XII.
This landmark event in the life of the Institute took place on 15 May 1950. “That is why the 46th General Chapter decided that this year should be declared the Year of Lasallian Spirituality,” explains Brother Santiago, “and it is also the Year of Catechesis, a proposal made by the Young Brothers at their last International Assembly. Catechesis and Spirituality When referring to the pairing of catechesis-spirituality, Brother Santiago highlights that “Catechesis and Spirituality are two sides of the same coin, because catechesis manifests the interior life of the educators, and the interior life of the educators nourishes that catechesis”.


Pope Francis, too, in the Bull of Indiction of the Ordinary Jubilee of the Year 2025, has stated that this year is also an invitation to return to the “oases of spirituality and places of rest on the pilgrimage of faith, where we can drink from the wellsprings of hope“
A challenge for the church, Pope Leo said, is to “understand how we can promote respect for the rights of everyone, men and women. How can we promote a culture in which these things become not only possible, but they become a reality, a culture in which there is co-participation of all the members of society, each according to their vocation, so everyone can play a role, can have a role of responsibility in the church.”

For Brother Santiago Rodríguez Mancini, who is also Director of the Office of Lasallian Heritage and Research, “when we speak of spirituality we always refer first of all to an experience, to the interior life of each of the educators”, and “the experience is particular, but it is also communal, because Lasallian spirituality is a spirituality of a community of educators, who look with faith at the service they carry out and discover what their place is in God’s plan”.
On the occasion of the Tercentenary of the Letters Patent and the Bull of Approbation of the Institute, a virtual exhibition has been set up on LaSalle.Org which includes documents, photographs and historical images.
The Institute has launched the “Being an Educator Today” Contest on the occasion of the 75th Anniversary of the Proclamation of St. John Baptist de La Salle as Universal Patron of Teachers. HERE you can find all the information to participate.
A microsite with resources for living the Year of Lasallian Spirituality, including articles, publications, multimedia materials and weekly reflections on the writings of the Founder, will soon be available on LaSalle.Org.Visit https://www.lasalle.org/en/
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Saint Mary’s University joins Lasallians across the globe in celebration of the 300th anniversary of the death of Saint John Baptist de La Salle, the patron saint of educators and founder of the De La Salle Christian Brothers.

The Holy See declared 2019 a jubilee year in honor of De La Salle and his life’s work of making a quality and relevant education accessible to all students, especially the poor.

In addition to recognizing the anniversary of De La Salle’s death, the jubilee celebrates the impact of the mission he started. The Lasallian mission is present in 80 countries around the world, with between 3,500 and 4,000 De La Salle Christian Brothers and 90,000 Lasallian Partners serving 1 million young people in 1,000 educational ministries. Saint Mary’s University — as one of 65 Lasallian higher education institutions — is one small portion of a global Lasallian network of dedicated educators.

Today, Brothers and Lasallian partners work together and by association to create communities that demonstrate diversity, human dignity, and virtue and that provide transformative experiences that are innovative and holistic.

A Mass to commemorate the 300th anniversary will be held Saturday, Nov. 16, at 4 p.m., celebrated by Father President James P. Burns, IVD, Ph.D., in Saint Thomas More Chapel on the Winona Campus. A reception will follow at 5 p.m.

Additionally, a number of events have been planned in celebration of our heritage.

Ignite 300 grants

Saint Mary’s University, in honor of the 300-year anniversary, has announced recipients of the Ignite 300 Mini Grant Program. The Ignite 300 Mini Grant Program encourages innovative research within our community by incorporating an appreciation for the Twelve Virtues of a Good Teacher. These mini grants are designed to assist faculty in conducting original research that may be pilot in nature or to further a strand of current research efforts.

Other events

  • In October, as part of our annual Lasallian Day of Service, 70 students here at the College completed service projects in about 30 locations, and about 125 alumni volunteered at sites in Winona, Rochester, and the Twin Cities, as well as Chicago, Milwaukee, Phoenix, and New York.
  • In early November, Saint Mary’s undergraduate students sent personalized thank-you letters to grade school teachers who have influenced their lives. We celebrate all educators who are providing a caring and transformational experience to the students they teach, just as De La Salle once did.
  • Students have enjoyed a movie about Saint John Baptist de La Salle’s life, a medallion hunt, and a Lasallian talent contest.
  • The Saint Mary’s community was invited to submit Lasallian essays reflecting on “What does it mean to be at a Lasallian Catholic University.”