De La Salle Brothers: Celebrating 150 years in SL with a thanksgiving mass
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The De La Salle Brothers will mark their 150th anniversary (sesquicentennial year) of coming to Sri Lanka and tercentennial death anniversary of St. John Baptist De La Salle, their Founder with a thanksgiving mass at the De La Salle Brothers´ Mother house in Mutwal, Colombo 15. The mass will be celebrated by Papal Nuncio of Colombo, Most. Rev. Dr. Pierre Ngugen Van Tot, on May 27 at 9 a.m.
Three French Brothers arrived in Sri Lanka in December 1866 and were persuaded by Bishop Hillarian Sillani OSB who had earlier approached the Superior General in Rome, to take over St. Benedict’s from the Benedictine Fathers. They took over the school management of St. Benedict’s Institute in January 1867 but not being able to handle English they set sail to the west in August 1867.
The Bishop’s renewed attempts brought back Brothers better equipped to handle English and the La Sallian apostolate at St. Benedict’s was officially commenced in May 1868.
The end of the nineteenth century saw the Brothers settle at Kotahena, Mutwal and Negombo.
Early in the 20th century, the Brothers had in their hands two typical La Sallian schools De La Salle College, Mutwal and St. Joseph´s College, Grandpass in Colombo and St. Joseph’s Bandarawela. They were in line with their Founder’s thinking, taking over schools for the common people. The brothers established seven English schools outside Colombo prior to independence in 1948.
Boys Town of Diyagala, Ragama, just north of Colombo, was set up in 1959 to care for the marginalized youth in society, irrespective of creed.
La Sallian Community Education Service (LCES) provides community education in slums, teaching at pre-vocational levels. The LCES Institute at Mutwal, Colombo, similar to Boys Town, provides a refuge to children of slum-dwellers and is a haven for hundreds of homeless people.
The De La Salle Academy at Kotahena, Colombo, founded in 1972, provides non-formal education to youth and adults alike seeking career courses.
Br.R.J.Jeyakanthan