The Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools is a Roman Catholic religious order for men. It was founded in France in 1679 by Saint Jean-Baptiste de la Salle, who is also the Patron of Christian Teachers. The order was founded for setting up gratuitous schools where the children of workmen and the poor would learn reading, writing and arithmetic, and would also receive a Christian education through catechisms and other forms of instruction appropriate for forming good Christians.[1]
The La Salle Brothers were established in Pakistan in 1960. [2]
In 2010, the Brothers of La Salle also known as the Congregation of Christian Brothers celebrated their 50th anniversary in the country. Brother Shahzad Gill is the Superior of the Pakistan Province. Many political figures, members of Parliament, and even Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani, studied in Christian Brothers schools. It is an education based on the values of respect for others, rights, freedom, and individual responsibility, which helps to form leaders who are now guiding the nation.
The La Salle brothers also set up the St. Patrick's Technical School in Karachi in 1968 and Brother Norman Wray was its Principal for 15 years.[3]
In 1999, the De La Salle brothers in Pakistan have two formation houses, in the Faisalabad and Lahore. In the last few years brothers from Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Malta and the United States have joined the brothers in Pakistan. [4]
Today, the Christian Brothers' schools are in all the main cities of Pakistan: Rawalpindi, Multan, Faisalabad, Karachi. [5] A complete list is given below:
La Salle High School Faisalabad
La Salle Urdu School, Faisalabad
La Salle Middle School, Sant Singh Wala
La Salle School, Gokhowal
St Catherine’s Primary School
Don Bosco Home for Boys, Karachi
La Salle Higher Secondary, Multan[6]
Alban Academy
John Paul II Hostel for Boys, Rawalpindi
Marie Adelaide Rehabilitation Centre, Sindh[7]
In 2011 the Brothers formed a new district under the Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea alliance. Br. Ambrose Payne now heads the mission in Pakistan. [2]