LaSalle University

By Jeffrey LaMonica

The history of LaSalle University, located in Philadelphia, dates back nearly 150 years. The institution has occupied various locations throughout the city, including the Bouvier Family Mansion from 1886 to 1930. Original photographs of Archbishop James Wood and the Christian Brothers, who founded LaSalle College in 1863, are among the featured images portraying the personalities who shaped LaSalle. Tom Gola and the 1954 NCAA men s basketball championship team and Tom Curley, cocreator of USA Today, are among LaSalle s star athletes and prominent graduates. LaSalle University places the school s story into the context of the history of the United States by presenting photographs that capture the essence of World War II, the cold war, the 1960s, and other key moments in American history.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: Apr 5, 2006
• ISBN: 9781439616499

Jeffrey LaMonica

Jeffrey LaMonica, a member of LaSalle University�s history department, specializes in military history. He has written several articles and encyclopedia entries dealing with propaganda during World War I and PT boat operations in World War II. He holds a bachelor�s in history from LaSalle University and a master�s in modern European history from Villanova University.

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INTRODUCTION

John Baptist de LaSalle was born to an upper-middle class family in Reims, France, in 1651. He earned a Ph.D. in theology from the University of Reims in 1680. After attending seminary, De LaSalle passed up an opportunity to enter the upper clergy and opened a school and orphanage for poor children in Reims with lay teacher Arien Nigel. His first school was a success, but more teachers were needed in order to expand. De LaSalle developed a brotherhood of educators who took vows but not Holy Orders. These consecrated teachers became the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, or the Christian Brothers. De LaSalle spent the rest of his life using his inheritance and soliciting charity to establish schools across France and train more Christian Brothers. He endured lawsuits and resistance from French aristocrats who believed that education should be reserved for the upper classes and was shunned by his own family. John Baptist de LaSalle died in 1719, but the Christian Brothers went on to gain the recognition of the Catholic Church under Pope Benedict XIII in 1725. The Christian Brothers were nearly persecuted out of existence during the French Revolution, but were reestablished under Napoleon Bonaparte. John Baptist de LaSalle was canonized in 1900 and named the Patron Saint of Teachers in 1950. The Christian Brothers founded schools in 80 countries around the world. They arrived in the United States in 1845 and focused upon offering education to Catholic immigrants. The Christian Brothers eventually established seven colleges in the United States, including LaSalle College in Philadelphia, which was chartered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1863.

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BUILDINGS AND LOCATIONS

The original Christian Brother’s Academy (later LaSalle College) was located at St. Michael’s Parish at 1419 North Second Street in the Fishtown section of Philadelphia. LaSalle’s founder, Brother Teliow, had been the director of St. Michael’s School since 1858. Philadelphia’s fifth bishop, James F. Wood, recognized the need for Catholic higher education in the city since its other Catholic colleges had closed due to the Civil War. The academy held its classes in the basement of St. Michael’s.

LaSalle College occupied a site in Center City, Philadelphia between Filbert and Juniper streets from 1867 until 1886. The property was purchased for $30,000, and under President Brother Oliver, enrollment grew to nearly 200 students. Yearly tuition was $80. Future Bishop of Philadelphia Philip McDevitt was one of LaSalle’s first graduates at this location.

A mansion at 1240 North Broad Street was purchased from Jacqueline Bouvier’s great-great-grandfather Michel Bouvier and served as LaSalle’s home from 1886 until 1930. President Brother Noah was able to obtain the building for $67,500 with financial assistance from the Francis Drexel Estate.