House System

Details of the Houses

It is important to note each of the Houses is named after a Lasallian Brother who has been proclaimed a Saint.

Saint Benilde was born in Thuret, France on June 13, 1805. Born to a farming family, he was sent to a Christian Brothers School in Riom. He was so far ahead of his classmates that he was sometimes assigned as substitute teacher when he was just 14.

Saint Benilde joined the Brothers in 1820 and adopted the religious name of Benilde. He served at several Brothers’ schools until 1841, when he was appointed Director of a school in Saugues. For twenty years he worked here and taught boys from neighboring farms, most of which had never attended schools before. He was a dedicated and caring teacher, who often prepared meals for hungry students, converted old Brothers’ robes into coats and pants for them and spent hours tutoring students who struggled in classes.

He was widely known in his area: he taught night classes for adults, held tutors for less gifted students, taught catechism, prepared boys for their first communion and visited and prayed for the sick. At the time of his death on August 13, 1862, more than 200 Brothers and a great number of priests had been his students in Saugues. August 13 is dedicated to him as his Feast day.

He was born on 2 January, 1898 in northern Spain. He attended a religious school and began his ecclesial study in 1911. However, he soon developed hearing problems and was forced to withdraw from the institute. In 1917, he became a novice of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools in Irun and was given the religious name Jaime Hilario. He was sent on various teaching assignments until 1933 when his hearing problems worsen and was forced to work as a gardener at the formation house of Saint Joseph.

He was arrested in mid-1936 during the civil war for being a member of a religious congregation. Although he could have claimed that he was a gardener, he insisted that he was a La Salle Brother and was convicted. His courageous carried him through two rounds of bullet from a firing squad. He was only martyred on January 18, 1937 when the firing squad commander shot him five times in close range. His Feast day lies on this date.

Saint Miguel was born in Ecuador on 7 November, 1854 with a disease that made him unable to stand or walk. However, his disease ceased at the age of five when he received a vision of the Mother of God. He studied at a school of the Brothers in 1863, and on March 24, 1968 joined the order as the first Ecuadorian Brother. He was well known for being a gifted scholar. Despite strong opposition from his father, he became a teacher in Quito for over three decades, being looked up to as a gentle and dedicated individual. He published his own textbooks, some of which were adopted by the government and circulated across the country. He was elected to educational academies in his home and even in France and Venezuela.

In 1908, his health deteriorated, but he continued to work in Barcelona, Spain for as long as possible. He died on February 9, 1910, the date that will be known as his Feast day.

Saint Mutien-Marie Wiaux was born in Mellet, Belgium on March 20, 1841. His given name was Louis-Joseph Wiaux. He was given his religious name Mutien-Marie (after the ancient Roman Mucian) in 1856, when he joined the Brothers of the Christian Schools. He was well known for strictly following the Rule of the Institute, and also for his sense of humor.

Saint Mutien-Marie was a teacher of art and music. He first taught in an elementary school in 1857. In 1859, he was assigned to a boarding school in the village of Mallone, where he taught for 58 years.

Saint Mutien-Marie fell ill in November 1916, and was sent to the infirmary. Despite his illness, he left the infirmary and joined the community’s praying routine on 26 January 1917. He never left the communion rail until his death on 30 January. This date is since dedicated to him as his Feast day.