 The Historic District of
LI-NE (Long Island- New England)
The Christian Brothers were founded in Rheims, France, by Saint John Baptist De La Salle, the Patron Saint of Teachers. His reputation for sanctity and innovation in education grew as did the number of young men who came to serve with him in this unique religious community in the Church. As a religious community, the Brothers are lay religious; the only priest in the history of the community was its founder, Saint La Salle.
Today the Christian Brothers of the Long Island-New England (LI-NE) District maintain schools and educational activities in the Dioceses of Brooklyn, Rockville Centre and Providence. Brothers of this Province also serve in Bethlehem University and as missionaries in the newly established District of East Africa which includes South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia and Eritrea.
The De La Salle Christian Brothers have been long established in the Diocese of Providence where their schools, La Salle Academy, Providence, and St. Raphael, Pawtucket, are well known. In the Diocese of Brooklyn, the Brothers run Bishop Loughlin High School, Brooklyn, and The La Salle School at St. Gabriel's Parish in East Elmhurst. The De La Salle School in the Diocese of Rockville Centre, is a middle school that serves poor boys in the Freeport area. The San Miguel School, named for a Christian Brother canonized in 1984, is an inner city school that serves poor boys from South Providence. Both of these schools are unique because they have no usual source of funding, such as a Diocese or Parish, and survive on the ability of the Administration, staff and Board to raise the necessary funding.
Since the days of Saint La Salle the Brothers have been active in conducting programs for children, especially boys, who are at risk. Martin de Porres School in Springfield Gardens, Elmont and Rosedale, New York, has established a well deserved reputation for providing learning programs for boys and girls who cannot be served by traditional school programs either public or Catholic. Martin de Porres Group Homes also serve the needs of troubled youth in Springfield Gardens, New York. Ocean Tides School in Narragansett is known by family court in Rhode Island for its success in dealing with adjudicated boys. This program shares the Narragansett campus with Christian Brothers Community and the Provincialate Offices. Tides Family Services is a unique program that reaches out to boys and girls and their families who are having trouble with the law and seeks to divert them from inevitable failure. The program has a special outreach to Hispanic families in Pawtucket and Central Falls. Programs continue to expand to address the needs of the young in the State of Rhode Island.
In this modern world of exploding knowledge, the continuing education and formation of our Brothers is important. We need religious men who are grounded in their faith and experts in their fields of ministry if they are to respond to the needs of the people we serve, both young and old. We rely on the generosity of our friends and benefactors to support, generously our mission and our life.
Like most other religious groups, we are an aging congregation. Our men have given long and faithful service; they have lived vowed lives and they have given witness of their vocation to follow in the footsteps of Jesus the Teacher.
De La Salle Christian Brothers Center in Narragansett, Rhode Island, is the hub of our province. It was opened in Narragansett in 1960 with the help of the Bishop of Providence, Most Reverend Russell J. McVinney, an affiliated member of the Brothers. Besides housing the provincial offices, the Center is home to Ocean Tides School and the retirement community for the older Brothers of the District. The lives of young men are changed here; men and women, individuals and families, spend time in retreat and renewal.
Over these fifty-two years we have demonstrated leadership in education, creating various educational and social service programs to address the needs of the poor in our District and in our missions in Africa. We have provided leadership in childcare and family services which have been a strong focus leading the way to a better life for those we serve.
For over a half of a century the LI-NE District has modeled approaches to teaching and reaching out to those in need. We are Lasallians; we are individuals who show a depth and richness of faith visible in our service to others. We build community with our colleagues and with those whom we serve.
As we move forward, we look toward continuing to build a new future based on a very strong foundation. We look toward growth in leadership programs to provide the Lasallian foundation to prepare new leaders for the mission of De La Salle in the future. We must face this challenge together. We must be willing to risk. And, we must have faith that God is with us as we move forward doing his work.
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