The Seal of the Institute: The seal of our Institute, which goes back to the 1751 General Chapter, shows a silver star on a blue shield with the simple motto Signum Fidei. It has no connection with the origins of the wording "Our Lady of the Star".

As very well explained in Circular 354, the origins of the sanctuary of Our Lady of the Star, in Montebourg, are lost in the mists of time. Regarding the adoption of this wording by our Institute, however, the 6th capitular Commission of 1956 made this judicious comment: "The original cachet of the Institute, its coat of arms, in a sense, at the time of the Holy Founder, showed a Child Jesus of 9 to 10 years of age, school age, standing between Mary and Joseph. The star, with the inscription Signum Fidei, was adopted later on by a General Chapter."

This remark would suffice to justify some documentary notes about the seal of our Institute; but the General Chapter itself, in the closing session, asked for "the return of our traditional coat of arms with the single motto Signum Fidei". Without being concerned about the distinctions of vocabulary or technique (Seal, Heraldry, Coat of arms, Armorial bearings, etc.,) - it is possibly interesting to bring together a few details about The seal of our Institute, its beginnings and its history, from documents courtesy of the Photographic Service of the Archives.

1. BEFORE THE 1751 CHAPTER

1. At the time of the Holy Founder

Most of the letters of the Holy Founder, framed under double glass and kept in the archives of our Institute, bear some traces or fragments of a seal. The imprint is complete on two obediences of 1709 and 1711; on a third, of 1708, only traces are visible.¹

The two fragments of the seal of a letter of 1704, when looked at together, show Saint Joseph with a pilgrim's staff in his left hand and leading the Child Jesus; the upper fragment bears the inscription "Live Jesus". The same seal is found at the foot of the obedience of 1709, by which the Holy Founder delegates Brother Joseph to visit the houses of Guise, Laon, Rethel and Troyes.

A letter of 28th October 1705 has two fragments of a seal bearing the monogram I H S, without inscription, but surmounted by a simple cross.² This monogram is found on the obedience of 1711, accompanied by a cross with rays and surrounded by the inscription "Brothers of the Christian Schools".

Other fragments show intertwined letters or various decorations; but not one of the impressions reveals an Infant Jesus "standing between Mary and Joseph".

2. The time of Brother Barthelemy

We possess only four signed letters of Brother Barthelemy. Only one, dated 18th February 1718, has two fragments of a seal in which the upper part of the letters I H S are seen, and the cross with rays, as at the foot of the obedience of 1711; no trace of an inscription can be found.³

3. Generalate of Brother Timothy

The "Rules and Constitutions of the Brothers of the Christian Schools approved by Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XIII" were printed in Rouen in 1726. On one of the last pages, - more precisely, at the end of an "Extract of the Bull" inserted between pages 120 and 121, - one of the copies preserved in the Archives bears a rectangular seal, on which the design seems rather mediocre. It is surrounded by the inscription "The Brothers of the Christian Schools" and shows Saint Joseph, with a lily in his hand, leading the Child Jesus.

This engraving has been pointed out as representing "the original seal of the Congregation".⁴ It is true that it is reproduced on the title page of the works printed by the endeavours of the M.H. Brother Timothy, particularly The Duties of the Christian (1727) and The Explanation of the Method of Mental Prayer (1739). However, as attested by various documents, the Brother Superior used a much better "seal" for his personal use.

The first of these documents is the copy, made in 1726, of pages 23 to 28 of the Capitular Registar in which were put, in the previous year: 1st the act of receiving the Bull of approbation of our Institute, 2nd the formula of vows conforming to this Bull, 3rd the declaration relating to the verification of our Rules and Constitutions. This copy, the destination of which is unknown, is followed by a declaration at the end:

"We, the undersigned Superior General of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, and other officers of the House of Saint-Yon, certify, to all concerned, that the present act conforms to the original, in testimony of which we have signed. Done at St Yon, Rouen, the fourteenth of February One Thousand Seven Hundred and Twenty-Six". ⁵

Clearly, it is a matter of giving value, as an authentic paper, to a simple copy. Not only does the final declaration carry eight signatures, but it also has an oval seal in red wax (20mm × 21½mm), with the inscription "The Brothers of the Christian Schools"; Saint Joseph can be seen with a lily in his left hand and leading the Child Jesus with his right.

Exactly the same impression is found on two papers signed by M.H.F. Brother Timothy: 1st, in 1736, a letter addressed to M. Miroy, a lawyer in Rethel in Champagne⁶; 2nd, in 1742, the attestation of his own cure, - of a "serious wen on his knee", - in 1702, after the blessing of M. de La Salle⁷ on the design the child Jesus can be seen holding a stick in his right hand, but there is no doubt that this seal of the Brother Superior is the "Seal of the Order" with which the 1751 General Chapter was going to concern itself.

II. - SIGNUM FIDEI

In its fourth session and the fifth day of August, the 1751 General Chapter had to concern itself with the Seal of our Institute, as is stated on page 53 of the first capitular register, Register A of our archives:

It has been brought to our notice, say the minutes, that several Brothers Directors have had seals made similar to the Seal of the Order, which should be in the hands of our most honourable Brother Superior General alone; accordingly it has been unanimously decided that the said Seal will in future be a Star in shining silver, on a shield of blue, with this motto, Signum Fidei, and all Directors are expressly forbidden to make any similar seals.

Nevertheless, the 1777 General Chapter had to issue a reminder of this prohibition as, among other articles, the capitular Register has preserved this number 65: "No Director shall cause to be made nor use a seal similar to the seal of the Congregation, which is a star in shining silver on a blue shield with this motto: Signum Fidei".

A few years later, the M.H. Brother Agathon was visiting the house of St-Yon and took measures concerning "what remained of M. de La Salle, our Teacher, or of what he used". He wrote a paper which ended with this declaration:

In testimony of which we have signed this prohibition, have had it countersigned by the Brother acting as our secretary, have appended the Seal of the Institute, and, so that no-one remains in ignorance of it, have had it fixed inside the door of the aforementioned study and transcribed on to the administration book of this House. Done at St Yon, where we are making a visit, the fourth of June one thousand seven hundred and eighty-four.

So the prohibition document carries an oval seal in red wax (20mm × 21½mm), which is the impression of the seal of the Institute. This same impression is found on the obediences signed by the M.H. Brother Agathon; sometimes it is replaced by an embossed adhesive stamp, 29½mm × 34½mm. Moreover, the formulas of obedience were printed and showed a seal, the design of which reproduced the lines and inscription of the Institute seal. Another vignette figures on the title page of certain books and shorter works printed in Rouen in 1787: Rules and Constitutions, Treatise on Arithmetic for the use of Schoolboys and Boarders in the Christian Schools, Decrees of the General Chapter, etc.

A paper from our archives, dated 30th May 1804, bears the impression of the seal of our Institute. It is a hand-written paper by Brother Vivien, about a painting for the chapel of our house in Rheims. Written on embossed paper, the piece is all the more interesting as it predates the return of Brother Frumence, Vicar General. So it was Brother Vivien who jealously guarded the Seal of our Institute during the years of the Revolution.

After the restoration, the edition of the Collection published in Lyons in 1811 shows the etching "Signum Fidei", on its title page. The Circulars of the Superiors bear the same vignette, starting from 29th December 1822, and the design is also seen on the first page of the "works or books of the Institute": Rules and Constitutions, Meditations, etc. Similar seals appear at the head of certain manuals and school books: «Psautier contenant l'Office de l'Eglise, à l'usage des Ecoles chrétiennes », Lyon, 1827; « Nouveau traité d'Arithmétique décimale, à l'usage des Ecoles chrétiennes » , Paris, 1830; «Trattato elementare di Aritmetica», Roma 1846, Torino 1848. Regarding all that the Brothers Directors could have printed, however, the 1844 General Chapter ended one of its decrees in this way: "It is expressly forbidden to copy the seal of the Institute; the Regime alone can use it".

So, in the middle of the XIXth century, the decision of 1751 was reiterated. The Seal of the Institute was for the exclusive use of the Regime. The star of shining silver and the Signum Fidei, by their origins as well by their symbolism, would interest researchers.

In 1883, in the second volume of the Annales and concerning the 1751 General Chapter, Brother Lucard wrote:

At this time the Regime had no special Seal; all the Communities had taken the one it used, and which represented the Holy Family with this inscription: The Brothers of the Christian Schools.

The General Chapter decreed that henceforth the Seal of the Institute would be a star of shining silver on a blue shield, with this motto recalling the fundamental virtue from which venerable de La Salle wanted his disciples to draw the spirit which should drive them: Signum Fidei; the use of it was reserved exclusively to the Superior General and his Assistants.

So, the author of the Annales attributed an opinion which lasted for a long time. In 1928, though, Brother Alexis-François, Procurator General, answered a question of Brother Donat Charles:

The Institute certainly had a Seal before 1751. This, in fact, is what we read in the capitular book, 5th session of the 1751 Chapter:- (The Brother Procurator transcribed the text quoted above and continued): so there was already a Seal, and the text of the decree seems to indicate that it differed from the one adopted. I have no information on this subject, however, and I do not know what reasons there were for adopting the Signum Fidei.

It was undoubtedly at the same period that Brother Donat Charles drew up the inscription which today accompanies an archive document, the letter of Brother Timothy to a lawyer in Rethel in 1736: Letter of Brother Timothy, Superior General, bearing the Seal of the Institute, in red wax with the inscription: The Brothers of the Christian Schools. This seal shows Saint Joseph holding the Child Jesus with one hand and a lily in the other. In 1751, the General Chapter replaced it with a star of shining silver, on a blue shield, with this motto Signum Fidei.

Some years later, M. Rigault himself wrote, concerning the 1751 Chapter:

An initiative is linked with this Chapter also which interests the iconographic history of the Institute. The old seal, which authenticates a certain number of official papers, showed Saint Joseph and the Child Jesus, with these words: The Brothers of the Christian Schools. The Communities had taken the habit of using it, following the example of the Mother House. It was decreed that "the Seal of the Institute would be a star of shining silver on a blue shield" bearing the motto: Signum Fidei. (This "sign" was a reminder that the "spirit of faith" is the fundamental virtue of the Congregation.) All the Directors were expressly forbidden to have similar ones made as this Seal was to be for the exclusive use of the Regime.

In 1938, in the second volume of our Histoire Générale, this clarification opened the question much more widely, "the iconographic history of the Institute". So it is not uninteresting to reproduce some of the illustrations which can be seen on the Circulars of the Superiors General since 1822.

III - THE COAT OF ARMS OF THE INSTITUTE

The "Bulletin of the Christian Schools" was revived at the beginning of 1947. In the details as in the broad brush strokes, it made it a duty, an honour and a pleasure, to inform its readers. The heading "Letters", moreover, allowed exchange of views of which several concerned the Seal of the Institute.

In April, 1949, to its correspondent who was concerned about the article on our arms, the "Bulletin" replied in these few lines:

Certainly the 1751 General Chapter did not bother itself with heraldic language. This is how our arms should be read, in heraldic terms:.
In French: D'azur à l'étoile rayonnante d'argent avec cette devise: Signum Fidei.
In Italian: D'azzurro alla stella raggiante d'argento.
In Latin: Argenteum flammans sydus in scuto coeruleo.

You can see the mistake made by those who show our arms as an escutcheon empty of all lines which means silver - and a star filled with horizontal lines - signifying blue.

Was there a Seal of the Institute before the decision of the 1751 General Chapter? To answer this question from a reader, the "Bulletin" of April 1951 showed "some photos reproducing archive documents": in fact. three of the five photos showed simple vignettes, the first two having been made from drawings.

On the same page of the "Bulletin", there was another question on the "arms" of the Institute.

The Reader: Regarding the arms of the Institute, may I point out that the "arms cry", peculiar to each family, is placed above the shield and the motto below. The "sigillum" of the Institute, therefore, as well as the shield which adorns the cover of the "Bulletin, flouts this rule since they have placed the motto above.

The Bulletin: Your observation is very correct; the motto is placed on a listel below the shield. Acknowledged. - But could it not be said that Signum Fidei is, not a motto, but a war cry as Signum Crucis, the sign of the cross, would be? A good motto for our arms would be that of the La Salles of Rheims: Indivisa manent, which would be very suitable for the Sons of Saint John Baptist de La Salle, spread throughout the five parts of the world. It would be placed underneath. It is not up to the "Bulletin", though, to address this question.

Certainly a delicate question. However, while the "Bulletin" and its correspondents exchanged views about our arms, the Seal of the Institute was pressed into service again in the Mother House. Henceforth, the traditional shield would be surrounded by a crown; it would bear the inscription: INSTITUTUM FRATRUM SCHOLARUM CHRISTIANARUM - CURIA GENERALIS - ROMA.

After the festivities of the Tercentenary, however, the Circular of 6th January 1952 announced and explained the addition of a motto to the arms of our Institute.

.This union of minds and hearts which was so manifest during the Lasallian Year, will continue, O.V.D.B., it will become stronger and stronger, so that Our Lord's great wish, expressed in his priestly prayer: "Holy Father, keep in your name those you have given me, so that they may be one like us" may be fully realised in the Institute. The motto Indivisa manent, which is in the arms of the forebears of Saint John Baptist de La Salle, seems to us an expressive call to the understanding which should constantly reign among the members, numerous as they are, of a same family, so that the unity desired by the Saviour for his disciples may always appear among us. The Regime has, therefore, willingly accepted the idea of introducing the motto of which we speak into the arms of the Institute, in memory of the solemnities of the Tercentenary.

On the blue shield, above the star with its golden rays, can be read the two words "Signum Fidei" which are so full of meaning; henceforth, the two other words, "Indivisa manent" (let nothing ever separate us! - let us remain always united!), will be written underneath. So, O.V.D.B. our coat of arms will be even more expressive; it will tell us. that with the spirit of faith which transforms our humble vocation, which should animate all our actions and confer on them supernatural value, the perfect union of hearts and wills should bind us strongly to one another, whatever our origin, and then the Institute will form a unit with no cracks, capable of resisting all quakes, all storms, because the blessings of God, always attracted by fraternal charity, will come down on it in greater abundance.

Circular 334 was then placed under the emblem of the Signum Fidei, accompanied by the motto Indivisa manent. The iconographic history of the Institute had been enriched with a few new pieces; and the "Bulletin", bearing the badge with two mottos on its cover, was immediately consulted by one of its readers:

- The Institute has adopted for its arms the old motto of the La Salles: "Indivisa manent", which means: May they always be united. Well, in the arms of the La Salles the motto agrees in a feminine plural with the objects on the shield. What does Indivisa manent agree with for us who have a star as object on our arms? Do you not think that it should be made to agree with the Brothers of the Institute, since that is the meaning given to it?

- The objection appears specious but does not stand up to examination, replied the "Bulletin".
1. The arms need no motto to complete them.
2. When they are accompanied by a motto, two cases can be presented:
a) The arms agree with the objects on the shield as is the case in the arms of the La Salle family.
b) The motto has no connection with the objects. For example: the arms of Great Britain, with lions and leopards, has the motto: "Honni soit qui mal y pense", which has clearly not the slightest connection with the arms.

Heraldry is a science which has its amateurs, its experts and its rules. The argument, in the etymological sense of the word, was not pursued between the "Bulletin" and its readers. The 1956 General Chapter, though, without ignoring the symbolic value of the Indivisa manent, requested "the return to our traditional arms with the single motto Signum Fidei".

BR. HENRI
Archives Department

1 Lettres de saint Jean-Baptiste de La Salle, Edition critique: Trois obédiences du Frère Joseph, 41 a, 41 b, 41 c.

2 Lettres: No 20, " Je ne sais, mon très cher frère,..."

3 Archives, B E a: Lettre à Monsieur. Gabrieli Drolini, proche les Capucins, à Rome.

4 Georges RIGAULT: Histoire générale de l'Institut des Frères des Ecoles chrétiennes, II, 118. - The assertion is implicitly rectified a few pages further on, (320) : "The old seal, which authenticatesa certain number of official papers, showed Saint Joseph and the Child Jesus, with these words: Les Frères des Ecoles chrétiennes".

5 On the photo, the three upper lines belong to the text of the minutes. The name of five "Officers of St Yon" signatories of the declaration itself, can be seen there.

6 Archives, S B a. - We do not exactly know the subject of the matter in question in this letter. We reproduce the text as a documentary piece.

Sir,

Here is the deed as you asked for it, signed by eight of us, although according to our Rules the Superior of the Institute can alone, with his Assistants, perform all acts, make purchases, etc. In order not to omit anything pertaining to the affair in question, we have had this ratification legalised, although what we sent before was sufficient. I beg you, Sir, to neglect nothing to bring this affair to an end ; you will oblige him who is, with great respect, Sir,
Your very humble and very obedient servant
(signed) Brother Timothy.
From Rouen, this 7th February 1736

7 Brother Timothy's signature was reproduced by the "Bulletin" of July 1950, as an illustration of the article: Vers la «Gloire du Bernin » au XVIIIº siècle.