{"id":56597,"date":"2019-09-16T11:24:46","date_gmt":"2019-09-16T11:24:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lasalle.org\/?page_id=56597"},"modified":"2025-12-10T11:45:33","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T10:45:33","slug":"generalate","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.lasalle.org\/en\/generalate\/","title":{"rendered":"Generalate"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Generalate<\/h2><\/div>

The Generalate of the Brothers of the Christian Schools is the residence of the\u00a0Superior General and his Council.<\/a> It is here that the Central Government and the General Services of the Institute are located.<\/p>\n

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From the\u00a017<\/strong>th<\/strong><\/sup>\u00a0century<\/strong>\u00a0to the\u00a019<\/strong>th<\/strong><\/sup>, the centre of the Institute was situated in France (Rouen, Lyon, Paris). At the start of the 20<\/strong>th<\/strong><\/sup>\u00a0century<\/strong>, it was transferred to Belgium (Lembecq-les Hall), and it has been in Rome since\u00a01937<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The centrepiece of the complex is the\u00a0Sanctuary of St. John Baptist de La Salle<\/a>, which houses the Founder\u2019s\u00a0Relics<\/strong>\u00a0(translated here in 1937) and also those of other\u00a0Lasallian Saints<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>

\"\"In addition to the\u00a0Sanctuary<\/a>, the Generalate contains a\u00a0Museum<\/a>, and it has a variety of meeting rooms with an\u00a0Aula Magna\u00a0<\/strong>recently remodelled, the\u00a0archives<\/a>\u00a0and a\u00a0library<\/a>\u00a0containing volumes that go back to the founding of the Institute.<\/p>\n

In view of the precious nature of the material preserved in the\u00a0library<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0archives<\/a>, they were officially declared in\u00a02016\u00a0<\/strong>as being \u2018of exceptional historical interest\u2019 by the Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage.<\/p>\n

The Institute\u2019s services are also supported by the\u00a0personnel\/statistics office<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0bookstore.<\/p>\n

The Generalate also accommodates\u00a0CBIS Global<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0Casa per Ferie La Salle<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>

<\/i><\/i><\/span>An historical note\u2026<\/b><\/span><\/a><\/h2><\/div>
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\"\"In\u00a01941<\/strong>, during the Second World War, the Generalate became the\u00a0San Giuseppe<\/em>\u00a0Hospital of the Italian Army, and in April of that year it set up the first centre for war-wounded under the name of\u00a0Principessa di Piemonte<\/em>.<\/p>\n

During that period, visits were made by various illustrious personages including Vittorio Emanuele, Umberto and Maria Jos\u00e9 di Savoia, not forgetting Benito Mussolini in June\u00a01941<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"\"In October\u00a01943<\/strong>, the Holy See placed the Generalate under its protection, safeguarding it from any commandeering or requisitioning.<\/p>\n

In\u00a0January 1944<\/strong>, it came under German occupation as a military hospital, while functioning at the same time as a Novitiate and Juniorate (seeking refuge from Albano). Subsequently, when the German troops had retreated, the house became a military hospital for British troops.<\/p>\n

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At the end of the war, on\u00a0May the 11<\/strong>th<\/strong><\/sup>\u00a01945,<\/strong>\u00a0the house finally reverted to the possession of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and as the\u00a0“Casa San Giuseppe”<\/em>\u00a0became their Mother House.<\/p>\n

In\u00a01946\u00a0<\/strong>normal activities were resumed, starting with a General Chapter. There followed the reception of pilgrims for the Holy Year of\u00a01950\u00a0<\/strong>and the consecration of the chapel of\u00a0St. John Baptist de La Salle<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a01951<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The year\u00a01957<\/strong>\u00a0marked the opening of the\u00a0Jesus Magister Institute<\/em>, a centre for studies affiliated to the\u00a0Pontificia Universit\u00e0 Lateranense<\/a>. The\u00a0De La Salle Guadalupana Sisters<\/a>\u00a0arrived in the same year to help with work in the Generalate.<\/p>\n

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It was also at that time that part of the land was expropriated to construct the Circonvallazione Cornelia, so that the\u00a0Scuola La Salle<\/a>\u00a0was moved closer to the Generalate. Work on the new school building began in\u00a01964<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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In\u00a0March 1979<\/strong>,\u00a0Mother Teresa of Calcutta<\/strong>\u00a0visited the Generalate to give a talk on the importance of the\u00a0Brothers\u2019 Vocation<\/a>. She addressed those participating in the session of the CIL (I<\/strong>nternational\u00a0L<\/strong>asallian\u00a0C<\/strong>entre) which had replaced the Second Novitiate.<\/p>\n

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The new\u00a0Sanctuary<\/a>\u00a0was inaugurated in\u00a01980<\/strong>, and in\u00a01981\u00a0<\/strong>the Founder\u2019s Room became the\u00a0Museum<\/a>. In that same year, the house welcomed a visit by\u00a0Pope John Paul II<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>