LASALLIAN
NOTES
BR OTHE R S OF THE C H RIS T IA N S CH OOLS
DISTRICT OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA
Fall 2019 • VOL. 5
San Miguel Schools
Recovering the Founder’s Charism by Br. Lawrence Goyette, FSC – Auxiliary Visitor, District of Eastern North America “Recovering the Founder’s charism.” This is how I would describe the impulse that led to the opening of the first San Miguel School, a middle school that began twenty-seven years ago in Providence RI. This school is located in the north end of the city, a low-income area that has traditionally been a neighborhood of immigrants. In earlier days, the immigrants were predominantly Irish and Italian. The new immigrants are mostly Latino, many of them single parents who may speak little English. In the late 1980s, I was living with four other Christian Brothers in South Providence in a house we rented for $240 a month. At that time (1988), I was teaching in an urban parish school in Providence that was in danger of closing, as so many others had. The
reasonable tuition that was charged was still too much for the progressively poorer population moving into the area. We Brothers were becoming increasingly aware of the situation at our very doorstep. We’d see many kids roaming around at all hours, and we heard stories of how they were going nowhere in school. At that point, we began thinking that it would be great if we could start something right here—in this neighborhood. Then, the school at which I had been teaching closed its doors. During that same time, in the late ‘80s, De La Salle Christian Brothers from around the world were meeting in Rome at our General Chapter. From this meeting a directive went forth encouraging a revitalization of our Founder’s original
vision of educating youth from poor families. Many of our ministries started by educating poor immigrants in the United States more than one hundred years ago. As a natural consequence of receiving a first-rate Lasallian education, subsequent generations of students have continued to move up economically and socially. The result marked, in effect, a shift away from the charism’s original thrust. My experiences, combined with the directive from the Chapter in Rome, led me to many conversations with Brother Visitor. These events came together as a catalyst to begin an urban middle school for boys from the most challenging situations, mainly financial. At the start, life was downright chaotic! It was blood, sweat, and tears all the way. (continued on page 5)
Graduates of San Miguel School Providence attend the 2018 Gala to support their school and wish Br. Lawrence happiness in his future endeavors.