Edmund Ignatius Rice was born in Callan, Ireland, in 1762. Edmund had the
good fortune of being brought up in relative comfort while the majority of
his countrymen were relegated to near destitution due to the policy of
religious persecution of the occupying British Government. At the age of
seventeen, after a childhood spent on the family farm, he was apprenticed to
his uncle, a merchant in Waterford, South-East Ireland. Edmund prospered and
became the owner of the business and at the age of twenty five he married
Mary Elliott. Two years later she died leaving him a psychologically
daughter for whom he cared lovingly throughout his life.
As a widower, Edmund was known for his spirit of prayer and his practical
charity. Though attracted to a life of prayer in a continental monastery, he
realized, through a conversation with a friend and the example of Nano
Nagle, Foundress of the order of Presentation Sisters, which God was calling
him to work for destitute, ignorant people, especially youth.
Edmund spent his entire life in helping the poor personally. He undertook
legal proceedings to ensure that money left to help them went to them and
not to dishonest officials. He regularly visited the prisons, consoling the
condemned and provided them with hope for a better world.
Though Edmund helped the poor in numerous ways, he saw that a holistic,
value-based education as the best means of making them aware of their human
and spiritual dignity as children of God. In 1802, at the age of forty, he
sold his business and, unassisted, opened his first school in a converted
stable in Waterford. His courageous example attracted followers. In 1808,
with six companions, he made vows as a religious Brother, marking the
foundation of the Congregation of Christian Brothers.
In the beginning the Brothers owed obedience to the local Bishop, being
known as Presentation Brothers. In 1822, Edmund and most of the Brothers
adopted a central organization and the Christian Brother rule of life
approved by Pope Pius VII. Those Brothers who remained Diocesan retained the
name, Presentation Brothers.
Edmund was a strong, rounded personality, intelligent and practical. He was
balanced in temperament and appreciated the efforts of others. He was
remarkable for his trust in Divine Providence. He died in 1844. Till today,
in many places around the world on the six continents he is venerated for
the holiness of his life. His remains rest in the Chapel of the Blessed
Sacrament, Mount Sion, Waterford.
During his life time, his work spread throughout Ireland and to England,
Gibraltar and Australia. Today his Brothers continue his mission in over 400
foundations in thirty countries. Edmund Ignatius Rice was beatified by His
Holiness Pope John Paul II on the 5th of May, 1995.
Edmund's charisma continues to inspire many men and women around the world.
Fired by his spirit they carry on his message to the youth of today. Besides
the Congregations of the Presentation Brothers and the Christian Brothers,
the worldwide Edmund Rice Network focuses the zeal and enthusiasm of many
who wish to commit their talents and time to the work envisioned and started
by Edmund.
His spirituality that of brothers and sisters who break the “Word” of God
experienced in their lives to each other in community is especially relevant
in our world today.