EDMUND RICE

IRISH CHRISTIAN BROTHERS

Edmund was trying to figure out what he would do with his life. Years before, he had become an apprentice in a well-established shipping company owned by his uncle. When Edmund was twenty-four, his uncle had signed the thriving company over to him. At that time, he had fallen in love with a beautiful young woman, the daughter of a leather merchant. Their subsequent marriage was a short one, however. Four years later, his young wife was killed by falling from a horse on a hunting trip.

The wealthy young Edmund was troubled. Convinced that something more was wanted of him, he came up with a plan to travel to Rome and visit the tombs of the martyrs and the catacombs of the early Christians. Upon his return to Ireland, he would embrace a solitary life by becoming a lay Augustinian brother.

When he mentioned the idea to a woman he knew in Waterford, she asked him, "Would you not be better off doing something for poor boys similar to what the Presentation nuns are doing in Cork for poor girls?"

The only schools offering free education in Ireland at that time were financed by English sources who wanted to destroy the Catholic faith in Ireland. Edmund’s own bishop had written a pastoral letter condemning these schools and reprimanding Catholic parents who risked their children’s faith by sending them to such schools. It was a difficult situation for poor people: their only hope for their children’s education lay in these free schools, but at the cost of their children’s faith.

Edmund, who sympathized with their plight, was determined to allay the situation. He presented the bishop of Ossory with a proposal which was very well-received. In 1796 he sent an outline of his idea to Pope Pius VI, who encouraged Edmund to proceed with his plan.

Not long afterwards, a young woman looking for work knocked at the rectory of St John’s parish in Waterford. She had been educated by the Presentation nuns in Cork, and Fr John Power, the pastor, was so impressed by her level of education that he asked the nuns to establish a convent in Waterford.

He was told that no one was immediately available. However, if volunteers came forward, they could be trained in Cork and then sent back to Waterford to establish a foundation there. Two of Fr Power’s relatives did just that. Upon completing their novitiate and professing their vows, they arrived in Waterford and opened a temporary school in September of 1798.

Edmund, a close friend of Fr Power, acquired land for the sisters on which a permanent convent adjacent to the school was to be erected. He did all he could to help build the convent.

His involvement in this project increased Edmund’s interest in the apostolate of Catholic education, and he at last made his decision. Selling his business, he set to work on the creation of his own school. After his wife’s death he had inherited a large stable in the New Street area of Waterford which he now converted into a two-story school building. He began with six students.

At this time Edmund’s brother, Fr John Rice, sent to him two men eager to consecrate their lives to God. They were interested in teaching and hoped to join the religious congregation they knew Edmund wanted to found.

The three of them lived in the upper level above the stables and began to follow a regular discipline of prayer, work, and recreation. Almost immediately the classrooms filled. Demand was so great that they soon had to open an additional school nearby.

Their schools quickly spread across Ireland, and on September 5, 1820, the Irish Christian Brothers were recognized by Pope Pius VII. The brothers rejoiced, but there was one particular clause in the papal brief which was to cause Edmund much grief. Article 5 stated that the brothers should teach gratis, accepting neither compensation nor reward from the parents; Edmund thought this too restrictive.

An Autocrat

He made his first request to Rome to open fee-paying schools in January of 1823. The Holy See referred the matter to the Bishop of Waterford, Patrick Kelly, who replied, "I am decidedly of the opinion that the petition should not be granted. I see no reason for such an application, since it does not seem right in this wretched country."

Moreover, many of the brothers opposed the idea of fee-paying schools. They believed that the Irish Christian Brothers had one reason for existence: the free education of the poor. They argued that fee-paying schools contradicted the spirit and rule of the congregation, and they feared that the fee-paying schools would get all the best teachers at the expense of the free ones. Some members of the congregation grumbled, "He started the congregation for the poor; that’s why we joined. Now he is changing his mind."

Yet in spite of all this, Edmund remained steadfast, for he was convinced that there was a need for fee-paying schools. As a result, Edmund’s leadership became increasingly criticized as autocratic. Some demanded more democracy; many others pushed for a second chapter in order to make the necessary changes.

Letters such as the following were circulated, "Edmund is in a very pitiable condition. His mind is so disordered that he is completely incapable of applying himself to the business of the Institute…. Edmund is inclined to set himself against the view of his two Assistants in all matters concerning the welfare of the Institute. Very often he tells them that he will not listen to any remonstrance of theirs and that he is not obliged to follow their advice unless it agrees with his own opinions. His mind has been thus deranged for a long time. It seems to me that his illness will be of long duration…. The brothers wish to settle several matters regarding the nature and stability of the Institute; they are determined to assemble."

The push for a new chapter increased until Edmund finally yielded. During the first session it was proposed that Edmund be restricted from making propositions or recommending amendments on the grounds that he would exercise too great an influence. When he heard this, he tendered his resignation as superior general. Kneeling before the brothers, Edmund read a short statement of resignation and then left the room.

The brothers were shocked by this unexpected development. They quickly rejected his resignation and insisted that he preside over the remainder of the chapter, but it remained an intensely unhappy time for him.

At the age of seventy-six, Edmund decided his health would no longer permit him to deal with the administrative demands of the congregation. He convoked another chapter, where he announced his retirement. By a vote of nine to eight, the chapter elected Br Michael Riordan, a long time opponent of Edmund on the issue of fee-paying schools, to serve for life as superior general.

Three years later, at the start of the next chapter, Edmund went to the assembly room thinking that as ex-superior general he was entitled to attend. He was received coldly and was asked to withdraw while they discussed the question of his admission. It was decided that the founder could not take part in the chapter of his own congregation, not even as an observer.

Vindicated

After retirement, Edmund faded into the background. He kept himself informed about school affairs, but he himself did not dare to intrude. Although he was concerned about the new policies being followed and the discord which they caused, he did not challenge the authority of the superior general.

But God has his way.

Edmund’s friend, Archbishop Murray of Dublin, was also concerned about the great number of children in his diocese who were either attending the English schools or none at all. Working tirelessly, he opened two hundred schools in forty-eight parishes during his life.

The Irish Christian Brothers played a crucial part in this development, and Archbishop Murray was eager to help them in every possible way. He wanted as many schools as he could get, and it mattered little to him if they were free or not. The inability of Edmund’s institute to operate fee-paying schools was becoming an obstacle to his work, so he took steps to have this impediment removed.

Several senior Irish Christian Brothers wrote Rome describing the state of their institutions: of the eighteen houses they had founded, only five had funds to cover maintenance expenses. While the English government lavished money on their public schools, the brothers were not infrequently forced to go begging from door to door in order to keep their own schools open. The only other means of raising funds was the annual charity sermons. However, if the local bishop or pastor did not like the brothers, these were prohibited.

The situation is described in a letter: "We find from experience how galling it is when after spending five days in our schools we must sally forth on the sixth day to beg from house to house for the pennies and half-pennies to support us for the ensuing week."

There were indeed thousands of parents who could not afford to pay anything for their children’s education; but there were other parents who were able to pay, and others still who could at least contribute something.

In 1873, the Holy See issued a brief granting the Irish Christian Brothers permission to establish fee-paying schools wherever they wished. Edmund’s far-sighted policy was vindicated in its entirety.

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