Christian Brothers is a charitable educational organization founded in Ireland in 1802 by Edmund Ignatius Rice. In that year, Rice became a teacher in Waterford, in the south of Ireland. In August 1808, with six followers, he took religious vows and became known as Brother Ignatius. Rice’s work received papal sanction in 1820, and he was made the first superior general of the Congregation of the Christian Schools of Ireland. Since that time, the Christian Brothers have opened many schools and colleges, not only in Ireland but also in Australia, Canada, Gibraltar, India, Italy, South America, and the United States. The organization’s headquarters are in Rome. The organization’s full title, Congregation of Christian Brothers, was adopted in 1972.
