Blessed Nicolas Roland
Blessed Nicolas Roland (born December 8, 1642 AD in Reims, France; died April 27, 1678 AD in Reims, France) was a French priest of Reims and founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Child Jesus (Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus of Reims), devoted to the Christian education of poor girls. A mentor of Saint John Baptist de la Salle, he is venerated as a Blessed of the Church. His feast day is April 27.
Zealous for the instruction and salvation of the poor and neglected young, Nicolas Roland established a community of teaching sisters in Reims and inspired others—not least his young disciple de la Salle—to take up the cause of free Christian schooling. He was beatified in 1994.
Stored in Cargo: Blessed Nicolas Roland
| Blessed Nicolas Roland | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | April 27 |
| Profession | Priest; canon; founder of the Sisters of the Child Jesus of Reims |
| Rel. Affiliation | Catholic Church; Sisters of the Child Jesus of Reims |
| Patronage | The Christian education of poor girls; the Sisters of the Child Jesus of Reims |
| Attributes | Priestly cassock |
| Birthplace | Reims, France |
| Death Place | Reims, France |
| Cause of Death | Natural death; founder of the Sisters of the Child Jesus of Reims; died at Reims |
| Primary Shrine | Reims, France |
Biography
Nicolas Roland was born on December 8, 1642, at Reims in France. Ordained a priest and made a canon of the cathedral of Reims, he was deeply influenced by the spirituality of his age and by contemporaries such as Nicolas Barré, and he burned with zeal for the instruction of the ignorant poor, seeing in the neglected children of the city a great field for charity and for the salvation of souls.
He gathered devout young women and formed them into a community dedicated to teaching poor girls the faith and the rudiments of learning without charge. This became the Congregation of the Sisters of the Child Jesus of Reims. He labored to give the community solid foundations and a sound spiritual formation, though he did not live to see it fully established.
Among those he guided as a spiritual director was the young Jean-Baptiste de la Salle—later Saint John Baptist de la Salle, founder of the Brothers of the Christian Schools—whom Roland encouraged in the very concern for the education of the poor that would mark de la Salle's own life's work. Nicolas Roland died young at Reims on April 27, 1678, entrusting his sisters to de la Salle's care. He was beatified on October 16, 1994, by Pope John Paul II. His feast is kept on April 27.
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Feast day
April 27
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