Edmund Ignatius Rice - Knowledge (XXG)

284: 370:. This was the first congregation of men to be founded in Ireland and one of the few ever founded by a layman. Gradually, a transformation took place amongst the "quay kids" of Waterford, largely attributed to Edmund and his brothers' work, who educated, clothed and fed the boys. Other bishops in Ireland supplied Edmund Rice with men, and these he prepared for the religious life and a life of teaching. In this way, the Presentation Brothers spread throughout Ireland. 486: 430: 272:, entering the business of trading livestock and other supplies, and supervising the loading of victuals onto ships bound for the British colonies. Michael Rice died in 1785, and this business passed to Edmund. He was an active member of a society established in the city for the relief of the poor. His favourite charity was the Sick and Indigent Roomkeepers’ Association whose members visited the sick poor in their homes. He was also introduced to 323:

that the teachers resigned. This prompted him to sell his thriving business to another prominent Catholic merchant, a Mr Quan, and devote himself to training teachers who would dedicate their lives to prayers and to teaching the children free of charge. Despite the difficulties involved, Edmund's classes were so popular that another temporary school had to be set up on another of his properties, this time in nearby Stephen Street.

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was offered for Ellison's recovery. Only the relic of Edmund Rice was placed at the bedside of the dying man. The latter survived the 48-hour period during which he was supposed to die, and more besides. Upon investigation, surgeons discovered a considerable length of the previously undetected colon.

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After settling his business affairs in 1802, Rice devoted his life to prayer and charitable work, particularly with the poor and marginalised of Waterford. In 1802, when he established a makeshift school in a converted stable in New Street, Waterford, he found the children were so difficult to manage

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by Bishop Hussey on 7 June 1803. Since the schoolhouse was not yet completed, Rice, Finn, and Grosvenor took up residence but walked each day from Mount Sion to their schools on New Street and Stephen Street. On 1 May 1804, the adjoining school was opened and blessed by Hussey's successor, Bishop

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was in 1911 by Mark Hill who travelled Waterford and other parts of Ireland collecting statements from people as to why they thought Rice should be made a saint, but very little progress was made. The cause was taken up by Pius Noonan, who was the superior general at the time. With the help of

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for the community to be made into a pontifical congregation with a Superior General. He obtained this in 1820. The Pope's brief specified that the members were to be bound by vows of obedience, chastity, poverty and perseverance, and to give themselves to the free instruction, religious and

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led the community superior, Joseph Murphy, to purchase a wheelchair for his benefit. At Christmas time, 1841, Rice's health took a turn for the worse, and even though expectations of his imminent death did not turn out to be justified, he was increasingly confined to his room.

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From this time on, Edmund Rice spent an increasing proportion of his time at Mount Sion and the adjoining school, showing a continued interest in the pupils and their teachers. He would also take a short walk each day on the slope of Mount Sion, but his increasingly painful

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recommended that Rice's cause be brought to Rome, and the Holy See agreed to look into it. Three brothers had the burden of investigating archives and collecting evidence as to why Rice should be declared a saint: Mark Hill, David Fitzpatrick and Columba Normoyle.

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when he was a teenager. He forged a successful career in business and, after an accident that killed his wife and left his daughter disabled and with learning difficulties, thereafter devoted his life to the education of the poor.

330:, but had not decided which they would join. As it turned out, they remained to teach at Edmund Rice's school and formed their own. The subsequent success of the New Street school led to a more permanent building, named " 381:

However, the communities were under the bishop's control in each diocese rather than Edmund Rice, which created problems when Brothers were needed to be transferred from one school to another. Rice sought approval from

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In February 1838, Edmund Rice left the North Richmond Street community and returned to Mount Sion in Waterford. Aged seventy-six, and by now in poor health, he wrote to the different communities calling for a

1285: 1086: 539:, and an apparent lack of viable colon tissue (a conclusion reached by five doctors after hours in surgery). A family friend, Christian Brother Laserian O'Donnell, gave Ellison's parents a 421:. The building housed the Brothers' headquarters for many years and the present residence incorporates the original house built by Rice, who lived here for several years beginning in 1831. 253:, which decreed that any public or private instruction in the Catholic faith would render teachers liable to prosecution, a measure that was not reformed until 1782. In this environment, 326:

The turning point of Rice's ministry was the arrival of two young men, Thomas Grosvenor and Patrick Finn, from his hometown of Callan. They came to him with the desire to join a

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and the Presentation Brothers. The motto of the Christian Brothers was: "The Lord has given, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord forever" (Job 1: 21).

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friars in Callan. As a young man, Rice spent two years at a school which, despite the provisions of the penal laws, the authorities suffered to exist in the City of Kilkenny.

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In the 1820s further difficulties emerged owing to the expansion of the society and its becoming two distinct congregations. From this time on they were called

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Following his wife's death, he began discerning a vocation to join a monastery, perhaps in France. One day, while discussing his vocation with the sister of

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In 1808, seven of the staff including Edmund Rice took religious vows under the authority of Bishop Power of Waterford. Following the example of

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state for more than two years (in the constant care of a nurse since May 1842), Rice died at 11 a.m. on 29 August 1844 at Mount Sion,

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Hennessy, Patrick. "Edmund Ignatius Rice." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 26 Mar. 2014

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Christian Brothers and Presentation Brothers schools around the world continue to follow the traditions established by Rice (see

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boundaries to wherever they were most needed. During this time the institution extended to several English towns (especially in

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proliferated. The boys of the Rice family obtained education at home through Patrick Grace, a member of the small community of

477:, where his remains lie in a casket to this day. Large crowds filled the streets around his house in Dublin to honour him. 249:

Rice's education, like that of every other Irish Catholic of the day, was greatly compromised by the 1709 amendment to the

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spirituality when he joined the "Waterford group" of young men who met for prayer and reading at the "Little Chapel", now

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Memorial erected in Callan on Green Street (also known as Edmund Ignatius Rice Street), unveiled and blessed in July 1951

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Edmund Ignatius Rice was born to Robert Rice and Margaret Rice (née Tierney) on the farming property of "Westcourt", in

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These events paved the way for Rice's beatification on 6 October 1996 by Pope John Paul II. His feast day is 5 May.

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bishop for a school licence was eventually granted. By 1806 Christian schools were established in Waterford,

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to elect a new Superior General. The chapter, which opened on 24 July 1838, resulted in the election of

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of Edmund Rice. Many friends prayed for a miracle through the intercession of Rice and a special

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As a result of these investigations and the examination in Rome of the results, on 2 April 1993,

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Thanks to the appeals of some of Rice's more influential friends, a request made to the local

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One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the

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In about 1785 he married a young woman (perhaps Mary Elliott, the daughter of a Waterford

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literary, of male children, especially the poor. The heads of houses were to elect a

383: 268:. In 1779 Edmund was apprenticed to him, moving into a house in the market parish of 115: 32: 334:", where construction began on 1 June 1802. The Mount Sion monastery was officially 566: 525: 499: 269: 258: 254: 121: 554:

A segment of his kneecap (in a reliquary) is on display in the new sports hall at

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approved the pursuit of the Roman phase of the cause, declaring Edmund Rice to be

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Plaque in memory of his daughter Mary at the cemetery of St. Molleran's Church,

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Two years later, the same Pope approved a miracle attributed to Edmund Rice's

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were established by Rice, the foundation stone being laid by the politician

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Rice was born in Ireland at a time when Catholics faced oppression under

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Depiction of Rice and a praying schoolboy on a stained glass window in

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His uncle Michael owned a merchant business in the nearby port town of

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Foundation of the Christian Brothers and Presentation Brothers

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John Power, and their pupils transferred to the new building.

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International Heritage Centre, Mount Sion, Waterford, Ireland

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In 1828, the North Richmond Street house and schools in

528:. The miracle occurred in 1976, when Kevin Ellison of 502:), the cause was officially opened in Dublin in 1957. 1321: 775:. Congregation of Christian Brothers. pp. 45–50. 760:. Congregation of Christian Brothers. pp. 43–44. 979: