Edmund Ignatius Rice

Edmund Ignatius Rice

Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice (Irish: Iognáid Rís; 1 June 1762 – 29 August 1844), was a Roman Catholic missionary and educationalist. Edmund was the founder of two religious institutes of religious brothers: the Congregation of Christian Brothers and the Presentation Brothers.

Rice was born in Ireland at a time when Catholics faced oppression under Penal Laws enforced by the British authorities, though reforms started in 1778 when he was a teenager. He forged a successful career in business and, after a tragic accident which killed his wife and left his daughter disabled, devoted his life to the education, servicing the poor and the Irish republican cause.

Christian Brothers and Presentation Brothers schools around the world continue to follow the system of education and traditions established by Edmund Rice (see List of Christian Brothers schools).

Read more about Edmund Ignatius Rice:  Early Life and Career, Vocation and Beginnings, Foundation of The Christian Brothers and Presentation Brothers, Retirement and Death, Beatification and Legacy

Famous quotes containing the words ignatius and/or rice:

    The enemy is like a woman, weak in face of opposition, but correspondingly strong when not opposed. In a quarrel with a man, it is natural for a woman to lose heart and run away when he faces up to her; on the other hand, if the man begins to be afraid and to give ground, her rage, vindictiveness and fury overflow and know no limit.
    —St. Ignatius Of Loyola (1491–1556)

    To become a celebrity is to become a brand name. There is Ivory Soap, Rice Krispies, and Philip Roth. Ivory is the soap that floats; Rice Krispies the breakfast cereal that goes snap-crackle-pop; Philip Roth the Jew who masturbates with a piece of liver.
    Philip Roth (b. 1933)