Georges RIGAULT – History of the Institute

These volumes of the General History of the Brothers of the Christian Schools were written by the French historian, Georges Rigault, and translated by Br. Edmond Dolan, FSC, with further editing by Br. Gerard Rummery, FSC. SEE THE LINKS BELOW Length: Nine Volumes & 3,095 Pages Author: Georges Rigault Translator: Br. Edmond Dolan, FSC Editor: Br. Gerard Rummery, FSC

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Georges Rigault (1885-1956) was a French historian who specialized in the history of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. This nine-volume General History of the Brothers of the Christian Schools traces that history from its beginnings until 1904. He also wrote a subsequent volume called The “Secularization” Period of 1904-1920, at the invitation of the Superior General in 1951.

This is the most comprehensive history of the Brothers of the Christian Schools that has been written. More recently, Br. Henri Bédel, FSC, wrote a 5-Volume history of the Institute as part of the Lasallian Studies series. That history concludes with 1946 and was completed and published in 2007. A short condensed version of part of Rigault’s work may be found in the book Panorama by Br. Hubert Gerard, FSC (Edward Schmitz).

The eight translated volumes are in PDF format below – just click on their titles to see and download them:

The religious and educational work of Saint John Baptist de La Salle, Paris, Librairie Plon, 1937, 627 pgs. ( Académie française Halphen Prize, 1938)
The followers of Saint John Baptist de La Salle in the society of the 18th century, Paris, Librairie Plon, 1938, 653 pgs.
The French Revolution, Paris, Librairie Plon, 1940, 650 pgs. (Académie française Eugène-Carrière Prize , 1941)
The Restored Institute (1805-1830), Paris, Librairie Plon, 1942, 615 pgs.
The era of Brother Philippe, “The Generalate of Brother Anaclet. The Institute in France in the time of Brother Philippe”, Paris, Librairie Plon, 1945, 585 pgs.
The era of Brother Philippe, “The Institute among the Nations” , Paris, Librairie Plon, 1947.504 pgs.
The end of the 19th century, “Works and struggles of Lasallians in France” , Paris, Librairie Plon, 1949, 547 pgs.
The end of the 19th century, “The Institute in Europe and in mission countries” , Paris, Librairie Plon, 1951, 651 pgs.
The end of the 19th century, “Lasallian expansion in America from 1874 to 1904” , Paris, Librairie Plon, 1952, 403 pgs. (Académie française Grand Prix Gobert, 1953) Not translated, but the French version is HERE.

These translations were done by Br. Edmond Dolan, FSC, a professor at Saint Mary’s College of California. He spent a number of years during his retirement working on the volumes. Small strokes hampered their completion, which is the reason that volumes 8 and 9 are only partially finished, and the indexes for most of the volumes is missing. It was later found that a number of the French terms, phrases, and interpretations would benefit from review and editorial revision. Br. Gerard Rummery, FSC, took this task on, working with MS Word digital files created by Br. George Van Grieken, FSC, from the TEX files that Br. Eric Vogel, FSC, created from the original (now lost) digital files. It is those edited copies by Br. Gerard which are made available here.