The following information about Edmund Rice, the founder of the Christian Brothers and Presentation Brothers has been written for students doing the Junior Certificate RE exam.
Read more: Study Guide on Edmund Rice (for Junior Cert) by Trish Nelis
This life of Edmund Rice is a very abridged version of the work of Brother John M. Wright from Australia, written in the first person.
Disciple – businessman – husband – father – widower – teacher – educationist – champion of the poor – founder
In recent years a team of forensic scientists from the University of Dundee, led by Dr Caroline Wilkinson, was commissioned to carry out an in-depth, CSI-style reconstruction of Edmund’s mortal remains.
On letters Edmund wrote to The Archbishop of Cashel and to Mr Bryan Bolger
Read more: Two Significant Letters from Edmund by Frank Keane
The Ballad of Edmund Rice and the Early Monks
Edmund was a generous provider. Beside his school in Waterford he built a bakery and a tailor shop. Those who knew him in Waterford described him as “father and mother to the poor.”
There is a lot of information about Blessed Edmund on this site.
Information is also available on other sites:
Talks and articles by Br. John E. Carroll about Blessed Edmund Rice, the founder of the Christian Brothers
An abridged version of Chapter 2 from “The Price of Freedom” by Denis McLoughlin (David Lovell Publishing, Australia, 2006). For a full text, complete with extensive footnotes, please consult the original text.
In Edmund Rice educational terms, we can speak of a charism which highlights the primacy of God (presence), cultivates a communal ethic of care (compassion), and is committed to humanized action based on justice (liberation).
I have always been fascinated and intrigued by the vocation of Edmund Rice. How did his vocation arise? At what moment did he make the courageous decision to dedicate himself to the education of the poor children of Waterford?
Read more: “Merciful as the Father is merciful”: the Genesis of Edmund´s vocation - Patrick Payne
Br. Stephen O’Gorman, a Presentation Brother, conceived and built a meditation garden at Mardyke House, Cork. It sits on a beautiful piece of land that stretches down to the River Lee. The first part invites the viewer to contemplate the seven women who played a role in Edmund’s life, the second part relates the story of the Presentation Brothers.
