1st Filipino La Salle Brothers

The Grace To Touch Hearts is a book about the first four Filipino La Salle Brothers. The Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, popularly known as the La Salle Brothers, was founded more than 330 years ago, by St. John Baptist de la Salle “to give a human and Christian education to the young especially the poor.”

In 1915, Archbishop Jeremiah Harty of Manila, an American De La Salle alumnus, invited the La Salle Brothers to come here to neutralize the growing secularism in the country. In 1911, the first group of Brothers were sent to the Philippines – five French, three Irish and one American. Br. Blimon Pierre, FSC was the founding head. A year later, he was succeeded by Br. Goslin Camillus, FSC, a Frenchman who was one of the original nine Brothers. It was only in 1970 that the first Filipino Brother became the head of the Philippine congregation.

The first four Filipino Brothers were Br. Benildo Feliciano FSC, Br. Andrew Gonzalez, FSC, Br. Rafael Donato, FSC, and Br. Gregory Jose Refuerzo FSC. Here are sort excerpts of their lives as Brothers from the book The Grace to Touch Hearts: The First Filipino Brothers.

Br. Benildo Feliciano, FSC: The Commander:

In the annals of the Christian Brothers in the Philippines, Br. Benildo Feliciano stands out as a towering figure – the first Filipino Brother, the first Filipino Brother Visitor, the first Filipino General Councilor in Rome. He was born on April 1, 1937 in Manila to Lamberto and Florencia Feliciano. During the war years, he lived in Magalang, Pampanga, home town of his father. After WW II, the family moved back to Manila and he enrolled in La Salle, the alma mater of his father, entered the Novitiate in 1955 and  in 1962,he took his vows as a Brother.

The 1960s and 1970s were turbulent years for the Catholic Church and for Philippine society. According to the book: “ But the gathering storm outside soon spread to De La Salle College in Manila. On campus, there was a questioning of the curriculum of the relationship between administration and student, of the role of the institutions in Philippine society.”

A Philippine District was finally established in 1970. Br. Justin Lucian was the first Brother Visitor but he resigned after only two months because he concluded that Filipinos should take over the District. Br. Feliciano was then appointed after the Philippine Brothers expressed their consensus through an official poll. He was only 33 years old.

Br. Andew Gonzalez FSC: The Enigma

In the book, Isagani Cruz writes: “Externally, Br. Andrew was a great man, one of the very few geniuses that the 20th century produced in the Philippines.” His curriculum vitae is “long enough to awe and inspire any reader.”  It includes a Ph.D. in Linguistics from Berkley and honorary doctorates from four foreign universities – two from Japan, one from Canada, and one from the United Sates.

For almost three decades, he was at the helm of the nation’s premiere private university. From 1970 to 1978, he was vice president – academics of then De La Salle College, Manila. He became the first president of De La Salle University, Manila in 1979 and except for three years sabbatical leave – 1990 to 1993 – remained as its president until 1998. He was president emeritus of DLSU from 2005 to 2006 when he passed away.

Br. Andrew came from an extremely wealthy family with haciendas in Pampanga and Bulacan. His relatives included lawyers, accountants and doctors. He wrote: “ My initial plans were to go to La Salle for accounting, UP for law, and Harvard for the masters’ degree.” But eventually he joined the Brothers: “If I look back, I am sure that my initial interest in the Brothers’ was not because of their mission of serving the poor through gratuitous schools…It was just that they were good men, learned men who took an interest in men, eventually becoming friends. They were also elder brothers and even father figures perhaps because subconsciously I was looking for the father I never knew… “

As Br. Visitor Edmundo Adolfo Fernandez wrote in his Foreword to Remembering Brother Andrew “the primary inspiration for his work was service for the Kingdom. His work was not about himself, it was about serving Jesus, the principal builder of the Kingdom,”

Br. Rafael Donato, FSC, The Master Builder

Br. Donato FSC was born in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, on Oct. 12, 1936. His family soon moved to Manila, and his father enrolled him in La Salle where he spent his formative years to grade school and high school. After high school graduation, he joined what he thought was a summer boys’ camp in Baguio which turned out to be his first step towards becoming a La Salle Brother. In 1962, he took his final vows.

He was president of the De La Salle University System, including DLSU- Manila, from 1991 to 1994. But his presence was especially felt by other La Salle Schools in the Philippines. La Salle Green Hills was started in 1949, In 1970, at the age of 33, Br. Donato became its first Filipino president. At the age of 40, he became the first Filipino president  (1977-1983), of De La Salle College – Bacolod now renamed as the University of St. La Salle.

From 1995 to 2002, he was president of De La Salle Lipa. According to an interview, Br. Donato “revealed that his proudest contribution is with La Salle- Lipa. It is for him the summation of all his administrative experiences, the apex of all his years in leadership. Br. Donato was also the first Brother Visitor to pass away after an accidental death in 1970.

Br. Gregory Refuerzo FSC: Teacher, Builder and Gardener

When Br. Refuerzo joined the Brothers in 1956, he was very different from the other novices during that time. He was a “walk in” applicant because he had not studied in any La Salle school. He was already 27 years, had a degree in accounting and was a certified public accountant. And he was not from a mestizo family but was as “brown as a tamarind seed.”

After he took his perpetual vows in 1963, he spent all his Lasallian life in Mindanao (Iligan and Ozamis) and Lipa, where he spent 25 years. He never became president of any La Salle school but was always assigned as finance officer or to develop or take care of buildings and grounds of La Salle institutions all over the country. Br. Gregory represented an old and honorable tradition of humble services of the La Salle Brothers.

The Philippine District has now grown to include 17 La Salle Schools with more than 97,000 students. There are now Filipino Brothers in Rome, Hong Kong, and Singapore continuing the tradition of not only giving the best possible education but also touching the hearts and minds of youth all over the world.

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