Philanthropist and religious founder, born near Callan, Co Kilkenny, SE Ireland. A wealthy provision merchant in Waterford, he retired from business on the death of his wife (1789) and devoted himself to good works. He founded a school in Waterford for poor boys (1802), and many others elsewhere. In 1808 he took religious vows, and founded the order now known as the Christian Brothers (sanctioned by the pope in 1820). He was superior-general of the order as Brother Ignatius until 1838.
Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice (born 1 June 1762, died 11 a.m. 29 August 1844) was a Catholic missionary and educationalist who was Beatified by Pope John Paul II on October 6, 1996 . Blessed Edmund is the founder of two orders of religious brothers: The Congregation of Christian Brothers and the Presentation Brothers.
Rice was born as a Catholic in Ireland at a time when they faced oppression at the hands of the English (See Penal Laws).
Early life and career
He was born in Westcourt of Callan, County Kilkenny, in the heart of Ireland, when Irish Catholics were oppressed by the weight of anti-Catholic Penal laws initiated by the English Parliament;
At the age of 25 in 1785 he married Mary Elliot.
Vocation
Rice devoted himself to prayer and charitable work, particularly with the poor and marginalised.
In 1808, seven of the staff including Edmund Rice, took religious vows under Bishop Power of Waterford. Edmund and his Brothers educated, clothed and fed them. In this way the Presentation Brothers spread throughout Ireland.
However, the groups in separate dioceses were under the Bishop’s and not Edmund's control. So Edmund sought and ultimately obtained approval from Pope Pius VII for his Brothers to be made into a pontifical congregation with Edmund as Superior General; From this time on they were called Christian Brothers and the Presentation Brothers. The motto of the Christian Brothers was : "The Lord has given, and the Lord has taken away;
In 1828, the North Richmond Street house and schools in Dublin, Ireland - were founded by Edmund Rice with the foundation stone laid by the Daniel O’Connell. The present residence incorporated the original house built by Edmund Rice, who lived here from 1831 to until his death in 1844.
Retirement and death
At the age seventy-six, Rice retired but was suffering from arthritis and had to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.
After falling into a coma, Rice died at 11am on August 29, 1844 at Mount Sion, Waterford, where his remains lie in a casket to this day.
Beatification
The first attempt to introduce Edmund's cause towards sainthood was in 1911 by Brother Mark Hill. He travelled Waterford and other parts of Ireland collecting statements (on why Edmund should be made a saint) from the people, but very little progress was made.
In 1976 the Historical Commission of the Dublin Archdiocese and Father Kevin Kennedy now as secretary recommended that Edmund's cause be brought to Rome. Roman theologians agreed to look into Edmund's cause. Three Brothers had the burden of investigating archives and collecting evidence on why Edmund should be a saint. After the commissions unanimous approval the Pope declared Edmund worthy of his cause in 1993.
In November 1993 Pope John Paul II declared Edmund Rice venerable and two years later approved the miracle, the curing of a young Newry man, Kevin Ellison, who was thought to have had only 48 hours to live, which was attributed to Edmund Rice. This paved the way to his beatification on October 6, 1996 to become known as Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice.
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