The Montfort Brothers of St. Gabriel (SG), otherwise Gabrielite Brothers or Frères de Saint-Gabriel (FSG), is a

religious institute In the Catholic Church, a religious institute is "a society in which members, according to proper law, pronounce public religious vows, vows, either perpetual or temporary which are to be renewed, however, when the period of time has elapsed, a ...

. Its roots go back to

Louis de Montfort Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort, SMM (; 31 January 1673 – 28 April 1716) was a French Catholic priest known for his influence on Catholic Mariology. He wrote a number of books that went on to become classic Catholic titles, including '' Secre ...

, who opened a few schools for poor children in

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department. Wi ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, in about 1711.

History

As Louis de Monfort traveled about giving missions, he was often accompanied by brothers, whom he called to assist in his work. During the eighteenth century the life of the Community of the Holy Spirit (the Company of Mary) was centered at Saint-Laurent, where there were about fifty priests and thirty-five brothers. Of 276 missions preached from 1749 to 1799, one or two Brothers participated in 250 of them with the missionaries.Rolandeau, J. B., Jesus Living In Mary: ''Handbook of The Spirituality Of St. Louis De Montfort'': Brothers of Saint Gabriel
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Brothers of Christian Instruction of the Holy Spirit

After the French Revolution, the congregation amalgamated under the guidance of Father Gabriel Deshayes into the Brothers they are today. Around 1824 the Brothers received official approbation under the name of Brothers of Christian Instruction of the Holy Spirit. A motherhouse, called "Saint Gabriel" was established for them separate from that of the priests. In 1853 the imperial decree of

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

conferred on the Congregation the title of Brothers of Christian Instruction of Saint Gabriel. The institute's main concern is Christian education, especially for the poor, orphans and the physically challenged. Other organizations inspired by Montfortian ideals are the Company of Mary and the Daughters of Wisdom. The 'Associates' are a lay association linked to the Gabrielites and similarly inspired by Montfortian spirituality. One institution run by FSG is Assumption University (better known as ABAC, from its former name of Assumption Business Administration College), which was the first university in

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

to offer all classes in the English language. They have also established educational institutions in

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and

References

Brothers of Saint Gabriel
at

Catholic Encyclopedia ''The'' ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'', also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedi ...

External links

Montfort Brothers of St. Gabriel website

Vatican website {{DEFAULTSORT:Brothers Of Christian Instruction Of St Gabriel 1711 establishments in France Institutes of Catholic religious brothers Catholic religious institutes established in the 18th century Catholic teaching orders