Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice

August 29

Edmund Ignatius Rice, (1 June 1762 – 29 August 1844), was a Catholic missionary and educationalist. He was the founder of two religious institutes of religious brothers: the Congregation of Christian Brothers and the Presentation Brothers. Rice was born in Ireland at a time when Catholics faced oppression under Penal Laws enforced by the British authorities, though reforms began in 1778 when he was a teenager. He forged a successful career in business and, after an accident which killed his wife and left his daughter disabled and with learning difficulties, thereafter devoted his life to education of the poor. Christian Brothers and Presentation Brothers schools around the world continue to follow the traditions established by Edmund Rice. He is remembered on August 29 and on May 5.