<figure class="image-550">
<img src="https://cdn.kahimyang.com/resources-29/old-la-salle-hall.webp" loading="lazy" alt="A vintage sepia-toned photograph of the stately neoclassical De La Salle campus building on Taft Avenue, Manila, in 1925. The large, multi-story building features grand columns and many windows, facing a curved driveway with two early-model automobiles parked. The grounds are formally landscaped with manicured lawns and spherical shrubs." />
<figcaption>
This 1925 sepia-toned photograph offers a panoramic view of the De La Salle College campus on Taft Avenue, Manila, in its early years at the current location. The grand neoclassical building, with its many columns and intricate central façade, stands as a symbol of educational establishment. Two classic early-20th-century vehicles are positioned in the foreground driveway, illustrating the period's technology. The meticulously manicured grounds, featuring symmetric landscaping and spherical bushes, frame the impressive architecture.
</figcaption>
</figure>

<h2>
The Geopolitical Context: A Battle for the Minds of a New Generation
</h2>
<p>
To understand why the De La Salle Brothers came to the Philippines, one must look at the shifting political tides of the early 1900s. Following the 1898 Treaty of Paris, Spain ceded control of the Philippines to the United States. The American colonial government quickly moved to establish a secular, English-medium public school system, famously deployed by a legion of American teachers known as the <a href="/kauswagan/articles/2762/today-in-philippine-history-august-21-1901-the-thomasites-arrived-to-establish-a-new-public-school-system-switching-to-english-from-spanish" class="news_link">Thomasites</a>.
</p>
<p>
At the time, established Catholic educational institutions in Manila - primarily run by Spanish Dominicans and Jesuits - stubbornly held onto Spanish as their medium of instruction. This created an immediate dilemma for the Catholic hierarchy. Protestantism was gaining a strong foothold through the newly introduced English public schools, and there was a growing fear among church leaders that the next generation of Filipino leaders would abandon the Catholic faith in order to succeed within the new American-led administration.
</p>
<p>
Recognizing this threat, the first American Archbishop of Manila, Jeremiah James Harty, took action. As an alumnus of Christian Brothers College in St. Louis, Missouri, Harty knew exactly who could bridge the gap: the De La Salle Brothers. He knew they were world-renowned for providing top-tier, modern education in English while fiercely preserving Catholic values.
</p>
<h2>
The Long Journey to Manila
</h2>
<p>
Archbishop Harty first petitioned the Superior-General of the Christian Brothers in 1905. His request was initially rejected due to a critical shortage of funds and personnel within the order. Unwilling to yield, Harty continued his campaign, eventually taking his appeal directly to Pope Pius X.
</p>



<p>
The Vatican intervened, instructing the La Salle Generalate to accommodate the request. On March 10, 1911, the first three pioneer brothers arrived in Manila:
</p>
<ul class="k-list">
<li>
<b>Brother Blimond Pierre Eilenbecker</b> (a Luxembourgish-born French brother who would serve as the school's first director)
</li>
<li>
<b>Brother Aloysius Gonzaga McGiverin</b> (the sole American in the initial group)
</li>
<li>
<b>Brother Augusto Correge</b>
</li>
</ul>

<p>
By May 13, 1911, six more brothers arrived to complete the founding community: Brothers Ptolomee Louis Duffaux, Goslin Camillus Henri, D. Joseph, Celba John Lynam, Imar William Reale, and Lucide Martin. Together, this multinational band brought experience from France, Ireland, Luxembourg, and the United States.
</p>
<h2>
The Original Paco Property and Local Suspicion
</h2>
<p>
The Brothers established their campus on a 13,000-square-meter lot at <b>652 Calle Nozaleda</b> (now General Luna Street) in Paco, Manila. The site was the former Perez-Samanillo family compound, which had briefly been used by an American school for expatriates before being vacated.
</p>
<p>
Initially, the local population viewed the newly arrived brothers with deep suspicion. Having just fought a revolution against Spain - where the abuse of power by certain religious friars was a central grievance - many residents assumed these foreign men in long robes were simply a new iteration of the old Spanish friars.
</p>
<p>
However, the De La Salle Brothers quickly shattered this misconception. As consecrated laymen who did not administer the sacraments or hold parish properties, they dedicated themselves exclusively to full-time classroom education. Their modern pedagogy, highly structured discipline, and focus on practical commerce and English fluency quickly won over the community.
</p>
<h2>
The Founder's Vision
</h2>
<p>
The foundational spirit driving the new Manila school dates back to 1680, when St. Jean-Baptiste de La Salle founded the congregation in Reims, France.
</p>
<p>
De La Salle revolutionized education by introducing the simultaneous method (teaching students in groups rather than individually), advocating for instruction in the native vernacular rather than Latin, and establishing the world's very first normal schools to formally train teachers. Though his original mission focused heavily on the working class and the poor, the brothers in Manila adapted to Archbishop Harty's pragmatic mandate: to educate the sons of the Filipino economic and political elite, ensuring they received the moral, spiritual, and professional grounding necessary to lead the nation righteously.
</p>
<h2>
Evolution and Milestones: From Paco to Taft Avenue
</h2>
<p>
The school's academic reputation grew with astonishing speed. Recognized for its exceptional focus on business and leadership training, De La Salle College was officially acknowledged as the premier private school in the Philippines by the colonial government's Board of Educational Survey in 1924.
</p>


History of De La Salle Philippines: June 16, 1911

Discover the deep history of De La Salle University, from its humble 1911 Paco roots and the 1925 Taft move to its modern status as a top research hub.

June 16, 1911: the De La Salle Brothers opened in Paco, Manila, the first La Salle school in the country