We’ve all heard of the Great Chicago Fire which lasted several days, but we usually forget that some Lasallian schools suffered terribly in this conflagration. Destroyed were St. Mary’s School (at Madison & Wabash), Holy Name School (Cass & Chicago Avenues), and the “Academy” (Van Buren & 4th). After the fire, three Christian Brothers were immediately reassigned to Memphis, which is the genesis of the Brothers’ well-known ministries in that city.
W. J. Battersby [FSC], History of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools in the Nineteenth Century 1850-1900 (London: Waldegrave, 1963), p. 113.
