DLSU-D community honors Lasallian Brother Solomon Leclerq’s canonization

In celebration of Brother Solomon Leclercq’s canonization, the first Lasallian martyr and patron of the College of Business Administration and Accountancy, DLSU-D students, professors and staff took part in a Eucharistic ceremony at the University Chapel yesterday, October 17.

Saint Brother Solomon Leclerq FSC was canonized by Pope Francis on Sunday, October 16.

“What makes you rich in heaven is the small sacrifices you do every day like Br. Leclerq who practices martyrdom every day,” University Chaplain Rev. Fr. Mark Anthony Reyes said in his Homily.

Known by most as Saint Brother Solomon, Guillaume Nicolas Louis Leclercq was a mathematics professor and later a master of novices and economy at Maréville France before the French Revolution.

Once the monarchy was overthrown in the revolution, the church was the next target and priests and religious persons were forced to take an oath pledging loyalty to the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, which gave the state full power over the church.

While the other Brothers escaped Paris to avoid persecution by the clergy during the revolution, Saint Brother Solomon chose to stay and live in secrecy.

However, he was eventually discovered, and Brother Leclercq was arrested and imprisoned in the Carmelite monastery and beheaded after refusing to take the oath.

The first of Lasallian martyrs, Saint Brother Solomon died as a martyr in 1792, beatified in 1926, and canonized in 2016.