Nicolas Roland

Seized by the love of God and deeply moved by the distress of populations ruined by wars, Nicolas Roland chose to leave the comfort of his family home in 1666 to settle in a residence on Rue du Barbâtre, in Reims, in order to lead a life of poverty and charity. There, he welcomed young clerics to train them for the priesthood according to the reform spirit of the Council of Trent.

His apostolic action quickly focused on the education of poor children, particularly young girls, who were then completely excluded from the instruction system. Inspired by the writings of Charles Démia and by his meeting in Rouen with Father Nicolas Barré (founder of the Sisters of Providence), he decided to establish a similar work in Reims.

On October 15, 1670, he took over the management of a ruined orphanage founded by Marie Varlet in the faubourg of Le Barbâtre. To supervise and instruct these children, he requested the help of Father Nicolas Barré, who sent him two teachers from Rouen trained in his method: Françoise Duval and Anne Le Cœur, who arrived in Reims on the 27th of October or December 1670. This was the starting point of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus (or Sisters of the Child Jesus of Reims). Nicolas Roland dedicated his entire personal fortune to consolidating this young community, opening several free schools in different districts of Reims despite strong local opposition.

At the same time, Nicolas Roland played a major historical role by becoming, from 1672 onwards, the spiritual director and advisor to the young canon of Reims, Jean-Baptiste de La Salle. He guided his nascent vocation, encouraged him to pursue his theological studies, and initiated him into spiritual detachment and the love of the poor.

Nicolas Roland led an existence of great ascetic rigor, marked by penance, silence, and boundless pastoral devotion. He traveled the diocese of Reims on foot to preach popular missions and hear the confessions of the faithful.

At the beginning of 1678, he went to Paris to plead the cause of his congregation before the royal authorities and to obtain the letters patent necessary for its official recognition. This winter journey exhausted him physically. Upon his return to Reims, he attended with immense joy the priestly ordination of his disciple Jean-Baptiste de La Salle on April 9, 1678, and then his first Mass, celebrated the following day in the Reims Cathedral.

A few days later, while he was spending himself without reserve at the bedside of the sisters of his community who were struck by an epidemic of contagious fever, he contracted the illness in turn. Bedridden by violent headaches starting on April 19, 1678, he felt his end approaching. On April 23, he wrote his will. In an act of absolute spiritual trust, he designated Jean-Baptiste de La Salle and his confrere Nicolas Rogier as executors, entrusting the young priest de La Salle with the responsibility of watching over the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus and obtaining their legal approval.

Nicolas Roland passed away holily on April 27, 1678, in Reims, at the age of 35. He was buried on April 29 in the chapel of the Sisters of his congregation.

The reputation for holiness of Nicolas Roland has endured through the centuries, carried by the testimony of Jean-Baptiste de La Salle—who drew inspiration from his work to later found the Brothers of the Christian Schools—and by the vitality of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus.

The cause for beatification was officially introduced to the Roman Curia in 1942. After a rigorous examination of his heroic virtues and the recognition of a scientifically inexplicable miracle attributed to his intercession, the decree of beatification was signed.

Nicolas Roland was solemnly proclaimed Blessed on October 16, 1994, by Pope John Paul II in Saint Peter's Square in Rome, during the assembly of the Synod of Bishops on consecrated life. His liturgical feast is set for April 27, the day of his birth into Heaven.

Nicolas Roland is one of the prominent figures of the 17th-century French School of spirituality. His spiritual doctrine, strongly influenced by Cardinal de Bérulle, Jean-Jacques Olier, and Saint Vincent de Paul, is deeply Christocentric and focused on the mystery of the Incarnation and the Childhood of Christ.

For Nicolas Roland, the service of the poor and the education of orphans are a direct contemplation of the humbled Christ: "The orphans represent to us Jesus Christ in the state of his childhood."

His spirituality is also characterized by a keen sense of the greatness of God and detachment from the world, summarized in these famous maxims cited by Pope John Paul II during his beatification: "Everything we can do for the service of God is far below what we owe Him." "Everything that is created cannot fill a heart that God alone can satisfy." "Love silence and keep it willingly, for it is the guardian of virtues."

The legacy of Nicolas Roland is immense. By agreeing to become his executor, Saint Jean-Baptiste de La Salle found himself engaged for the first time in a concrete way in the work of charitable schools. It was by continuing the work of his mentor with the Sisters of the Child Jesus that La Salle matured the intuition to found the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools for the education of poor boys. Nicolas Roland is thus rightly considered the spiritual father and direct precursor of the global Lasallian work.