The Brothers in Memphis
The De La Salle Christian Brothers arrived in Memphis in 1871 from Chicago, and immediately opened a Catholic school that, within a few years, contained elementary and secondary grades, college classes and granted graduate degrees. Christian Brothers College, as it was then, became the first Catholic college in West Tennessee. The First World War brought an end to the college program as men went off to war. The elementary school declined and closed in 1926, while the high school prevailed. The college came into existence once more in 1940, and moved to its current location on East Parkway South. In 1965, the high school program moved to its present location on Walnut Grove Road, and the college, later to become a university, stood alone on East Parkway. In 2000, the Brothers agreed to the request of the Diocese of Memphis to administer one of the Jubilee Schools, De La Salle Blessed Sacrament. The circle was once more complete, with the Christian Brothers offering elementary, secondary and college programs with graduate degrees, continuing the tradition of committed Catholic education throughout the city of Memphis for more than 150 years.