Villa Saint Jean International School

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Ralf Brooks'
Villa St.-Jean
Collège Français & International School
WEB SITE

Emblems of Villa St. Jean Ville de Fribourg Canton de Fribourg and Switzerland

The Villa Saint Jean Collège Français and International School WEB SITE

I've watched numerous web sites dedicated to Villa Saint-Jean (with particular kudos to Steve MacIntyre and Kevin DiPalma) become inactive over the past number of years.

In an attempt to fill some of the holes left with the demise of the former Villa web sites, I decided to piggyback on the web site dedicated to the Brooks family with a separate Villa St.-Jean Section.

The original intent of this web site was to attempt to document the 1963-1965 time period for Fribourg's Villa Saint Jean International School for boys. However since the original site was launched I've been fortunate to get a number of Villa Yearbooks, Photos and Commentary from former Villa students from around the world. So the web site has been accordingly expanded. Its remarkable as to some of the off-beat, but still relevant remembrances one has after all of these years!

This Villa Saint-Jean web site contains;

This VSJ HOME page which describes the HISTORY of the Villa, some REFERENCES, and some HISTORICAL PHOTOS
Advertizing Brochures for Villa St.-Jean from both the Collège Français and International School eras
Copies of Yearbooks from both the Collège Français and International School eras
Student Remembrances and Personal Photos from their time at the Villa for both the Collège Français and International School eras
A brief section on former Villa student Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
A final section with commentary from a number of people as to their assessment as to the reasons for the closure of the Villa
A "miscellaneous" section with PHOTOs and images that were left on the web site "cutting room floor" !!

PLEASE USE THE DROP DOWN NAVIGATION MENU ABOVE TO PROCEED TO A SPECIFIC SECTION or SIMPLY USE the "NEXT PAGE" LINK TO MOVE SEQUENTIALLY THROUGH THE WEB SITE.

I hope that some of you may find this web site of interest.

Ralf Brooks
Grade 7 & 8 Student at Villa Saint Jean 1963 - 1965

Villa Saint -Jean Collège Français and International School located at Fribourg, Switzerland 1903 -1970

Hachette Map of Switzerland showing location of town of Friburg

PHOTO 1920 Fribourg Suisse Map Showing Location of College Villa St Jean PLAN DE LA VILLE (Feb 01, 1920)

delCampe Auctions Photo of Historical Fribourg - Villa Saint Jean - L'entrée les grilles

delCampe Auctions Photo of Historical 261 - Fribourg - Villa Saint-Jean - Pavillons Saint Jean et des Ormes - Année 1908

Brief History of Villa St.-Jean Collège Français and International Boarding School for Boys

Wikepedia - with some minor edits and additions -- says it best:

Established at Fribourg (Freiburg in German), Switzerland, in 1903, during an upheaval of anti-clericalism in France, Villa St. Jean was established by Marianists from France as a French College (Villa St. Jean - Collège Français Internationale) with Catholic affiliations as a boarding school for the scions of the French elite.

According to tradition, the school's founder, François Kieffer a Catholic priest of the Marianist teaching order, consciously modeled Villa St Jean on Rugby School, then as now an eminent English public school (private school in American parlance), noted at the time for intellectual rigour and rugged sportsmanship.

(According to Brother Earl Leistikow, SM - Archivist, Marianist Archives, San Antonio Texas), the choice of the name, Villa St.-Jean is thought to be that St.-Jean (Saint John) is probably referring to a favorite image of Marianist founder Fr. Chaminade - that of St. John and the Blessed Virgin at the foot of the Cross. St. John is one of the principal patrons of the Society of Mary. This is believed to be the motivation behind the name of Villa St. Jean.

The school's initial plan was to accept French-speaking students desirous of preparing for the French Baccalaureate degree.

As the Villa's reputation grew, the school started accepting students from all nations willing to make the effort at learning new languages and eager to benefit from the school's comprehensive educational environment.
For the 1962-1963 school term, Villa St. Jean - Collège Français Internationale became Villa St Jean International School - an international school educating students from around the world in an American College Preparatory curriculum for boys in the Junior and Senior High School.

Fr Kieffer built his school on a secluded cliff top bluff, surrounded on three sides by the sinuous Saane/Sarine River, and bordered on the fourth by the quiet neighborhoods abutting the Boulevard de Pérolles, a main thorough fare leading out of the medieval Swiss burg of Fribourg, considered one of the most beautiful cities in the country.
With steep cobbled streets, immaculately preserved Gothic houses and numerous fountains, Fribourg is one of Switzerland's most attractive towns.
Set on a rocky peninsula within a bend of the River Sarine it was founded in 1157. The River Sarine which carves a path through the town, is the local defining line of the Röstigraben: Fribourg is split roughly 70:30 between French Swiss, who call their town "free-boor" and are a majority on the western bank, and German Swiss to whom the place is "fry-borg" and who form a majority on the eastern bank. Some old-timers still use the ancient Bolze dialect, a mixture of French and German which can still be heard at the taverns of the Basse-Ville (Lower Town).

The Villa campus was perched on a flat, wooded plateau, nestled in an elbow high above the Sarine River, which over the eons had carved the bluff's curling cliffs. At its edges, in the woods beyond the unmarked perimeter of the campus, the plateau, gives way to those cliffs which fall 200 feet to the winding Saane/Sarine River below.

The five Villa Saint Jean buildings were: Gallia, Bossuet, Sapiniere, Ormes, St-Jean and an outdoor sports pavillon made in wood.

From 1903 to 1962 the Villa remained essentially a Collège Français preparing students for a French Baccalaureate degree.

The Brothers of Mary or Marianists who were to run the Villa from 1903 until its closing in 1970, were a religious body of men dedicated towards education.
The Marianists, for more than a century, had accumulated a store of experience in the education of youth in various countries of the world.
Core to the Marianist Brother's belief is the importance of educating "The Whole Man" with classroom training augmented by co-curricular and extra-curricular activities which cumulatively educate and nourish the mind, the body, and the soul.

Throughout the years the Marianist order at the Villa operated somewhat along the following manner:

The "Director" (sometimes called Head of Temporalities) was the the superior of the Marianist religious community and had authority within the life of the community, in all that concerned the daily life of religious prayer meetings for religious training, relationship with the major superiors.
For example for the 1963-1964 School Year, the Director was Brother Frank Klapp.
When the Villa was a Collège Français - the Director was formally known as "Monsieur le Directeur".
In actual fact the Director was more often known by his nickname :"LE TRONC".
This nickname was attached to the function, not to the man.
All the teachers knew the nickname, but they would never have mentionned it in front of a pupil.
When Jean Marie de Miscault arrived in October 1952, he was referred as "le nouveau Tronc" as opposed to 'l'ancien Tronc", for L'abbé Bernard.
It is a mystery when this nickname was applied for the first time or why it was applied - it was just there!
Sometimes a Director had a unique nickname, for example Jean Marie de Miscault was known by the nickname "Tartuffe".
(Editor's Note: Thank you to François Ronsin for this last bit of history on Le Tronc.)
The "Principal" (sometimes called Headmaster or Head of Education) was in charge of the College and had the academic authority in the governance of the school or college.
For example for the 1963-1964 School Year, the Principal was Brother Wilfrid Moran.
The "Priest" or "Chaplain" (sometimes called Head of Zeal or later called Head of Religious Life) was in charge of the spiritual, religious life of the local Marianist community and the students.
For example for the 1963-1964 School Year, the Chaplain was Father Charles Neumann.

For most of the years that the Villa was in operation, the "Director" and the "Principal / Headmaster" were one and the same person.

(LIST below compiled with assistance of:
Padre Antonio Gascón, S. M., Curia Generalizia dei Marianisti, Via Latina, Roma, ITALIA)

(Religious) DIRECTORS & Principals of Villa Saint-Jean: Fribourg (Suisse)

1903 - 1918: abbé François KIEFFER, S. M.
1918 -1921: abbé Joseph COULON, S. M.
1921 - 1922: abbé Francis Joseph BEAUMONT, S. M.
1923: Joseph LASSIAT, S. M.
1924 - 1927: abbé Francis Joseph BEAUMONT, S. M.
1928 - 1930: abbé Aloïse FREY, S. M.
1931 - 1935: abbé Pierre Alexis de COURTEN, S. M.
1936 - 1946: abbé Marcel EHRBURGER, S. M.
1946 - 1952: abbé Bernard PETER, S. M.
1952 - 1959: abbé Jean-Marie de MISCAULT, S. M.
1960 - 1962: abbé Joseph ANDLAUER, S. M.
1962 - 1963: Father Louis Blume S.M.
1963 - 1964 : Brother Frank Klapp S.M. (Director) (Brother Wilfred Moran S.M. (Principal))
1964 - 1965: Brother Gerard Busch S.M. (Director) (Brother Wilfred Moran S.M. (Principal))
1966 - 1970: Brother Wilfrid Moran, S. M.

The Villa St.-Jean Collège Français was attended by many famous alumni including the recently abdicated King Juan Carlos I of Spain and The Little Prince author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry amongst others.

In early 1962, following a request from the Pope, the French Marianists were recalled to allow the church's efforts in Africa's missionary lands as well as serving the church's college facilities in metropolitan France. ( Another more controversial explanation for the change from the Collège Français to "American Villa" was that the "French" Villa in fact closed and its administration, faculty and students departed -- some say as a result of the policies of the "Magnificent Toad" [the name given by students and staff to the last French Villa director] and/or more money could be earned from American / International students pursuing an American College Preparatory curriculum. Whether this more controverserial explanation is true or not, clearly there are many bitter former "French" Villa faculty and students.)

Accordingly the Superior General of the Marianist Brothers transitioned Villa St. Jean to an English "International School" (focused on the American College Preparatory curriculum for boys in the Junior and Senior High School - grades 7 to 12).

In so doing the church addressed another problem, that of English speaking families living in Switzerland (and the rest of Europe for that matter) who could find no Catholic High School in country. The American Marianists, along with a few lay instructors, took over allowing the French Marianists to be repatriated.

The principal year of transition from French to the United States style curriculum was 1962.
Rev. Fr. Louis J. Blume become in 1962 the first headmaster of Villa St Jean International School for the 1962-1963 school term.
Brother Wilfrid P. Moran would follow in 1963 as headmaster (Principal) until the Villa's closing in 1970.

Villa St Jean, under the guidance of the Marianist brothers and priests who founded and administered it, was remarkable among elite Swiss boarding schools for its ability to reinvent itself as required by changing times.
Before the Second World War the school was distinctly Gallic in character, a pensionnat (boarding school) educating mostly French aristocrats, many of whom today recall its sometimes strict ascetism.
In the decades after the War, Villa St Jean was transformed, and by a decade and a half after the war's end the school had become a metropolitan international institution, teaching principally a U.S. high school curriculum to a student body gathered from Europe, the Americas, the Near and Far East, and conferring on its graduates either a U.S. high school diploma or a Swiss or French baccalaureate degree, as appropriate to the individual student.

During its incarnation as an international school, although nominally a Catholic institution, the Marianists administering Villa St Jean hired lay faculty and staff without reference to religious affiliation, and admitted students on the same basis.
Consequently, the student body was a diverse religious mix of Catholics and Protestants, Muslims and Buddhists, consistent with its international character.

Historical 265 Bossuet and Chapel/Dining Room at Villa Saint Jean School

delCampe Auctions Photo 263 of Historical SUISSE FRIBOURG - Villa Saint Jean - Pavillons St Jean et des Ormes

delCampe Auctions Historical Photo of Fribourg - Villa Saint-Jean - Vue d'ensemble - Pavillons des la Sapinière , des Ormes , de St Jean , de la Chapelle - Année- 1910

delCampe Auctions Historical Photo of Fribourg - Villa Saint Jean - Sortie des Classes - Année- 1906

delCampe Auctions Historical Photo 1259 of Fribourg College Ecole Villa saint Jean Vue sur les pavillons Saint Jean et Des Ormes

delCampe Auctions Historical Photo 259 of Fribourg - Villa Saint Jean - Pavillon des Classes - Année- 1908

College Villa Saint Jean Superbe litho publicitaire du début du siècle
(non voyagé�but du siècle (non voyagée)
- Editions A Breger Frères à Paris

Yet, despite this ability to adapt and change, like so many other boarding schools in Switzerland at that time, Villa St Jean, the last all-boys boarding school in Switzerland, was ultimately unable to weather the changes of the late 1960s, and it closed its doors permanently in 1970.

Despite their architectural and historical significance, most of the campus buildings were razed in 1981, a travesty that would not have been permitted under more recently enacted Swiss architectural preservation laws.

Following the decision to demolish the Villa buildings in 1981, the only building that was left standing, apart from a wooden-roofed outdoor basketball pavilion, is Gallia Hall, which served as the principal classroom and laboratory building.

Now the former Villa St.-Jean land site is home of the Swiss lycée Collège St Croix.

Plaque Commemerating Antoine de Saint-Exupéry at Villa Saint Jean

M. l'abbé Kieffer and the Early Days of Villa Saint Jean.

Villa student Kevin DiPalma writes; "From Sion, Father Bernard Truffer S.M. sent us copes of his own papers "that gives an idea about the foundation of the Villa Saint Jean, and the spirit and intention of its founder, l'abbé Kieffer".
Kevin deserves full credit and recognition for compiling the material for this section on l'abbé Kieffer.

Villa student Stuart McClintock translated this material (from the 2 referenced books) from French. THANK YOU Stuart!

Father Truffer's thoughts on Father Kieffer's work, Education et Equilbre, (Education and Balance) includes a nice description of the Villa's early days.

Villa St. Jean A New School Based on Christian Inspiration

A. The setting: Let's visit the school and witness the work of the founder among students and teachers.

The opening of the new buildings was planned for 1903, but the evidence was clear: construction wouldn't be finished for the new school year beginning in October. We had to make do therefore with lodgings on the Rue de Morat, and it was only in 1904 that the school took possession of its lodgings, or rather of its "villas", because the three divisions within the school from youngest to oldest are housed in completely separate buildings, all of which are charming and beautifully maintained, looking like chalets, pouring over with flowers in the growing season.

It really was the school described by the founder in his book "Authority in the Family and at School" (from p. 247 on), a place where home life was recreated as closely as possible.
Without actually naming Villa Saint Jean, the author uses it as a model while describing the ideal dorm:
"I see a house, or rather a group of separate houses, situated among fields and forests like a nest in nature. We didn't consider building the fence first and then the buildings within the fence. Does one need to build a fence around a family home to prevent the children from escaping? Nothing separates the children from nature. There are real fields where dandelion flowers and daisies grow, not man-made playing fields laboriously maintained".

There are real woods not a planting of trees following a set plan that would carefully control shadows during periods of recreation. From first light, one can hear birds singing freely in nature. During the day strollers and workers walking in the woods don't have the impression of witnessing a drawbridge or a ditch built to separate the students from the outside world. Sequestration that is jealous of the outside world can dull instincts if it doesn't make them worse. Their sudden awakening upon leaving the school runs the risk of being overwhelming.

The playing fields are cut right into the ground without the walls that separate recreation areas from each other. Instead of similar buildings grouped closely together to facilitate services, there is a series of different, separate houses rather haphazardly placed which house a limited number of students so that each student can proudly state, "This is my dorm. I feel at home here". (from L'Autorite dans la famille et l'Ecole, 249)

B. Sports: The names of the dorms themselves reflect nature: the Firgrove (la Sapiniere), the Elms (les Ormes). During bad weather one can walk from one dorm to the other via a windowed arcade. And the playing fields: these are the real triumph of Villa St. Jean! Two soccer fields and seven tennis courts over which games of healthy camaraderie reign, games which charm passers-by. In bad weather students can pass the time playing billiards and other games. Older students can engage in sports even in bad weather thanks to a covered playground. In winter the neighboring woods with their gentle incline is the scene of dramatic sleigh and luge runs. Villa St. Jean has a wealth of choices when it comes to taking longer walks.

During the games themselves the teachers and the director usually limit themselves to observing and advising. The teams are organized by the students themselves, and they choose their own captains. Time devoted to these activities is no greater than at other schools, but they are so well organized that the students maximize the time spent on them.

As one might expect, critics of Villa St. Jean exist. They think that so much time is devoted to sports that it is to the detriment of scholastic achievement. Success on state tests and the continuous rise in student enrollment are proofs in themselves of the school's achievement. The students themselves, wounded by unjustified criticism, defend their school and their teachers. The director finds in sport more than relaxation and health. Sports are a way to learn discipline, a sometimes painful learning experience, and a way to soften one's character.

Father Kieffer took part in sports, playing soccer with the students when his health allowed. He would play tennis after lunch, if the doctor thought soccer too strenuous for his heart. Later, he would limit himself to billiards for relaxation.

We will have occasion to return to his idea of the place of sports as part of his idea of being active.

C. A plan based on trust: Let's stop to admire one characteristic of Villa St. Jean that makes it special: its system of trust between teachers and students that makes the school like a large family.

In Father Kieffer's first circular to his superiors, he paid hommage to his predecessors. "Father Simler, he said, was my guide and inspiration as well as my support thirty years ago when Villa St. Jean was founded. The guiding principles which he left me then were education based on trust, trust based on conscience. I will also be mindful of the words he used in his last days to a colleague : Tell my successor when he is named that I admonish him to be good. Let him keep intact the treasure of good Father Chaminade and have the Constitution observed without fault. Let him be good.'"

Notice from the beginning that Father Kieffer was a participant. He believed in affability and maintaining his presence as his operating philosophy. He was the father of his large family and even more often the mother. His presence wasn't intrusive, and the students knew that he neither distrusted them nor tried to catch them up to no good. Traps, lies, hypocrisy, and suspicion were all unknown at the Villa. If a student was scolded, he didn't go to bed that night without first shaking hands with the teacher who had punished him.

Direct and clear looks spoke manifoldly of mutual trust. In "la Sapiniere" dorm, especially deserving students had the privilege of a private room, ending potentially at the end of the month if conduct left something to be desired. One day Father Kieffer said to one of these privileged students who needed to be punished, "I have to withdraw my trust in you." The guilty student made a superhuman effort to maintain the director's trust and never had to be admonished again.

This attachment of the students to their director made possible both his influence and the realization of the goals of the school. During the jubilee celebration of the school's founding, Father Kieffer in his well-known bonhomie tied together the hopes of the "new" school and the reality of Villa St. Jean.

"It wasn't I and it wasn't your teachers who founded your alumni association. It was you yourselves, thus indicating that one continues to be from Villa St. Jean even after leaving and that one's departure is not a separation and is not definitive.
In a recent work, a pedagogue from Geneva, after proposing the latest thing ended by saying that maybe someday students would not hate the school of the youth. If this pedagogue had made the trip from Geneva to Fribourg, he would have found in the present and even in the past of St. Jean, men and children who not only did not hate the school of their youth but loved it, a little like the core of their being."

Villa St. Jean students were proud of their school. Returning for the new school year, a mother accompanying her son was seen being questioned by a traveler who had recognized the school uniform. "Madame, is your son a student at Villa St. Jean?" The young man intervened by saying. "I have that honor, sir."

Tears and depression were unknown at the Villa when school began each year. Students left one family to find another. Returning students came willingly to this picturesque setting of the Villa where the welcome was so inviting and where they felt loved, where they could soothe their hearts because of encouragement from friends and teachers. These students plunged whole-heartedly into games, and one could enjoy the unusual sight of a father playing on his son's team, all umpired by the director himself.

The first alumni association reunion was held September 27,1910. Every year during Pentecost, students from all over France and neighboring countries descended on Fribourg as if going to a party. It was good to revisit the setting of one's best years and to experience the director's welcoming smile, his youthful spirit, and his big heart. It was also good to see one's former teachers who were friends.

At the twenty-fifth anniversary of the association, there was a brilliantly successful celebration attended by a large group of alumni: banquet, speeches, a parade across town, nothing was left out, not even a plane whose acrobatics accompanied the parade and which sent greetings of a most gracious sort to the alumni.

An alumnus highlighted this feeling of family spirit which was like a spell during his years at the school. "In order to maintain the tight relation between formal schooling and our overall education, the teachers themselves oversaw the students' studies without the intervention of any special monitors. They mixed among themselves and helped create this family spirit so beloved by the director through their conversation and their spirit. Because of this continual interaction and the constant emphasis on conscience, loyalty, and honor, students were given extraordinary freedom, which once would have been considered excessive, to maximize the good coming from the development of character and the feeling of duty."

D. Social education-academics. As we will see later on, Father Kieffer was interested in social education during his whole career. He tried to form men for the reality of everyday life, men who were energetic and with strong characters who could devote themselves wholeheartedly to the noble causes to which they would be drawn.

Two parts of the school's program addressed these goals directly: gatherings devoted to Mary (Translator's note: this is my translation of "les congr�gations mariales " which is an organization whose English equivalent is unknown to me. Later I call this group "The Society of Mary") and a sodality club for those in their last years at the school.

The importance of sports in no way overshadowed that of serious intellectual work. Another alumnus shared this testimony regarding his beloved Villa. "None of my former classmates would disagree with me when I say that we worked as hard at the Villa as at any school in France. Even the lazy were obliged to work hard so as not to be rejected by the wave in which they were caught up". The school followed a university curriculum which Father Kieffer modified where he saw fit.

A solid background in literature, topped off by the study of philosophy, always held pride of place at Villa St. Jean. When necessary, Father Kieffer would react against too technical an education. France needed good judges, faithful doctors and men of letters, all of whom should be inspired by thinking of a higher order. The sciences were however not neglected. Far from it! From the start, laboratories and scientific displays were carefully organized. Thanks to those with special talent in the field, both theoretical study and its practical applications in the lab were always kept at a high level.

E. Ties to alumni. During World War I, Villa St. Jean remained open thanks to the director's efforts. Despite the threat of invasion and the obstacle of closed borders, families remained loyal. There was even an overflow of students. A good number of alumni were fighting at the front, and Father Kieffer would comfort them by sending letters that kept up their courage and lifted their hearts.

At the same time he continued his work in education. There were other steps the school took to assure the union of all hearts into the Villa St. Jean family. From 1908 on, les Souvenirs, a kind of yearbook, came out and was given to present students and sent to alumni. Each year's edition captured the day to day events of the school year.

Clubs like the Society of Mary (translator's note: "les congragations mariales" in the original), the Sodality Club, and the Academy of St. Jean as well as the sports teams all submitted a report of their activities to les Souvenirs. School news and prizes rounded out the contents, but the director's address was the piece de resistance, always anticipated and read lovingly.

It was the voice of the father and the friend who was talking to his sons. As he said in his own words, "he could not help but affectionately follow the various paths which they pursued." He spoke about the school's motto, "De toute son Ame." He highlighted the projects undertaken by the students during the school year and gave guidelines for the summer. Nobody was forgotten. There was something for the soft, the selfish, the mockers, the unruly, the lazy, the snobs, the timid, those obsessed with routine, the troubled; that is, something for everybody, something for each to recognize in himself. Sometimes the director's address developed an idea, sometimes he supplied a subject on which each student could meditate during vacation.
These are Father Truffer's notes on the book by l'abbé François Kieffer ; Authority in the Family and at School; Editions Beauchesnes: Paris, 1917.) Nice thoughts about the purpose of education.

François Kieffer, Marianist Priest - Founder of Villa St. Jean in 1904 in the Perolles section of Fribourg.

The Founder's Guiding Principles
- He who orders should have the feeling that he belongs to a whole, that his interests harmonize with those of the whole; he should empathize with the whole and only impose his will in order to be of service.
- Mastery of oneself: Complete mastery of oneself enables one to lead others.
- A child cannot be understood in the same way a book can be: in order to know him, one must live his life, empathize constantly with him, and, because of this empathy, one can feel what he feels, experience his moods, guess where he's heading.
- Respect the child: we always owe him the truth, although we don't have to tell him all of the truth; it's a question of tact and discretion.
- Love the child: One must love children as they want to be loved; one must love them for what they themselves want to, can, and should become, and not only for what the Holy Spirit wants for them. If the child hates the school because to him it is a box, one has to find a way to make the school so it is least like one. One must make the school into a welcoming home where the child can quickly feel at home. One must avoid "industrializing" the school; that is, one must avoid organizing it around the principle of housing the greatest number of students at the least cost.
- The sense of responsibility: Each child would like to be a young man and each young man would like to be treated like a man. One gradually learns to take seriously their nascent aspirations and to treat them as if they are what they want to be.
- The spirit of initiative: it is the educator's responsibility to find a way to give birth to and foster the potential of the child; to develop strength and perseverance, decisiveness and clearness of vision, audacity and healthy originality. To do this, children must be exposed to numerous varied opportunities.

Villa Saint-Jean International School WEB REFERENCES

Business Cards for Louis Blue and Wilfrid Moran

There are still a number of "live" web sites on the internet which reference Villa Saint Jean in one way or another including:

Wikepedia Villa St. Jean International School Comment: most of Wikepedia Citation links are broken.
Facebook About Villa St. Jean International School Mostly a copy of Wikepedia information
and also
Villa St. Jean - Collège Français & Int'l School
The Villa St. Jean blog project by a Group called "The Young Grasshoppers" (identity unknown since link is broken). There are actually a number of pages here and it is not apparant (at least to me) how to navigate from one page to the next. Therefore, I have included web hyperlinks to each of the separate pages below. (also included are archived images of each of the Blog pages that can also be accessed by clicking on the hyperlink)
1. Page 1 The Villa St. Jean blog project : Topics: Dedication.....
  CLICK hyperlink which follows for an archived copy of Page 1 of Villa blog
2. Page 2 of Villa BLOG: Topics: Lawler and the Dark Continent; Di Palma in the Middle Kingdom....; The MacIntyre-Dorrance legacy....; Jean Remy speaks!; Notre ancien "super-star" .......; Keeping watch on Saint-Exupéry; Brian Lawler: half-man, half-beast!; Reunion Fougerolles!; Gallia stands alone .....; 50 years ago at the Villa......;
  CLICK hyperlink which follows for an archived copy of Page 2 of Villa blog
3. Page 3 of Villa BLOG :Topics: Old VSJ yearbooks preserved; Celebrating Saint-Exupéry in Paris.....; A chance encounter in Maui..; Where are they now? Tom Booth, vsj '68; Gallia 1959....; 1967 classmates reunite......; 40-year mark for vsj class of '69; 1920 & 1921 yearbooks resurface..; Rick Walker surfaces ......; Catching up with Rio Helmi
  CLICK hyperlink which follows for an archived copy of Page 3 of Villa blog
4. Page 4 of Villa BLOG :Topics: Staying current with Fribourg ....; A small reunion in Seattle....; "premier redacteur," .... circa 1959-60; The villa, winter of 1952; Of kings and sport ....; The Willy Boom reunion tour!; Frederick Martin found... ; reunion anciens 2009!; The villa community, Google & Mr. Obama.....; Update Reunion anciens 2009;
  CLICK hyperlink which follows for an archived copy of Page 4 of Villa blog
5. Page 5 of Villa BLOG :Topics: Checking in with Humberto Adrianza .....; The mind reels .....; Boschert speaks!; Turning back the clock..; Fribourg, the music video ......; Mike Litton, 40 years after his vsj graduation ....; The Swiss and the president-elect .....; A curious excerpt from Villa history .........; Remembering Scott Wilson, Fribourg 1967; From French to English - new evidence!; CLICK hyperlink which follows for an archived copy of Page 5 of Villa blog
6. Page 6 of Villa BLOG :Topics: The Villa during the war ......; Guillermo Villa Fort (vsj '68) ties the knot ....; Lawler, titan from class of '68, races the Alps .....; VSJ alumni tour the American West.....; Dorrance elected to Hall of Fame; Mr. Di Palma's curious business in China; VSJ web-master wanted!; New York Times on the Saint-Exupéry mystery..; À la recherche du temps perdu ....; New revelations on the disappearance of Saint-Exupéry!
  CLICK hyperlink which follows for an archived copy of Page 6 of Villa blog
7. Page 7 of Villa BLOG :Topics: Extra!! : Saint Exupéry: avion abattu par un Allemand! (St. Ex's plane shot down by a German); VSJ's Dorrance named to Soccer Hall of Fame; Another review: Vie et mort du Petit Prince; The true history of the Little Prince (.. via Mr. Remy); The curious Villa postcard on ebay ....; Honoring the discoverer of Saint-Exupery's plane .....; Hail to the king ....; Lawler, Childs (vsj '68) defy age, race across Alps; Di Palma in China ....; More from the Lapoutroie reunion ....;
  CLICK hyperlink which follows for an archived copy of Page 7 of Villa blog
8. Page 8 of Villa BLOG :Topics: The digital Villa ....; Why we stay in touch ....; Update! Technical difficulties at vsj site repaired!; Follow in the steps of Saint-Exupéry ......; Remembering Saint-Exupéry; 1947 parade de l'armée Suisse; Plus d'images d'Internet! (Another villa site!); Plus d'images des étudiants!; Ormes, circa: 1961-62; Nouveau Saint-Exupéry !!!;
  CLICK hyperlink which follows for an archived copy of Page 8 of Villa blog
9. Page 9 of Villa BLOG :Topics: Rapport de la Réunion!; Se rappeler de vieux amis; La réunion de septembre! Dans les images!; September reunion - an update!; Attention! Réunion de septembre; What's Kevin DiPalma doing in China?; Catching up with Cliff Thompson, vsj '67; Video of Fribourg!; The villa from space..; David Brown, part II;
  CLICK hyperlink which follows for an archived copy of Page 9 of Villa blog
10. Page 10 of Villa BLOG :Topics: David Brown, 1951-2007; Rex Harrison & friends......; A glimpse from the Villa's first decades ....; Villa graduates, 1931; Update: Cyril Boschert since the villa ......; Cyril Boschert on the end of the Villa ......; Saint-Exupery & Mr. McClintock, VSJ '70; The Villa in color ....; More from Steve Boom .....; The end of the villa .....;
  CLICK hyperlink which follows for an archived copy of Page 10 of Villa blog
11. Page 11 of Villa BLOG :Topics: Update: Steve Boom, 67-68; Update: J. Akers, Villa, class of 1969.; Villa Vox Populi....... (Steve MacIntyre); Material Support Committee II ...... & T. Brew (class 69) update; the VSJ links collective .....; Rue de Botzet revisited ....; Vox Tips & Tricks;
  CLICK hyperlink which follows for an archived copy of Page 11 of Villa blog
Villa Saint Jean blog de François RONSIN (Ancien élève de 1948 à 1956)
Classmates Villa St. Jean International High School Fribourg
FLICKR Villa PHOTOS "réunion de Lapoutroie des 2-4 septembre 2007"
My Study Room page 7297627 has some brief comments about VSJ
Villa Saint Jean - Collège français et international (François RONSIN's blog - scroll a bit more than half way down web page)
YOU TUBE: Villa St-Jean Fribourg with Moving Image Archive by Serge de Muller April 2012
YOU TUBE: La Villa Saint-Jean Gallia Fribourg by Serge de Muller March 31, 2012
YOU TUBE: La Villa Saint-Jean Gallia Fribourg March 2012
Radio Villa St Jean
Brother TERRENCE O'CONNOR Obituary
Brother Gerald Busch Obituary
Brother Wilfrid MORAN Obituary
Brother Frank Klapp Obituary
Father Charles Neumann Obituary
Father John Gorman Obituary
Brother Otto Wirth Obituary
Brother Roy Murgia Obituary
Mr. Thomas Patrick Dunleavy Obituary
Brother John G. Rechtien Obituary
Villa Student and Proctor Eric Emanuel Bergquist Obituary
Villa Student Gridley Barstow Strong Obituary
The Marianist Family Necrologium S.M.
In list 10-1 : Wilfrid MORAN, 1908-1997, San Antonio, 89 , Assistens Generalis
On page ID=98: Frank KLAPP, 1923-1977, Galesville, 54

Historical Villa Saint Jean School Photos / Images

Historical PHOTO bottom right to left Gallia Hall Bossuet Chapel St Jean Ormes Sapiniere for Villa Saint Jean School

Historical PHOTO bottom right to left Bossuet Chapel St Jean Ormes Sapiniere for Villa Saint Jean School

PHOTO Villa St-Jean Fribourg, Pavillon St-Jean et Pavillon des Ormes, circulée 1906

PHOTO Villa Saint Jean College Fribourg 1906

PHOTO Villa Saint Jean College Fribourg 1907

POSTCARD of College Villa St-Jean Villa Gallia

PHOTO College Villa St-Jean Fribourg Pavillons St-Jean et des Ormes 1909

PHOTO College Villa St-Jean Fribourg Pavillons St-Jean et des Ormes 1909

PHOTO Villa Saint Jean - Pavillons St Jean et des Ormes

PHOTO College Villa Saint-Jean Fribourg - Vue d'ensemble - 1910
Pavillons des la Sapinière, des Ormes, de St Jean, de la Chapelle, Bossuet

PHOTO Villa Saint Jean FRIBOURG Suisse- Vue générale

PHOTO Villa St-Jean - College Jeunes gens - Fribourg

PHOTO College Villa St-Jean Fribourg Tournoi de Foot-Ball (aka Soccor) 1912

PHOTO Historical Villa Saint Jean College Fribourg Pavillons des Ormes et de la Sapinière 1912

PHOTO VILLA St-JEAN - Une chute de neige de 70 cm (1924)

PHOTO Villa Saint Jean School circa 1925

PHOTO VILLA ST JEAN College Fribourg 1928

PHOTO College Villa St-Jean Match Football 1930

PHOTO VILLA ST JEAN College - un tennis carte poste de fribourg le 24 Mars 1934

PHOTO Villa Saint Jean FRIBOURG - Salle de Gymnastique et Des Séances

PHOTO Villa Saint Jean FRIBOURG - - Chapelle Pavillons St Jean et des Ormes

PHOTO Villa Saint Jean - Pavillons des Ormes et De La Sapiniere

PHOTO FRIBOURG Villa St. Jean - Winter

PHOTO Villa St. Jean - Pavillons St Jean et des Ormes

PHOTO Villa Saint Jean Pavillon des Classes animées CPA année 1937

PHOTO VILLA ST JEAN FRIBOURG circa 1947

PHOTO Villa Saint-Jean School Fribourg Switzerland
Bossuet and La Chapelle

PHOTO La Villa Saint-Jean circa 1947

PHOTO Villa Saint Jean - Vue Prise De La Route de Marly

PHOTO Villa Saint Jean FRIBOURG - Dessous de Bois

PHOTO Villa Saint Jean FRIBOURG - Pavillon de Classes

PHOTO Fribourg, Villa St-Jean, Deux pavillons d'eleves Les Ormes et La Sapiniere 1905

PHOTO Historical Villa Saint Jean College dessous de bois

PHOTO Villa Saint Jean College PAVILLONS DES ORMES ET DE LA SAPINIERE

PHOTO of Postcard Fribourg, College Villa St-Jean, Vue d' Ensemble,
Pavillons de la Sapinière, des Ormes, de St-Jean, de la Chapelle

PHOTO of Postcard Fribourg, College Villa St-Jean, Pavillon des Classes, animée

PHOTO Historical College Villa St-Jean Chapelle Cachet 1917

PHOTO Historical College Villa St-Jean LA CHAPELLE

delCampe Auctions Historical Photo of Fribourg College Ecole Villa Saint Jean Vue interieure de la Chapelle

Historical Chappel of Villa Saint Jean School

PHOTO Historical SUISSE-Canton de FRIBOURG College Villa St-Jean
d�Enseignement second du Collège cantonal de Fribourg-Chapelle

PHOTO Historical SUISSE College Villa St-Jean LA CHAPELLE LES ORGUES

PHOTO Villa St.Jean Collège Cantonal de Fribourg La Chimie

PHOTO Villa St.Jean Collège Cantonal de Fribourg La Chimie 2

PHOTO Villa Saint Jean FRIBOURG - Une Salle d' Etude

PHOTO VILLA ST JEAN College SUISSE SALLE D'ETUDE DES GRANDS

PHOTO Villa Saint Jean FRIBOURG - Un Dortoir

PHOTO VILLA ST JEAN College Fribourg Dormatory

PHOTO Villa Saint Jean FRIBOURG - Une Salle de Récréation - Jeu de Billard

PHOTO Villa Saint Jean FRIBOURG - Une Salle de Récréation - JEUX D'ADRESSE BILLARD SPORT

PHOTO UN RÉFECTOIRE VILLA ST JEAN College Cantonal de Fribourg

PHOTO UN RÉFECTOIRE VILLA ST JEAN College Cantonal de Fribourg

PHOTO VILLA ST JEAN College Salle de Bains Circa 1906

PHOTO VILLA ST JEAN Dortoir et Salle à Manager Circa 1906

PHOTO Villa Saint Jean Parloir Ancien collège des années 1950 1960

PHOTO MEDOR le gardien de nuit Villa St Jean College Cantonal de Fribourg

PHOTO Villa St. Jean Front Entrance PHOTO courtesy William Bloom

PHOTO Villa St Jean Sapiniere PHOTO courtesy William Bloom

PHOTO Villa St. Jean View From Sorts Field PHOTO courtesy Vincent Farage

PHOTO Villa St Jean Outdoor Basketball Court Adjacent to Sapiniere

Historical Photo of front cover of Villa Saint Jean School 1913 yearbook

Historical Photo of front cover of Villa Saint Jean School 1919 yearbook

Historical Photo of front cover of Villa Saint Jean School 1920 yearbook

Historical Photo of front cover of Villa Saint Jean School 1921 yearbook

Aerial PHOTO of Villa Saint Jean International School next to Fribourg's Sarine River

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