Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice (born 1 June 1762, died 11 a.m. 29 August 1844) was a Catholic educator who was Beatified by Pope John Paul II on 5 October 1997. Blessed Edmund is the founder of two orders of religious brothers: The Congregation of Christian Brothers and the Presentation Brothers.

Rice was born as a Catholic in Ireland at a time when they faced oppression at the hands of the English. He forged a successful career in business and, after the tragic accident which killed his wife and left his daughter disabled, he devoted his life to the service of the poor.

In the early days, when Edmund first began to attract followers to his way of life, they formed themselves into a small group of companions. They lived together in community, and began to follow an adaptation of the Presentation Sisters’ Rule.

The Holy See had already approved of this Rule when Edmund and his followers began to use their adaptation of it in 1809 to guide their first faltering steps along the path of religious life.

The granting of the Apostolic Brief in 1820, allowed the infant Congregation to become an Apostolic Institute - a defining moment for all of the early brothers. The majority accepted the Brief and went on to become the Congregation of Christian Brothers. Today there are Christian Brothers in 17 different countries.
A few Brothers, notably Michael Augustine Riordan, continued to live by the Presentation Rule. They continued as the Presentation Brothers and became an Apostolic Institute in 1889.