Saint Joseph Calasanz

Joseph Calasanz was born in 1557 at Peralta de la Sal, in Aragon, Spain. He studied in Lérida, Valencia and Alcalá and was ordained a priest in 1583. After serving in several Spanish dioceses, he went to Rome in 1592, where he was deeply moved by the many poor children roaming the streets of Trastevere with no schooling and no future.

In 1597 he opened a free school in rooms of the parish of Santa Dorotea, often considered the first free public school in Europe. He then founded the Order of Poor Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools, known as the Piarists or Escolapios, dedicated to teaching both letters and piety. In old age, amid false accusations, he saw his order suppressed in 1646, yet remained obedient and serene. He died in Rome on August 25, 1648, at about ninety. The order was later restored; he was canonized in 1767, and in 1948 Pius XII named him patron of Christian popular schools.

Piarist schools in Spain, Latin America and the United States celebrate their founder with Masses, school festivals and sports days. He is especially loved in Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and Venezuela, where many Escolapios schools are found.

Teachers often entrust the new school year to his intercession.