St. Joseph Calasanz (1557–1648) was a Spanish priest who, moved by the poor children running wild in the streets of Rome, opened in 1597 what is considered the first free public school in Europe, and founded the Piarists, the Order of the Pious Schools, to educate poor children in “piety and letters.” He suffered calumny, betrayal and the suppression of his order in his old age, bearing it with heroic patience. Pope Pius XII named him patron of all Christian schools in 1948. His feast day is August 25. Below are his story, the prayer of his feast and prayers for schools, teachers and students.
A short prayer to St. Joseph Calasanz, written for this page:
St. Joseph Calasanz, you saw Christ in the poorest children and gave them a school.
Pray for teachers and students, for schools that serve the poor,
and for every child who cannot go to school. Amen.
Who was St. Joseph Calasanz?
José de Calasanz was born on September 11, 1557, at Peralta de la Sal, in Aragon, Spain, the youngest of eight children of a noble family. Against his father’s wishes he studied for the priesthood, earning doctorates in law and theology, and was ordained in 1583. After serving as vicar general in several Spanish dioceses, he went to Rome in 1592, hoping for a position in the Church.
In the poor district of Trastevere he was struck by the ignorance and misery of the children. In 1597 he opened a school in the sacristy of the church of Santa Dorotea, free to all, teaching reading, writing, arithmetic and the faith. The school grew rapidly, and in 1617 his teachers became a religious congregation, the Clerics Regular of the Pious Schools, the Piarists, who add to their vows a fourth vow to devote themselves to the education of the young. Calasanz was a friend and defender of Galileo and allowed his religious to study with him. In his last years ambitious members of his own order slandered him, he was removed as superior general and, in 1646, the order was reduced to a simple congregation. He died in Rome on August 25, 1648, at ninety, confident that God would restore his work; it was fully restored in 1669. He was canonized in 1767.
The prayer of his feast from the 1916 daily missal:
O God, who didst vouchsafe through thy holy Confessor Joseph to provide thy Church with the means of forming youth in intelligence and piety, grant, we beseech thee, that through his example and intercession we may so act and teach as to attain everlasting reward. Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God world without end. Amen.
Scripture
Jesus welcomes the little children (Matthew 19:14, Douay-Rheims):
But Jesus said to them: Suffer the little children, and forbid them not to come to me: for the kingdom of heaven is for such.
What is St. Joseph Calasanz the patron saint of?
- Christian schools, named by Pope Pius XII in 1948
- Teachers and students
- The Piarist Fathers and their schools
Feast day
The optional memorial of St. Joseph Calasanz, priest, is August 25, the day of his death, which he shares with St. Louis of France. Before 1969 it was kept on August 27.
Frequently asked questions
Who opened the first free public school in Europe?
St. Joseph Calasanz, in Rome, in 1597.
Who are the Piarists?
The Order of the Pious Schools, founded by St. Joseph Calasanz in 1617 to educate children, especially the poor.
When is his feast day?
August 25.
More saints
- Patron saint of teachers
- St. Angela Merici
- St. Thomas Aquinas prayer
- St. John Bosco prayer
- Catholic prayer for children
- Saint of the day
Texts and sources
- The Mass Every Day of the Year (1916), St. Joseph Calasanctius (August 27), Collect, public domain (archive.org).
- Matthew 19:14 (Douay-Rheims).