Piarists

The Piarists, officially the Order of Poor Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools, are a Catholic religious order and the oldest religious order dedicated to education, founded in 1617 by the Spanish priest Joseph Calasanz to teach children and youth, with particular emphasis on providing free education to poor children. Calasanz, born in 1557 in Aragon, opened the first free public school in Europe at Santa Dorotea in 1597, organized a brotherhood in Rome in 1607, and formally established the congregation on 25 March 1617, when he and fourteen other priests received their religious habits; the order received papal approval in 1621. Beyond the traditional vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, the Piarists added a fourth vow dedicating members to the Christian education of disadvantaged youth. As of 2020 the order had about 1,356 members, including 945 priests, operating across 36 countries on five continents.