of Ponce was canonically established on 26 November 1960. The Piarists opened a community in San Juan in 1966. Meanwhile, the Piarists from Spain began establishing communities throughout Central and South America, establishing vice-provinces in Colombia (1956), Brasil (1958), Central America (1960), Chile (1960), and Venezuela (1960). The first Piarist Province in the Americas was established in 1964 in Argentina, which was followed by the establishment of the Piarist Province of the United States (1975) and Mexico (1990). The Piarists established a presence in Bolivia in 1992, which became a Vicariate in 2007. In 2017, the Piarists opened a House in Peru. The Piarists established their first school in the United States in New Orleans in the early 20th century, but it did not last long. They would try again in New Orleans in 1963, but after one year they departed. It would not be until the beginning of World War II that they would succeed in establishing a foundation in the United States. In the summer of 1940, a Spanish Piarist, Fr. Enrique Pobla went to Los Angeles to examine the possibilities for a foundation. In October 1944, Archbishop John Cantwell of Los Angeles offered the Piarists the care of St. Martha Parish in Vernon, and Fr. Pobla celebrated his first Mass at the parish on the Saturday before the Solemnity of Christ the King. In May 1947, the Piarists were offered the care of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Pasadena, and in 1951, the Archbishop entrusted to them Mary Help of Christians Parish in east Los Angeles. The rectory was too small, so in 1953, they purchased a house near the parish for $15,500. It was the first property owned by the Piarists in California. In 1955, Fr. Angel Torra became the first Piarist assigned to teach at a diocesan high school. In 1960, Cardinal McIntyre entrusted them with St. Bernard High School in Playa del Rey. Following the second world war, Piarists from eastern Europe were sent to the United States, with the first four arriving in Los Angeles in 1949, but the archbishop said that he did not have work for them to do since they could not speak English well. Meanwhile, Bishop John O'Hara of Buffalo was contacted by two different Piarists and said that he would welcome the Piarists into his diocese. Father Joseph Batori arrived in New York City on 16 June