day he opened his first, free public school in 1597. See also Piarists Pious Workers of St. Joseph Calasanctius of the Mother of God, named after him Peter Fourier Alix Le Clerc References Sources Josep Domènech i Mira, Joseph Calasanz (1557–1648), "Prospects: Quarterly Review of Comparative Education. Paris, UNESCO, XXVII: 2, 327–39. "Calendarium Ordinis Scholarum Piarum. Rome, 2018. External links The Piarist Fathers' General Curia Official Website Statue of St Joseph Calasanctius in St Peter's Basilica Lives of the Saints: August 27 – St Joseph Calasanctius Catholic Encyclopedia: Clerks Regular of the Pious Schools "St. Joseph Calasanz", Saint of the Day, American Catholic Giner-Guerri Sch.P., Severino. Saint Joseph Calasanz,(translated by Father Salvador Cudinach, Sch.P.) published by the Argentinian Province of the Piarist Fathers in India, 1993 Founder Statue in St Peter's Basilica 1557 births 1648 deaths People from La Litera University of Lleida alumni 16th-century Spanish Roman Catholic priests 17th-century Spanish Roman Catholic priests Clergy from Rome Spanish expatriates in Italy Heads of schools in Italy Italian educational theorists Founders of Catholic religious communities Piarist saints 16th-century Christian saints 17th-century Christian saints Spanish Roman Catholic saints Superiors General of the Piarist Order Venerated Catholics Canonizations by Pope Clement XIII Beatifications by Pope Benedict XIV