Figuera was sent as apostolic visitor to the Abbey of Montserrat and Calasanz accompanied him as his secretary. The bishop died the following year and Calasanz left, though urgently requested to remain. He hurried to Peralta de Calasanz, only to be present at the death of his father. He was then called by the Bishop of Urgel to act as vicar general for the district of Tremp. In Rome In 1592, at 35, Calasanz moved to Rome. He hoped to further his ecclesiastical career and secure some kind of benefice. He lived there for most of his remaining 56 years. In Rome, Calasanz found a protector in Cardinal Marcoantonio Colonna, who chose him as his theologian and charged him with the spiritual direction of the staff, once he managed to express himself in Italian. The city offered a splendid field for works of charity, especially for the instruction of neglected and homeless children, many of whom had lost their parents. He joined the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine and gathered the boys from the streets and brought them to school. The teachers, however, being poorly paid, refused to accept the additional labor without remuneration. The pastor of the Church of Santa Dorotea in Trastevere, Anthony Brendani, offered him two rooms just off of the parish sacristy and promised assistance in teaching, and when two other priests promised similar help, Calasanz, in 1597 (November 27th), opened the first free public school in Europe. On Christmas Day in 1598, the Tiber flooded to historic levels, reaching a height of nearly 20 m (65 ft) above its normal height. The devastation was widespread. Hundreds of the already poor families who lived along the river's banks were left homeless and without food. The death toll was estimated at about 2,000. Calasanz threw himself into the response, joining a religious fraternity dedicated to helping the poor, and began to help in the cleanup and recovery of the city. In 1600, he opened his “Pious School” in the center of Rome and soon there were extensions, in response to growing demands for enrollment from students. Pope Clement VIII gave an annual contribution and many others shared in the good work so that in a short time Calasanz had about 1,000 children under his charge. In 1602, he rented a house at Sant'Andrea della Valle, commenced a community life with his assistants, and laid the foundation of the