Memorial of Saint Joseph Calasanz, Priest
Meet the saint who founded the first free and accessible school for everyone. And in it he introduced such novelties as: division into classes, a lesson register, cloakrooms, refectory ... Sounds familiar?
Joseph Calasanz was born on September 11, 1556 or 1557 in Spanish Aragon. He came from a noble lineage of lords on Calasanz. He studied in the city of Estadila and Lerida and in Valencia. He was ordained a priest in December 1583 and became secretary of Bishop Gaspar Juan de la Figuera. In 1592 he goes on a pilgrimage to Rome. In Trastevere, one of the districts of Rome, he met the poor and marginalized children, deprived of any form of education, illiterate with no chance of better life prospects in adulthood. He decided to educate them. In 1597, he established the first public school in Europe where tuition is not charged. This school is attended by both poor children and from well-off families. In 1617, Joseph Calasanz and his associates founded a religious community to carry out an expanding work called the Order of Poor Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools (Latin: Ordo Clericorum Regularium pauperum Matris Dei Scholarum Piarum, abbreviated SchP). The common name of the Piarists order comes from the word "pius".
The primary goal of the school was good education and preparation for adult life. The slogan of Piarist schools was "Pietas et Litterae" - "Piety and Education"
Saint Joseph Calasanz work was innovative for those times. There was no institution dedicated to educating children or adolescents. The idea of universal teaching is due to St. Calasanz. He required that teaching should take place not only verbally but also with the whole attitude of the teacher: "Pity you, who instruct others with words and scandal by example". The task of the Piarists school was to educate children both in Christian piety and in human knowledge, thereby reforming the Christian community, and man's temporal and eternal happiness.
The guidelines followed by the Piarists school stem from the traditions and fundamental ideas of Piarists pedagogy. Briefly, they are as follows:
- understanding the Gospel as the basic norm and reference point for the entire educational process;
- Christian vision of man;
- the concept of integral teaching and upbringing;
- concern for the religious education of the student with respect of freedom;
- care for a high level of education;
- understanding the school as a community;
- the need for the school to cooperate with parents and vice versa;
- ensuring the safety of the student.
A novelty for those times was teaching in the national language, as so far teaching was dominated by Latin. Classes were held in the morning for two and a half hours and the same time in the afternoon.
Teaching began with a longer prayer and short prayers were said during the classes. The afternoon classes ended with a service in the church. Throughout the day, the Blessed Sacrament was exposed in the church, before which the students prayed under the guidance of a priest, changing every half hour. Corporal punishment was forbidden at school, and teaching was based on showing students heart and patience instead of coercion. A strong emphasis was placed on the sacrament of penance because it forces a person to reflect on himself, regret his faults and improve later in life.
The spirituality of Saint Joseph Calasanz was imbued with devotion and reverence to the Mother of God. In the congregation, he took the name of Joseph from the Mother of God and dedicated his work to her and by placing Mary’s name in the name of the congregation. The coat of arms of the Order also abbreviates Latin and Greek letters the name for Mary-Mother of God with a crown and a cross. He wrote to the religious: "Strive to be a worshiper of the Blessed Virgin and follow, whenever possible, the passion of our Lord." Saint Joseph Calasanz especially cared for and emphasized the practice of the rosary among the monks, which he did not abandon until his death. He himself had prayed this prayer since he was a child and ordered the Piarists to say it every day. He gave his confreres a medal with Mary, recommended singing five psalms to her daily, celebrating seven feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary during the year, and composed the Chaplet of Twelve Stars - a prayer praising the Immaculate Conception and Assumption of the Mother of God (three centuries before the dogmas were announced).
Saint Joseph Calasanz himself described the mission he undertook: “I have already found, here in Rome, a way to follow God; serving children and youth. And I won't leave it for anything in the world. At the time of its inception, the school had about 100 students, soon it was already 700 to reach 1,200 students around 1620. The idea of Piarist schools spread rapidly in Europe. The monks were invited to create and run institutions in Italy, Moravia, Poland, Spain and Germany.
Such a great work caused envy among the other Piarists and Saint Joseph Calasanz and his assistants were arrested by the Inquisition. After a few days they were released but deprived of their offices and the order reduced to a congregation without vows and under the authority of the local bishops. Calasanz submitted himself to this with humility and patience. He died on August 25, 1648 at the age of 92, and it was not until 1669 that Pope Clement IX restored the Piarists' form of an order and privileges. Joseph Calasanz was blessed in 1748 and declared a saint in 1767. His relics are in Rome in the Church of St. Pantaleon.
Finally, let us say that our hero, when he was dying, he repeated the words of Job: “The Lord has given and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. "
Until Tomorrow
fr. george