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The birth of Joseph of Calasanz

Peralta de Calasanz, La Litera, Huesca

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The birth of Joseph of Calasanz

Historical milestone · Peralta de Calasanz, La Litera, Huesca

In Peralta de la Sal, today part of the municipality of Peralta de Calasanz, José de Calasanz Gastón was born on the 11th of September 1557, a priest and educator who would found in Rome, on the 27th of November 1597, a free school for poor children — the first network of popular education in Europe —, which by 1618 was already attended by around 1,500 Roman children. He died in Rome in 1648 and in 1948 Pope Pius XII declared him universal patron of Christian schools; in Spain, Teachers' Day is celebrated on the 27th of November in his honour. His baptismal font is kept in the parish church of the Assumption in Peralta de la Sal, and his birthplace is today a shrine dedicated to his memory.

1557

Photo: Ecelan (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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