A religious order founded in Rome in 1597 by Saint Joseph Calasanctius, to provide free education for poor children. Calasanctius gathered about himself several companions, established schools, and united his brothers to the Clerks Regular of the Mother of God (1614). In 1617 these two societies were separated and by a Brief; the Congregation of Saint Joseph Calasanctius was instituted, the members professing three simple vows. The society spread rapidly and in 1621 was elevated to the rank of a regular order with solemn vows and all the privileges of the mendicant orders. Suppressed by a Bull in 1646, the Congregation of Pious Schools was restored in 1656 with simple vows and an oath of perseverance in the congregation. Clement IX in 1669 restored the Piarists to the condition of regulars, and Innocent XI in 1684 declared them immediately subject to the Holy See. The general house is in Rome. Statistics: provinces, 14; schools, 344; religious, 4,454.