piarist

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. In the Roman Catholic Church, a member of the Pauline Congregation of the Mother of God, a secular order founded at Rome by Joseph Calasanza about 1600 and sanctioned a few years later. In addition to the three usual monastic vows, the Piarists devoted themselves to the free instruction of youth. They are found especially in the Austrian empire.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. (R. C. Ch.) One of a religious order who are the regular clerks of the Scuole Pie (religious schools), an institute of secondary education, founded at Rome in the last years of the 16th century.