Paula Montal Fornés
Spanish nun (1799–1889)
Feast: 26 February (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Paula Montal was born and baptised at Arenys de Mar near Barcelona on 11 October 1799, and grew up in a simple Christian home and parish.
In 1829, with her faithful friend Inés Busquets, she opened her first school for girls, with a programme far beyond the usual. From it came a new charism in the Church, the Daughters of Mary of the Pious Schools, for the whole human and Christian education of girls and women, to save families and transform society. She lived almost to a hundred.
The miracles
The Dicastery's biography does not describe the miracles approved in the cause.
Why that counted as sanctity
A pioneer of girls' education who believed that educated women transform families and society.
Connected on this site
- Joseph Calasanz Saint“Paula Montal Fornés (religious name: Paula of Saint Joseph Calasanz; 11 October 1799 – 26 February 1889) was a Spanish Roman Catholic professed religious and the foundress of the Sisters of the Pious Schools.” — Wikipedia
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - biography: Paula Montal Fornés
- Wikidata Q440088 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Paula Montal Fornés (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.