PIA SOCIETÀ SAN PAOLO. - A clerical religious congregation of simple vows, with two classes of members: clerics and laymen. It arose in Alba (Cuneo) on 20 Aug. 1914 through the work of d. Giacomo Alberione.
In 1926 a second house was opened in Rome, which subsequently became the residence of the superior general and his council. Other houses were then opened in Italy and abroad, and at present the Congregation is established in France, Switzerland, Poland, Spain, Portugal, England, Ireland, Canada, the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, Chile, the Philippine Islands, India, Japan, and China, with more than 600 members. Meanwhile, by episcopal decree of 12 March 1927, it became a true religious Congregation of diocesan right. On 10 May 1941 the decree of praise was granted by the Holy See and, from then on, it became of pontifical right. On 27 June 1949 the definitive approval of the Congregation and its constitutions was granted.
The P.S.S.P. has as its special purpose the apostolate of the press, through printing works and bookshops for the dissemination of Catholic doctrine. Silvano Gratili