Padre Manyanet School, Alcobendas, Madrid

Padre Manyanet School in Alcobendas (Madrid, Spain) began life on 27 September 1980. In 1990 there was an enlargement, so that pupils could study in the school until the very last year before university. It is a religious school of the Congregation of Sons and Daughters of the Holy Family for pupils aged three to eighteen. The current headmaster of the school is Father F. Sánchez, who was also the headmaster when the school was founded.The school is located in the outskirts of Alcobendas, in the countryside, at the 3rd kilometre on the M-616 road. Its position on a hill gives the school great sights from the city of Madrid and also from the north and north-west mountain range in the Community of Madrid. There are two universities in the nearness: the Universidad Pontificia de Comillas and the Autonomous University of Madrid. There are several ways to get to the school using public transport. Most pupils take the bus to go to classes, since the nearest suburban train station, which is very close to Comillas University, is several minutes away on foot. The school is also connected to Alcobendas by a bicycle track.Saint José Manyanet y VivesSaint José Manyanet y Vives, who was canonized the 16 May 2004 by Pope John Paul II, was a priest. He was born in Tremp, a village in Lérida, the 7 January 1833. He devoted himself completely to family and children education. His motto was “Create a Nazaret in everybody’s home”, remembering the Holy Family. He founded several schools during his life and he also promoted great works, as Gaudí’s massive unfinished cathedral in Barcelona, the Sagrada Familia. José Manyanet died in 1901.