American College of the Immaculate Conception
The American College of the Immaculate Conception, or the American College of Louvain is a former
The American College closed in June 2011 due to low enrollment and a faculty shortage; its building was turned over to the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven) for student housing.
History
19th century
The American College was founded in 1857 by American bishops under the leadership of Bishop
The College grew rapidly in its early years, most notably under the rectorship of John De Neve, its second rector. Over 800 priests trained at the American College served in dioceses and vicariates during the second half of the 19th century across the United States.[2] Some of the priests were eventually appointed as bishops of newly formed dioceses:
- Bishop Charles John Seghers, foundee of the Alaska mission
- Bishop Archdiocese of San Francisco
- Bishop Alphonse Glorieux of the Diocese of Boise
- Bishop Diocese of Helena
20th century
The college continued to train young men for service to the Church in the United States into the twentieth century under the rectorship of Jules De Becker. it remained open during German occupation in
With the declaration of war in 1939, the college closed.[1] It reopened in 1952 under the rectorship of Father Thomas Maloney. The college expanded to accommodate the increased number of American priests and brothers wanting to study at the Catholic University. It also began offering sabbatical opportunities for priests, religious, and lay ecclesial ministers from all nations.[3][4]
In 1968, a major ethnic dispute known as the
Sponsorship and governorship
The American College was sponsored and overseen by American Catholic
- Matthew Francis Brady (1893-1959), Bishop of Burlington (1938-1944) and Bishop of Manchester (1944-1959)
- Bishop of St. Louis (1995-2001), Bishop of Lake Charles (2001-2005), and Bishop of Belleville(2005-2020)
- Bishop of Vancouver Island (1879-1883) and Bishop of Helena(1884-1903)
- Ferdinand Brossart (1849-1930), Bishop of Covington (1915-1923)
- Charles Albert Buswell (1913-2008), Bishop of Pueblo (1959-1979)
- Alphonse Liguori Chaupa (1959-2016), Auxiliary Bishop of Rabaul (2000-2003) and Bishop of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea (2003-2008)
- Francis Joseph Christian (°1942), Auxiliary Bishop of Manchester (1996–2018)
- Edmund Michael Dunne (1864-1929), Bishop of Peoria (1909-1929)
- Bishop of Houma-Thibodaux(2013–2022) and Archbishop of Louisville (2022- Present)
- Joseph John Fox (1855-1915), Bishop of Green Bay (1904-1915)
- Alphonse Joseph Glorieux (1844-1917), Vicar Apostolic of Idaho (1884-1893) and Bishop of Boise (1893-1917)
- Charles Pasquale Greco (1894-1987), Bishop of Alexandria (1946-1973)
- Bishop of Natchez (1881-1888) and Archbishop of New Orleans(1888-1897)
- Egidius Junger (1833-1895), Bishop of Nesqually (1879-1895)
- Jean-Nicolas Lemmens (1850-1897), Bishop of Victoria (1888-1897)
- Bishop of San Antonio (1956-1969) and Bishop of San Angelo(1969-1979)
- Camillus Paul Maes (1846-1915), Bishop of Covington (1885-1915)
- Thomas Francis Maloney (1903-1962), sixth rector of the American College and Auxiliary Bishop of Providence (1960-1962)
- Russell Joseph McVinney (1898-1971), Bishop of Providence (1948-1971), influential in reopening the college in 1952
- Theophile Meerschaert (1847-1924), Bishop of Oklahoma (1891-1924)
- Robert Edward Mulvee (1930-2018), Bishop of Wilmington (1985-1995) and Bishop of Providence
- Henry Joseph O'Brien (1896-1976), Archbishop of Hartford (1945-1968)
- John Joseph O'Connor (1855-1927), Bishop of Newark(1901-1927)
- Bertram Orth, Bishop of Victoria (1900-1908)
- Bishop of Cheyenne (2001-2008), and Bishop of Green Bay(2008-present)
- Patrick William Riordan (1841-1914), Archbishop of San Francisco (1884-1914)
- Archbishop of Oregon City(1880-1884), and "Apostle of Alaska"
- The Catholic University of America
- William Stang (1854-1907), Bishop of Fall River (1904-1907)
- Augustine Van de Vyver (1844-1911), Bishop of Richmond (1889-1911)
- Edward Weisenburger (°1960), Bishop of Salina (2012–2017) and Bishop of Tucson (2017–present)
- Alexander Mieceslaus Zaleski (1906-1975), Bishop of Lansing (1965-1975)
See also
References
- ^ a b c "The American College: A Historical Perspective". The American College of Louvain. Archived from the original on 2006-10-20. Retrieved 2007-02-22.
- ^ Codd, Kevin, and Brian Dick: The American College of Louvain: America's Seminary in the Heart of Europe, page 47. Peeters, nv, 2007.
- ^ Kevin A. Codd, "The American College of Louvain", The Catholic Historical Review,XCIII, No. 1, (2007).
- ^ Dick, John. "The American College's contributions | National Catholic Reporter". Ncronline.org. Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2013-10-02.
- ^ "The American College Boards". The American College of Louvain. Archived from the original on 2006-10-19. Retrieved 2007-04-15.
- ^ "Residents of the College: Seminary". The American College of Louvain. Archived from the original on 2006-12-06. Retrieved 2007-04-15.
- ^ "(Office of Media Relations) American College in Leuven, Belgium to Close in 2011". USCCB. 2010-11-22. Retrieved 2013-10-02.
- ^ "USCCB News:Heritage of American College In Leuven, Belgium Preserved By USCCB And K.U.Leuven". Usccb.org. 2011-08-22. Retrieved 2013-10-02.