Religious affiliation Catholic Website www.leuveninstitute.eu Ceased operations 1983 | Location Leuven, Belgium Founded 1607 | |
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Active 1607 (1607)–1983 (1983) Type of business Franciscan house of studies Academic affiliations Old University of Leuven, Catholic University of Leuven, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven | ||
The Irish College of St Anthony in Leuven, Belgium, was founded in 1607 by Florence Conry, Archbishop of Tuam, as an exile institution for the training of Irish Franciscan priests. A bull of foundation was acquired from Pope Paul V. The foundation stone of the current building was laid in 1617. Funding came from Isabella Clara Eugenia, wife and co-ruler with Archduke Albert. It was one of the main centres of Irish learning and the preservation of Irish intellectual culture during penal times.
Closed down by the French invaders in 1794, the buildings housed first a seminary and later a boys' school during the 19th century. In 1925 the Irish Franciscans again acquired the site, using it for their own educational purposes until 1983. They then transferred the property to the Leuven Institute of Ireland in Europe, a secular academic institution.