St. John Berchmans College

St John Berchmans College is a Roman Catholic secondary school founded by the Society of Jesus in Brussels, Belgium. It is situated close to the Chapel Church and is named after the Belgian Jesuit Saint John Berchmans. History The school was founded by the Jesuits on 16 July 1604 and had 400 students that same year. However, in 1773, the Jesuits were ordered to cease providing educational services by Pope Clement XIV. The school was closed on 20 September 1773. The furniture was confiscated and sold and in 1816, the building became a court house. Later, the Belgian State Archives were housed in the building. In 1891, the archives were moved and the building was razed to make way for a road. In 1814, the Jesuits returned to Belgium and opened the French-speaking St Michael's College 19 years later in the Chapel Church area of the city. In 1905, the expanding population forced the Jesuits to not only expand the college but to also look for a location for a new college. In 1905, the college on the Rue des Ursulines/Ursulinenstraat was renamed as St John Berchmans College and the new college in the Etterbeek part of the city became St Michael's College. In 1912, the Church of St. John Berchmans was opened next to St Michael's College. Starting in the late 1930s, a shift in language was made which would result in St John Berchmans College teaching in Dutch and English and the French-speaking section of the college being transferred to St Michael's College. The two separate colleges still exist today, each teaching in their respective language.