After the 1954 General Chapter, the General Council was charged with
enquiring into the need for a North-South division of the
Belgian-Luxembourgeois Province. After examination and enquiry, authorisation
was sought from the Holy See to create the two Vice-Provinces. The Flemish
Vice-Province was officially set up on 1st December, 1954. Responsibility for
the Flemish Vice-Province was entrusted to Fr. Kessels. In 1960 the
Vice-Province was made into a Province and Fr. Augusto Ruttens was elected
Provincial Superior.
History of the Province through its Houses and Activities
One must go back to 1896 for the origins of the House and the Chapel in
Brussels. At that time, the outskirts of Brussels (Etterbeek, Ixelles,
etc.)were still sparsely populated. Here and there a few houses foretold the
springing up of new districts. The `Guide' barracks, with its enormous
buildings, rose up in the middle of this empty space. Before long, a suburb of
immense proportions grew up. There was neither a church nor a chapel. Fr. V.
Jeanroy came from Brussels from time to time to visit the Benefactors of
Clairefontaine, where he was bursar. Thus, he got to know two contractors: an
architect by the name of Bekkers and the Viscount de Meeus, who insistently
suggested that he undertake the responsibility of a small church dedicated to
St. Anthony, to be constructed at their expense, in the deserted area around
the Ixelles barracks. The San Quentin Fourth General Chapter (1896) decided not
to start new foundations before the Houses and the Activities already in
existence, had been staffed with the necessary personnel. When the decision had
been taken, Fr. Jeanroy went to see the Fr. General (Fr. Dehon) to try to
persuade him to satisfy Etterbeek's request. Notwithstanding the Chapter's
unfavourable attitude, Fr. Jeanroy expounded his plan convincingly: the new
foundation in Brussels could be started. Fr. Grison, who was present at the
Chapter, voted against the proposal. Later he wrote that all the missionaries
had left for the Congo from the House in Brussels; it is proof that even our
best thoughtout plans do not always square with those of Providence (Kingdom of
the Heart of Jesus, Louvain, January 1933).
Fr. Jeanroy took up residence in the small house beside the chapel in De
Beckersstraat. One of his first companions was Fr. Xavier Thuet (1870-1942),
who left in 1903 for Northern Brazil.
The following year Fr. Jeanroy was nominated Procurator for the Missions
of the Falls (Belgian Congo). Later the diocese built a parish church in the
vicinity. Later, he preferred to reside elsewhere and in 1900 transferred to a
‘bourgeois’ house on the Blvd. Militaire. The rooms on the ground floor served
as the chapel. During that time Frs. Slangen and Veerkamp arrived. The house
was too small, so Fr. Jeanroy looked around for something else. He bought some
land near the refuse dump in a lane (E. Cattoir) that led from the Blvd.
Militaire. The ground had to be cleared and then an unpretentious chapel was
built, with a small religious house attached. As the years passed the chapel
and the religious house were enlarged. After the Second World War a new, modern
wing was added. From this house on E. Cattoir Street the departure of
missionaries to the Congo took place from 1902 onwards, together with the
dispatch of the necessary materials - in short, it became a missionary centre.
In 1903, after the suppression of the religious Congregations in France,
the Mother House of the Institute was transferred, at least officially, to
Brussels. In fact. Fr. Dehon continued to live on at St. Quentin, even during
the first years of the 191418 war. He went to Belgium when his presence was
required. After the war he went to live there permanently until his death (12th
August, 1925). With the setting up in 1930 of the Belgian-Luxembourgeois
Province, the House in Brussels became a Provincialate. The Procure for the
Missions remained there even after the division into Vice-Provinces in 195. Administratively,
the House belongs to the Flemish Province. Missionaries are always coming and
going. The Secretariat General for the Missions, which publishes the periodical
‘Missionalia’, resides there and maintains contact with all the missions of the
Congregation. It is a House where important visitors from all over the world
find hospitality.
The permanent members of the Community are five Priests and a Brother of
the Flemish Province and three Priests of the Luxembourgeois-Walloon Province.
Leuven - Study House (Louvain)
The founding of the Study House at Louvain goes back to 1898. This was a
Seminary of the Congregation where missionaries could be trained for the
Belgian Congo. From this comes the name: School of Our Lady of the Congo.
On 1st October, 1898, the famous Fr. Villibrordo Triebels took over the
supervision of the first group of religious students in Halve straat, situated
on the River Dyle in Louvain.
They were housed in a part of the old convent of the Sisters of the
Annunciation. The beginnings were povertystricken and full of discomfort. The
beds were mattresses, often on the floor; the desks were boards nailed together
which had been, donated by neighbours. The first chapel was a small, mean room.
The students followed course with the Jesuit Fathers, starting a tradition that
went on for a long time. An understanding local doctor soon pointed out that
the health of the students called for other living quarters.
On 21st September, 1906, Cardinal Mercier gave his permission to build a
new scholasticate outside the city near the Brussels gate on the paved road.
leading to the city. It was an historic site in the Christian annals of
Louvain. In fact, from 1510 to 1635 it has been a place of worship, situated at
the end of a Via Crucis of seven (!) Stations that began at the church of St.
James, continuing along the paved road to Brussels as far as the property
acquired by our Congregation. A Dutch confrère, Fr. Kusters, one of the
greatest builders of the Congregation,took charge of the works. A monumental
building was erected. The facade was probably a reproduction of a hotel in some
German city.
On 12th September, 1902, the Sixth Chapter General met in Louvain in the
old convent on Halve straat. With 20 votes out of 23 Fr. Dehon was confirmed as
Superior General. The division of the Congregation into Provinces had already
been brought up at that time. The Seventh Chapter (15th - 16th September, 1908)
met in the new Scholasticate. Two Provinces were created: the Western and the
Eastern. The Flemish Province at that time formed part of the territory of the
Western Province (French), comprising France, Belgium, Holland, Italy and
Luxembourg. Thus, Louvain became an international centre. Between 1898 and
1914, 147 priests of the Sacred Heart received their training at Louvain.
Owing to the grandiose design with which the school in Louvain had been
built, there were few changes made to the building in the course of the years.
The property was enlarged by playing fields, kitchen gardens, etc. From 1930 onwards,
only Belgian and Luxembourgeois scholastics pursued their studies, particularly
with the Jesuits or at the University.
During the 1940-45 war and for a dozen years thereafter, philosophy was
taught at the scholasticate itself. Also, after the division into the
Belgian-Luxembourgeois Province in 1954, the scholastics continued to live
together fraternally.
A few years later the Walloon and Luxembourgeois students went to study
at Lyons. In the meantime, various students followed university courses with a
view to teaching, especially in our schools.
For many years, usually in our chapel, unforgettable ordinations to the
priesthood of confrères were held by a Bishop of the Congregation or by a
delegate of the Cardinal of Malines. According to the records of the House,
about 500 students spent ‘blessed’ days in our scholasticate at Louvain whether
their stay culminated in ordination to the priesthood or not.
The vocational crisis is also being felt acutely in the Flemish
Province, which at the present moment has only one student who is pursuing his
studies at Freiburg. However, the House at Louvain is not empty. Eleven priests
and brothers are living there now and doubtless, from time to time, they dream
about the glorious past. They are retired, or professors, or engaged in the
parish pastoral or lay brothers all waiting for better times. The House gives
accommodation to 25 university students.
The various publications which were edited and published at Louvain must
be mentioned. Le Règne du Sacré-Coeur, started in Brussels in 1901, was
published at Louvain from 1910 to 1958: after that the magazine was transferred
to Burnot. For some years after the war Louvain was also responsible for the
magazine Construire, a monthly publication of some note. Mention should
also be made of the Almanacs for the Missions in French and in Dutch. From 1933
until 1948 the Sint Unum was edited by the CEM, the scholastic
missionary group. Following that it was taken over by the Belgian-
Luxembourgeois Province and, from 1954, by the Flemish Province.
In 1977 another small periodical was born: this was Hart (Heart),
a quarterly magazine of spiritual inspiration and commitment, intended for
2,000 Flemish students. We hope that in these scholarly surroundings some seed
will grow... even for our Congregation.
In 1965 the scholasticate at Louvain, as property, was divided between
the Flemish and the Luxembourgeois-Walloon Provinces: the house and the farm
went to the Flemish Province, the ‘extra muros’ property to the
Luxembourgeois-Walloon Province.
Very early on, Fr. Dehon had expressed his desire to found a school for
his congregation in Flanders. He often remembered his course in the
`humanities' (classical studies) at the College of Hazebrouck in French Flanders.
After accepting a mission in the Belgian Congo in 1897, his desire to start a
school was further strengthened.
In 1904 he charged a Dutch confrère, Fr. Luyten, to study the
possibilities of a foundation in Flanders. On the advice of a chaplain of Geraards-bergen,
Rev. Leon Vandamme (who knew Fr. Dehon well), he searched around parts of
Zottegem, but with no success. Fr. Jeanroy, the Procurator for the Missions,
went on a fund-raising visit to Tervuren to the German Countess von Stolberg.
She expressed the desire for a religious house of priests of the Sacred Heart
to be built in the beautiful location of Tervuren. With the Countess' help, Fr.
Luyten bought an old school from the Brothers of the Christian Schools in
Hoornzeelstraat. The house and the small school had to undergo substantial
transformation. Fr. Luyten received Fr. Dehon's blessing and... 50 francs! It
is easy to imagine how difficult and how filled with hardships the beginnings
were. However, on 3rd November, 1904, it was possible to open with six
students.
Provisionally, Flemish and Walloon students lived together and followed
the same courses. At that time, secondary education was everywhere taught in
French. A fire, and material difficulties of every kind, contributed to the
difficulty of getting the project off the ground. A curious detail: one of the
six students fell downstairs and his life was feared for... he is still alive
today in 1977! He is Msgr. C. Verfaillie, the first successor to Msgr. Grison.
Begun in a great spirit of faith, the foundation developed to the point
where more space and bigger rooms were needed. A large piece of ground was
found in the Wezembeek-Oppem area along the Avenue Albert. On 1st May, 1907,
the foundation stone was laid and in April, 1908 the new school, larger than
the former one, was occupied. The future seemed full of hope. In 1911 the first
students from Tervuren finished their classical studies and entered the
novitiate.
The new wing was being built when the 1914-18 war broke out. There was a damaging period for the school at Tervuren. Started in July 1944, the new building, in spite of everything, was finished at the beginning of the following year.
But five Fathers were called to arms and the students sent home. At the
end of August the school was requisitioned. by the Red Cross for wounded
Belgian and German soldiers. In 1915 our students from Louvain found
accommodation there and, in 1917, it also sheltered 90 French war orphans.
Starting again after the war was not easy: however, in 1918 about 20
students returned. It was not easy to find any benefactors immediately after
the war... the magazine Het Rijk van het H. Hart (The Kingdom of the
Sacred Heart) had to suspend publication again. Finding teachers was also a.
problem; war had claimed its victims, taken its toll. In 1921 the school
reopened again and went ahead full steam Between 1923 and 1925 the north wing
was built.
In 1930, when the Belgian- Luxembourgeois Province was created, the
school was already flourishing. In 1933 the Walloon students left for their new
school at Burnot, close to Namur. Belgian law finally allowed the use of
Flemish in secondary schools. In the meantime, dozens of youths had discovered
the way of the Congregation and could look forward to the future with self-confidence.
In 1940 the Second World War broke out. Out of necessity, a good number
of students from the region were accepted as day-students. It became
increasingly difficult to find priestly vocations. The war years presented many
difficulties. Nevertheless, new hope took hold in the years immediately
following the war. In 1944, the school obtained permission from Cardinal Van
Roey to develop a complete cycle of secondary studies. The Work spread more and
more, though not necessarily in the sense (for which we continue to hope) in a
blossoming of vacations for the Congregation. In 1958 work was started on the
construction of a beautiful church dedicated to Cristo Misericordioso (Merciful
Christ), to serve the large population of the surrounding districts. Construction
work goes on: primary classrooms in 1964; inauguration of a new, large complex,
enlarged again in 1971; in 1976 it was the turn of a fine sports ground
complex; and lastly, in 1977, alterations to the refectory and the construction
of a gymnasium were initiated.
This chronological enumeration of facts cannot, obviously, give any idea
of the dedication and undertaking of the dozens of Fathers and Brothers and
Professors. Inspired by the ideal of our Congregation, they have written the
history of the Sacred Heart of Tervuren through their activities. It must be
further pointed out that, since the beginning, our confrères have all been
involved in pastoral work in many of the surrounding villages.
The current trends of thought and the change in mentality - whose
multiple causes cannot be overcome solely by good-will - have not permitted Fr.
Dehon's dreamed-of ideal to be realized fully at Tervuren. Nevertheless, in
many ways the development of the College of the Sacred Heart has benefitted the
region. The Work enjoys a good reputation, all the more so as the scholastic
results prove that the studies are serious. For example, between the scholastic
years 1970-71 and 1975-76, out of 132 students who sat university exams, 101
graduated: i.e. 76.5%. In 1976 a local school (of Wezembeek-Oppem) was attached
to the College which is attended at the present time by 1,035 students
comprising primary and secondary schools.
Contact between the school and the parents is assured by the periodical Colecho,
which has been published for 13 years.
It must also be noted that the publication ‘Het Rijk van het H. Hart’,
published in Tervuren for 50 years, passed to Louvain in 1965, to be
amalgamated in 1971 with the Flemish magazine, Werelwijd.
The religious personnel is composed of nine priests and four brothers.
In 1921 Fr. Kusters cast his eye on the abandoned castle of Montaigne at
Lanaken (Belgian Limbourg). This once-splendid country house, belonging to the
Montaigne family (which played a significant part in the Principality of Liege
and Maastricht), served as the headquarters of the German Command during the
First World War.Immediately after the war it was occupied by the Belgian army.
These two occupations had left their mark, which was certainly not beneficial,
on the property. Mr. Dupont, a Heerlen banker, had bought it, but it had given
him some serious trouble. The building remained unoccupied for several years.
The lamentable condition in which the castle had been reduced did not
discourage the man who dreamt of making it into a school for Limbourg where
missionary vocations would flourish.
Fr. Kusters succeeded in convincing Fr. Dehon, even though he realized
that he could not expect financial help from the Congregation. He had to rely
on himself alone. Fr. Kusters did not give in. He was not at his first nor last
foundation! Louvain, Bergen op Zoom, Heer and their religious, houses testified
to the capacity for work of this Father. He had conceived the idea of creating
a school for Limbourg and he has achieved it, overcoming all difficulties.
Having learned that Mr. Dupont wished to sell his Montaigne property,
Fr. Kusters went to see him... and a few days later signed the deed of title.
At one stroke the Father was the new owner of the castle. He could start, but
how and with whom?
He was told that for the moment he could not count on help from the
confrères. Fr. Kusters turned to the laity, with success. Jef Beulen. a Belgian
refugee, who during the war had been given hospitality by the Father, and
Villibrordo Voerman joined the venture. They knew the man and his obstinacy:
they knew to whom they had entrusted themselves.
These were hard times, but the castle was made habitable. The Grotto of
Lourdes which is situated near the present building, is witness to how much
hard work these pioneers did from the outset. After months of hard work
Fr.Kusters was able to start looking for the first students; a dozen had
already presented themselves as possible candidates for the new school. Provisionally
the House belonged to the Dutch Province. Two fathers and a Brother, with Fr.
Kusters, formed the first, community. The faithful Jef Beulen stayed on as the
‘factotum’. Two teachers from Veldwezelt, Mr. Maesen and Mr. Bergen, completed
the teaching body. Mr. Martens of Lanaken was taken on as caretaker. In spite
of the very rudimentary installations, the first scholastic year began on 8th
October, 1923.
The number of students increased every year. When Fr. Kusters left for
Rome, as General Councillor, his successors had to reinforce the teaching staff
and enlarge the premises. In 1932 the old stables were transformed and thus the
chapel, schoolrooms, study hall and dormitory were built.
In 1939 the school passed to the Belgian-Luxembourgeois Province. It was
å new beginning; now the students were recruited from Belgian Limbourg. This
new start had only just been made when the Second World War broke out.
Development of the school was momentarily halted. After the war the work
started up again rapidly and progressed extremely well. In 1948, new buildings
were added; the refectory, dormitory, school classrooms and study hall.
In 1964 the old castle was given over as State property to the Province
of Bokrijk, and there it has found its position as an historical curiosity. A.
new and very modern edifice was built which has turned our school into a
completely new college. In 1970 a study hall was added for day-pupils and a
laboratory with an auditorium.
There is an internal courtyard which is enhanced by a small pond. Behind
the college there are the playing fields, a large park with a swimming pool and
a fish hatchery; there are barn-yard animals and further away, fields and land
that extend for 12 hectares.
For half a century hundreds of young men have laid the foundations of
their future in our College.
Dozens of priestes and brothers have found their way to our Congregation
and are now active in our countries or abroad. May our school, that now numbers
408 students (in the primary and. secondary schools), respond as well to the
idea dreamed of by Fr. Kusters. Our Fathers are well accepted in the region and
help in the parish ministry in numerous villages.
The periodical that guarantees a link between parents and the school is
already in its 25th year of publication.
The Community consists of 14 Priests and three Brother-collaborators.
The House at 33 Prinsesstraat was already inhabited in 1937 by a Father
who carried out the functions of Chaplain to the Apostolatus Maris. In 1943, it
became the property of the Congregation and it was turned into a residence for
the Fathers who were dedicated to various apostolic ministries and to the
teaching of religion in the city of Antwerp.
Situated in the centre of the city, ten minutes' walk from the main
station, the House is in an excellent position. Over the years it has been the
centre for many apostolic activities: Apostolate of the Sea, Work for the
Homeless, Apostolate of Reparation, work of the ‘Little Souls’, religious
teaching, preaching and help in the parishes.
As of 2nd May, 1955 the House became the headquarters of the Superior of
the Flemish Vice-Province and became a Provincialate when, after 1st May, 1960
the Flemish Province was set up.
As a Provincialate, the House welcomes many visitors, including
foreigners. It is often the temporary residence of missionaries who have to
undergo treatment at the Tropical Institute.
At the moment three Priests are living there: the Father Provincial, the
Provincial Burser and the Assistant to the Homeless and Work of Reparation,
etc.
Brugelette was the novitiate, but the buildings were in a state of
disrepair. A new building had to be found. After a lot of searching, the Fr.
Provincial of the time, Fr. W. Muermans, found the castle of Ter Loo at Loppem,
near Bruges. This allowed the Congregation to have a foundation in the diocese
of Bruges. The castle of Ter Loo is 20 minutes away from the Abbey of St.
Andrew, seven kilometres distant from the lovely city of Bruges and is situated
in the centre of a large seven-hectare park.
On 6th December, 1946 the house was ready to receive the novices. The
complete and final move took place on December 13th.
In 1949, next to the old castle, a new novitiate was built in a style
adapted to a building of that type. After the division of the Belgian-
Luxembourgeois Province into two Vice-Provinces the novices in the South still
remained at Loppem until 18th April, 1955, the date on which Cinqfontaines
became the novitiate for the Luxembourgeois-Walloon Vice-Province.
From 1st December, 1954 to 2nd May, 1955 Loppem also served as the
residence of the Flemish first Vice-Provincial, Fr. P. Kessels.
Because there were few novices it was decided to send them to Asten, the
Dutch Province novitiate.
In the meantime, Loppem became the House for training Brothers. It began
with great enthusiasm on 30th August, 1950. The young candidates who arrived
every year (mainly from Limbourg) followed the courses at the free Technical
School at Bruges. In this way a few young Brothers strengthened the thin ranks
of the Collaborators.
Unfortunately, this work could not be continued through lack of really
valid candidates. As of September, 1969 the old novitiate became a Centre for
Reflection. Adults and groups of youths find here, even today, ideal
surroundings for one or more days of interior meditation in silence and in
prayer. Here also reside some Fathers, who are teachers of religion in the
neighbouring schools. The best proof that the House is well utilised is the
fact that alterations have been undertaken. Six Fathers make up the Community.
The project to found a foyer for abandoned youths is in keeping with the
spirit of our Congregation. After the departure of the novices from Brugelette,
Frezignies welcomed six new inhabitants in 1947. But very quickly a new site
had to be found elsewhere in which to organise the Foyer. The Father Provincial
at the time, Fr. W. Muermans, found it at Opdorp (Buggenhout, Eastern Flanders).
On 6th November, 1948 the uninhabited castle of Opdorp became the foyer for 23
boys abandoned by their parents. Changes and adaptation were obviously
necessary. Financial as well as pedagogic problems also made themselves acutely
felt. At the beginning, in order not to founder, an appel for material and
financial help to be made from neighbours. The support paid by the State was
the minimum necessary. Bingo parties and cross-country motorcycle races were
organised and also singing tournées by the Zingende Kleppers, the
House's small choir.
Ten years later, work was begun on a new pavilion. It was inaugurated in
1959 and occupied by about 20 boys who followed technical courses or attended
the college of Dendermonde. The youngest attended the primary school in the
Foyer itself. As the number of boys grew steadily it was necessary to use the
old stables after alterations.
In 1963 six prefabricated school rooms were erected and sanitary
facilities installed. The old school rooms were transformed into a gymnasium.
The school was recognised as an Institute for Special Instruction.
In 1963 our Professional School was started and in 1968 a laboratory and
another two pavilions were added. After other alterations and a series of State
inspections the School was recognised by the Ministry of Justice on 27th March,
1973.
The Foyer accommodation capacity is 80 boys divided into five groups. It
has never been finished, either from the material or from the pedagogic point
of view.
The problem now is to transform the Foyer which received only boys who
are dependents of the Ministry of Justice into a medicopedagogic institute
which is dependent upon the Ministry of Health. To this end on 10th January,
1977 an ASBL was founded, composed. of laity who not only intend to assume
direction of the Work but also to buy the property. The future will show to
what extent our confreres will still be engaged in this arduous work. In any
case, our Religious and teaching staff have gained some merit. At the moment
there are still two Fathers working at Opdorp.
This town, in the immediate vicinity of the large port of Antwerp, saw
tremendous development around 1960. In Lambrechts-hoeken in particular, a new
suburb grew up. It was composed of family-type houses and houses for rent. Some
time before, however, it had been thought to found. a new parish. Permission
was granted by Royal Decree dated 24th September, 1963. The Bishop of Antwerp
appealed to our Fathers for this Work. Fr. W. Muermans started it as the first
Parish Priest on 26th January, 1964 and was helped by another confrère. Without
a church and without financial means the beginnings were very difficult. It
began with house visits, contact with the Episcopal Curia, with the municipal
authorities and with the other parishes. With charitable help and other help
inauguration of the first temporary church, constructed entirely of wood, was
made possible on 19th December, 1964. On 29th April, 1965 a house (rented) was
opened for Child Consultation and on 16th October the same year a parish
library was opened with 10,000 volumes (the gift of another parish). The mixed
choir became famous in a short time. The first youth movement began on 19th
December, 1965 in houses called ‘stamberghe’ and soon other activities for
adults were started.
Thanks to the old games huts at Tervuren, it was possible on 11th
December, 1967 to inaugurate the first parish hall. The collaboration of
numerous volunteers led to a second one being inaugurated on 14th October,
1968. One year before on 28th October, 1967 the foundation stone was laid for
the new modernstyle church. Numerous fund-raising activities were organised in
order to collect the necessary money. Inauguration of the new building took
place a year later. Various work groups were organised to satisfy the different
needs of a parish community, in keeping with the times and to provide the laity
with the possibility of becoming part of the parish pastoral. Catechesis and
youth groups found premises in the old, temporary church.
In 1964 the parish numbered 3,500 inhabitants: now, in 1977, there are
about 8,000 and new suburbs are once again being built. For several years three
Fathers looked after this parish; now there are only two. This parish, in the
space of ten years, has developed as an excellent post-Concilian experience,
thanks to the ever-active collaboration of a good number of committed laity.
Evere (near Brussels); two Fathers,
professors of Religion and Chaplains to youth activities.
Rijmenam (near Malines): two Fathers
working in collaboration with a body which places children in families. A
Brother acts as driver for transport of the sick.
Twenty-three Fathers and one Brother (enrolled in regular Communities)
live ‘isolated’ and are engaged for the most part in parish pastoral work, in
youth activities and in teaching religion.
The Flemish Province numbered in 1977:
70 Fathers
1 Student & novice
15 Brothers
---------------------
92 Religious
Six confrères of the Province reside abroad: two Brothers in Holland;
one Scholastic in Germany; one Father in Brazil; one in Chile; one in South
Africa. In addition, seven Fathers and two missionary Brothers, originally from
our Province, now form part of the Province of Zaire.