St. Michael's College, Brussels

St. Michael's College (French: Collège Saint-Michel) is a Roman Catholic secondary school in the Brussels municipality of Etterbeek, Belgium.^[1] The school was built in 1905 by the Society of Jesus in order to replace the previous school that had become too small. It is situated next to the Jesuit administered Church of St. John Berchmans.

History

The current St. Michael's College is chronologically the third college to be built:

The first college

The Jesuits have been in Brussels since 1586. By the request of the Archdukes Albert VII and Isabella, the Jesuits agreed to open a college. Inaugurated on 14 July 1604, the college is composed of a large rectangle formed by the Rue de la Paille/Strostraat, the Rue de Ruysbroeck/Ruisbroekstraat and the Rue d'Or/Goudenstraat. The Jesuits were ejected from the school in 1773 and it was demolished in 1891.

The second college

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.^[2]

The third college

In 1905, building on the new St. Michael's College was complete and work on the nearby church started. It was built in the same neo-traditional architectural style as the rest of the school buildings. The college welcomed 400 students, of which 100 were boarders, on 3 October of that same year.^[3] On 20 July 1908, the foundation stone of the church was laid by the Papal nuncio to Belgium, Msg. Giovanni Tacci Porcelli. The architect was Joseph Prémont who was inspired by the Rhenan Romanesque tradition of the Middle Ages. It was consecrated on 9 July 1912 by the Bishop of Galle, Joseph van Reeth SJ.

Starting in the late 1930s, a shift in language was made which would result in St John Berchmans College speaking 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.^[4]

Notable students

Notable former students the old St. Michael's College:

Ferdinand Perier (1875–1968), former professor at the college, Archbishop of Calcutta (1924–1960)
Hubert Pierlot (1883–1963), Prime Minister of Belgium (1939–1945)

Notable former students of the new St. Michael's College:

Georges Lemaître, (1894–1966), physicist and astronomer, considered the founder of the Big Bang theory
Paul Grosjean (1900–1964), Jesuit priest and scholar
André Waterkeyn, (1917–2005), engineer, creator of the Atomium
Archduke Rudolf of Austria (1919–2010)
Jacques van Ypersele de Strihou (1936–) Chief of Staff of Kings Baudouin and Albert II
François Weyergans, (1941–), writer and academician
Charles Picqué, (1948–), politician
Olivier Maingain, (1958–), member of the House of Representatives and Mayor of Woluwe-St-Lambert
Philippe of Belgium (1960–)
Prince Laurent of Belgium (1963–)
Olivier Minne, (1967–), television host, producer and actor