The Institut Catholique de Paris (ICP), known in English as the Catholic University of Paris (and in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

as ''Universitas catholica Parisiensis''), is a

private university Private universities and private colleges are institutions of higher education, not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. They may (and often do) receive from governments tax breaks, public student loans, and grants. Dep ...

located in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, France.

History: 1875–present

The Institut Catholique de Paris was founded in 1875, under the name of the Université Catholique de Paris by Maurice Le Sage d'Hauteroche d'Hulst. The school settled on the site of the former convent of the

Carmelites , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Ca ...

, however the premises were not well adapted. Gabriel Ruprich-Robert developed a new project for the site; however, due to a lack of sufficient funds, he decided to renovate some of the old buildings instead of destroying them. The first phase of the renovation took place between 1894 and 1897. Following the French law establishing the separation of the church and state, ownership of the premises was given to the state. In 1927, the premises were repurchased by the institute, allowing the second phase of the renovation to take place between 1929 and 1930, followed by a third phase between 1932 and 1933. The Neogothlic architectural style is prevalent on the campus. ICP is a non-for-profit association pursuant to the French Law of 1901, recognized as promoting public interest, in 1941. The current rector is Bishop Philippe Bordeyne, who has been the rector of ICP since 2011. In 2017, there were 10,000 students attending ICP. This was also the year that ICP inaugurated its renovated campus.

Overview

The university is known for its liberal theology and offers bachelor, master and doctoral degrees in various faculties. The Faculté de Théologie is a pontifical institution with the canonical authorization to educate men for the Catholic priesthood. The Faculté de Lettres is a school of the humanities with no explicit religious orientation. During the summer, the institute opens the Faculté de Lettres to international students for month-long terms. Professors at the university are recruited from sacred (i.e., theology, canon law, etc.) and secular disciplines (e.g., literature, philosophy, education, social sciences, economics). The Institut Catholic de Paris belongs to the

European Higher Education Area The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) was launched in March 2010, during the Budapest-Vienna Ministerial Conference, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Bologna Process. As the main objective of the Bologna Process since its ince ...

and follows the LMD system. ICP delivers state degrees recognized at the National and European levels (bachelor, master and doctorate degrees), canonical diplomas as well as its own diplomas. The majority of degrees and diplomas awarded by the Catholic University of Paris are state-authorized diplomas, as the university is certified to issue them by the Ministry of Education. Canonical degrees are awarded in the name of the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

and are the result of a prescribed course of study in the ecclesiastical faculties, such as theology and canon law. The university charges tuition, because the state does not pay the wages of professors at Catholic institutions of higher learning, as authorized under the Debré Law of 1959. The institute receives a state subsidy which covers 34% of its financial needs. The amount of the subsidy, derived from the Ministry of National Education, is independently fixed each year by the government within the framework of the national budget, without any obligation or contract of any kind. The university belongs to the network of the UDESCA (Union of the Catholic Higher Educational Establishments) which includes the five French Catholic institutes -

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the N ...

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

Angers Angers (, , ) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Anjou until the French Revolution. The inhabitants of both the city and the pr ...

and

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...

- and is a member of the

International Federation of Catholic Universities The International Federation of Catholic Universities (IFCU) is an organisation of over 200 Catholic universities throughout the world. History Founded in 1924. Created by a Papal Decree in 1948 as the ''Fœderatio Universitatum Catholicarum'' it ...

(FIUC), comprising 200 Catholic universities throughout the world.

Campus

The premises of ICP are shared between various faculties and schools, and include multiple libraries. They also include a seminary university, the Seminary of Carmes, and a church: Saint-Joseph-des-Carmes. The

Musée Edouard Branly The Musée Édouard Branly is a museum dedicated to the work of radio pioneer Édouard Branly (1844-1940). It is located in the 6th arrondissement at the Institut Catholique de Paris-ISEP, 21, rue d'Assas, Paris, France, and open by appointment ...

, located within the institute, preserves the laboratory of physics professor and noted radio pioneer

Édouard Branly Édouard Eugène Désiré Branly (23 October 1844 – 24 March 1940) was a French inventor, physicist and professor at the Institut Catholique de Paris. He is primarily known for his early involvement in wireless telegraphy and his invention of the ...

, developer of the first practical radio receiver device, the Branly

coherer The coherer was a primitive form of radio signal detector used in the first radio receivers during the wireless telegraphy era at the beginning of the 20th century. Its use in radio was based on the 1890 findings of French physicist Édouard Bran ...

, who also coined the term "radio". The institute also houses the Bible and Holy Land Museum. In 2017, the campus was renovated allowing the school to gain in additional space, which includes an amphitheater with a capacity for 400 people.

Libraries

The main library, known as Bibliothèque de Fels, is home to 600,000 volumes including 60,000 ancient volumes and 800 manuscripts. The library is mostly due to donations made by

Edmonds de Fel Edmonds may refer to: * Edmonds (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the surname) * Edmonds, Washington, a city in Washington, US ** Edmonds station (Washington), a passenger train station in Washington, US * Edmonds station (SkyTr ...

. Other libraries on campus include the Jean-de-Vernon Library of Theology and Biblical Sciences, the Library of the Faculty of Canon Law which publishes L'Année Canonique (The Canon Year). In addition to the Documentation Center of the Institute of Education, and the Library of the French Institute of Byzantine Studies.

International

Founded in 1948, ILCF (Institute of French Language and Culture) of ICP has offered classes to French language learners for over 60 years. ILCF has been awarded the “Qualité FLE” certification by three public ministries. Ensuring the quality of teaching French as a Foreign Language. ICP has developed mobility partnerships with more than 135 universities in 35 countries.

Notable alumni

Cardinals and bishops

* Cardinal

Jean-Marie Lustiger Aron Jean-Marie Lustiger (; 17 September 1926 – 5 August 2007) was a French cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was Archbishop of Paris from 1981 until his resignation in 2005. He was made a cardinal in 1983 by Pope John Paul II. His life ...

* Cardinal Alfred Baudrillart, C.O. * Cardinal

Christoph Schönborn Christoph Maria Michael Hugo Damian Peter Adalbert Graf von Schönborn, O.P. (; born 22 January 1945) is a Bohemian-born Austrian Dominican friar and theologian, who is a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He serves as the Archbishop of Vienna and ...

, O.P. * Cardinal

Franc Rode Franc Rode (or Rodé; born 23/09/1934) is a Slovenian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, having served as prefect from 2004 ...

, C.M. *

Major Archbishop In the Eastern Catholic Churches, major archbishop (sometimes also styled as major archeparch) is a title for the chief hierarch of an autonomous ('' sui juris'') particular Church that has not been "endowed with the patriarchal title". Major ar ...

Cardinal

Mar Mar, mar or MAR may refer to: Culture * Mar or Mor, an honorific in Syriac * Earl of Mar, an earldom in Scotland * MAA (singer) (born 1986), Japanese * Marathi language, by ISO 639-2 language code * March, as an abbreviation for the third mon ...

George Alencherry George Alencherry ( syr, ܡܵܪܝ ܓܝܼܘܲܪܓܝܼܣ ܐܵܠܲܢܫܝܪܝ, Mar Giwargis Alencherry) is the Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church and also a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was elected by the Holy Synod of the ...

Head and Father of Syro Malabar Catholic Church,

Metropolitan and Gate of All India Metropolitanate of India (Syriac: ''Beth Hindaye'') was an East Syriac ecclesiastical province of the Church of the East, at least nominally, from the seventh to the sixteenth century. The Malabar region (Kerala) of India had long been home to a t ...

* Cardinal

André Vingt-Trois André Armand Vingt-Trois (; born 7 November 1942) is a French cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Paris from 2005 to 2017, having previously served as Archbishop of Tours from 1999 to 2005. He was elevated to the cardi ...

* Archbishop Michael Augustine * Archbishop

Anton Stres Anton Stres, C.M. (born 15 December 1942), was the archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ljubljana and the metropolitan bishop of Ljubljana as well as the president of the Slovenian Bishops' Conference from January 2010 until July 20 ...

, C.M. * Bishop

Robert Barron Robert Emmet Barron (born November 19, 1959) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church who has served as bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester since 2022. He is the founder of the Catholic ministerial organization Word on Fire, and ...

* Bishop Savarimuthu Arokiaraj

Priests

* The Rev. D. S. Amalorpavadass * The Rev.

Matthew Fox Matthew Chandler Fox (born July 14, 1966) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Charlie Salinger on '' Party of Five'' (1994–2000) and Jack Shephard on the drama series ''Lost'' (2004–2010), the latter of which earned h ...

* The Rev.

Chris Willcock Christopher Willcock (born 1947) is an Australian Jesuit priest and composer of liturgical music. Life Willcock studied music at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music (graduated 1974) and was ordained to the priesthood in 1977. He then pursued doct ...

, S.J. * Rev. Fr.

Baby Varghese Baby Varghese, () born in India, is a Malankara Orthodox priest and a Church historian and scholar in Syriac Liturgical Theology. Education After graduating from CMS College in Kottayam, Varghese joined Orthodox Theological Seminary in Kotta ...

, MOSC

Other

* Simone de Beauvoir * Ruchira Kamboj *

Pierre Pflimlin Pierre Eugène Jean Pflimlin (; 5 February 1907 – 27 June 2000) was a French Christian Democrat politician who served as the Prime Minister of the Fourth Republic for a few weeks in 1958, before being replaced by Charles de Gaulle during th ...

Frederica von Stade Frederica von Stade OAL (born June 1, 1945) is a semi-retired American opera singer. Since her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1970, she has performed in operas, musicals, concerts and recitals in venues throughout the world, including La Scala, th ...

* Audrey Tautou *

Jean Vanier Jean Vanier (, September 10, 1928 – May 7, 2019) was a Canadian Catholic philosopher and theologian. In 1964, he founded L'Arche, an international federation of communities spread over 37 countries for people with developmental disabilities a ...

Abdul Hafeez Mirza Abdul Hafeez Mirza (2 October 1939 – 17 November 2021) was a Pakistani tourism worker, cultural activist and an educationist. He worked as general manager at Tourism Development Corporation Punjab (TDCP), and served as a Consultant for Touris ...

Faculties

* Faculty of

Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

* Faculty of Philosophy * Faculty of

Canon Law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

* Faculty of Humanities ** Literature Department ** History Department ** Languages Department ** History of Arts Department **Institute of French Language and Culture (ILCF) * Faculty of Social Sciences and Economics (FASSE) ** Department of Economics ** Department of Law ** Department of Political Science ** Department of Sociology * Faculty of Education

Schools

* School of Librarians and Documentalists (EBD): information management * School of Practitioners of Psychology (EPP) * School of Psycho-Pedagogical Training (EFPP): training specialist educators and educators of young children * Institute of Intercultural Management and Communication (ISIT) * Pedagogical Training Centre (CFP) E. Mounier, specializing in the teaching profession in schools * Graduate School of Sports Professions (ILEPS) * ESSEC group- ESSEC MBA, EPSCI * School of Electricity, Production and Industrial Methods (EPMI) * Paris Higher Institute of Electronics (ISEP) * Graduate School of Organic and Mineral Chemistry (ESCOM) * LaSalle Beauvais Polytechnic Institute

References

External links

Official website in English
{{Authority control Catholic Church in France Education in Paris Educational institutions established in 1875 Universities in Paris 1875 establishments in France