The Minor Seminary, Roeselare (Dutch: ''Klein Seminarie Reoselare''; est. 1806) is a diocesan secondary school in

Roeselare Roeselare (; french: Roulers, ; West Flemish: ''Roeseloare'') is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Roeselare proper and the towns of Beveren, Oekene and Rumbeke. The ...

West Flanders ) , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of West Flanders.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van West-Vlaanderen.svg , shield_size = , image_map ...

, Belgium. Initially primarily a preparatory institution for the Major Seminary, Bruges, it is now a substantial secondary school for the local community.

History

The diocesan Minor Seminary opened on 27 May 1806 in buildings that between 1641 and 1797 had housed an Augustinian

Latin school The Latin school was the grammar school of 14th- to 19th-century Europe, though the latter term was much more common in England. Emphasis was placed, as the name indicates, on learning to use Latin. The education given at Latin schools gave gre ...

. The property had been established as a hospital in 1245 by

Margaret of Constantinople Margaret, often called Margaret of Constantinople (1202 – 10 February 1280), ruled as Countess of Flanders during 1244–1278 and Countess of Hainaut during 1244–1253 and 1257–1280. She was the younger daughter of Baldwin IX, Count of F ...

, and transferred to the Augustinians in 1634-1635. The buildings were considerably modified over the course of subsequent centuries. The school was closed by government decree between 1812 and 1814 (under

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

) and again from 1825 to 1830 (under

William I of the Netherlands William I (Willem Frederik, Prince of Orange-Nassau; 24 August 1772 – 12 December 1843) was a Prince of Orange, the King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg. He was the son of the last Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, who we ...

). From 1838 to 1846 one wing was a

normal school A normal school or normal college is an institution created to Teacher education, train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high s ...

, that then moved to

Torhout Torhout (; french: Thourout; vls, Toeroet) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Torhout proper, the villages of Wijnendale and Sint-Henricus, and the hamlet of De Dri ...

(now part of

Hogeschool VIVES VIVES University of Applied Sciences is a University College in West Flanders. The name refers to the Spanish-Brussian humanist Juan Luis Vives. ''VIVES'' is the result of a merger between KATHO and KHBO in 2013. Founding The university col ...

). It was replaced by the Institut Saint-Michel, a primary school and trade school, which from 1849 to 1884 also included a separate English section due to the number of students enrolling from England and Ireland, where Catholic secondary education was still underdeveloped. From 1849 to 1953, the Minor Seminary provided philosophy courses for those who had completed their secondary education and were beginning their training for the priesthood. Through the influence of

Guido Gezelle Guido Pieter Theodorus Josephus Gezelle (1 May 1830 – 27 November 1899) was an influential writer and poet and a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium. He is famous for the use of the West Flemish dialect. Life Gezelle was born in Bruges in ...

and the activism of

Albrecht Rodenbach Albertus "Albrecht" Petrus Josephus Mansuetus Ferdinandus Rodenbach (; 27 October 1856 – 23 June 1880) was a Flemish poet, and a leader in the revival of Flemish literature that occurred in the late 19th century. He is more noteworthy as a sy ...

, the school became one of the intellectual centres of the 19th-century

Flemish Movement The Flemish Movement ( nl, Vlaamse Beweging) is an umbrella term which encompasses various political groups in the Belgian region of Flanders and, less commonly, in French Flanders. Ideologically, it encompasses groups which have sought to promo ...

. The church attached to the school was built in the years 1725–1749. During the First World War the German occupying forces requisitioned the building as a field hospital. In 1918 there was extensive damage due to a fire caused by Allied shelling.

Notable teachers and alumni

* Thomas Bouquillon * Pol Demade *

Johan Joseph Faict Jean-Joseph Faict (22 May 1813 – 4 January 1894) was the 20th Bishop of Bruges. Life Early years Faict was born in the coastal village of Leffinge at the time when the whole of West Flanders was part of the French empire. His father was a b ...

Bernard Jungmann Bernard Jungmann was a German Catholic dogmatic theologian and ecclesiastical historian. Biography He was born at Münster in Westphalia on 1 March 1833; died at Leuven (Louvain), 12 January 1895. He belonged to an intensely Catholic family of ...

Constant Lievens Constant Lievens (11 April 1856 – 7 November 1893) was a Belgian (Flemish) Jesuit priest, missionary among the tribal peoples of Central India, particularly the Mundaris, Oraons. He is regarded as the apostle of the Chotanagpur (Jharkhand and ...

* Victor Roelens * Gustavus Waffelaert

References

External links

* {{coord, 50.94324, 3.12529, format=dms, type:edu_region:BE, display=title 1806 establishments in Europe Secondary schools in Belgium