St. Joseph Minor Seminary (Sint-Jozef Klein Seminarie or ''SJKS'') is a Catholic secondary school in

Sint-Niklaas Sint-Niklaas (; french: Saint-Nicolas, ) is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Sint-Niklaas proper and the towns of Belsele, Nieuwkerken-Waas, and . Sint-Nikl ...

Diocese of Ghent The Diocese of Ghent (Latin: ''Dioecesis Gandavensis'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Belgium. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. There were previously a

Recollect The Recollects (french: Récollets) were a French reform branch of the Friars Minor, a Franciscan order. Denoted by their gray habits and pointed hoods, the Recollects took vows of poverty and devoted their lives to prayer, penance, and spirit ...

monastery and a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

on the site.

History

The first buildings were built starting April 1689, the friars were authorised to found the second monastery in the city. The Chapel of Saint Anthony was completed in 1692 and in 1696 Bishop

Philips Erard van der Noot Philips Erard van der Noot (1638–1730) was the 13th Bishop of Ghent. Family He was born in Uccle on 6 February 1638 as the eldest son of Gilles van der Noot, Lord of Carloo. He was a relative of the Marquess of Assche. His brother, Roger-Wau ...

bishop of Ghent The Diocese of Ghent (Latin: ''Dioecesis Gandavensis'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Belgium. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolis (religious jurisdiction), metropoli ...

consecrated the church, in

baroque style The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

and famous for the major

carvings Carving is the act of using tools to shape something from a material by scraping away portions of that material. The technique can be applied to any material that is solid enough to hold a form even when pieces have been removed from it, and ...

of Jan Boeksent. The friars lived there in the

conventual The Order of Friars Minor Conventual (OFM Conv) is a male religious fraternity in the Roman Catholic Church that is a branch of the Franciscans. The friars in OFM CONV are also known as Conventual Franciscans, or Minorites. Dating back to ...

buildings until the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

and the French occupation of Belgium. After they were chased out they never returned. It was later sold to Bishop

Maurice-Jean de Broglie Maurice-Jean Madeleine de Broglie ( Broglie, Eure, 5 September 1766 – 20 June 1821, Paris) was a French aristocrat and bishop. He was the son of Marshal of France Victor-Francois, Duc de Broglie, created, by Emperor Francis I, Prince of the ...

who converted the old monastery into a

Minor seminary A minor seminary or high school seminary is a secondary day or boarding school created for the specific purpose of enrolling teenage boys who have expressed interest in becoming Catholic priests. They are generally Catholic institutions, and ...

dedicated to

Saint Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers of ...

. Many important priests were educated here. For the centenary of the school in 1908,

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of C ...

sent his personal pontifical blessing. Today the seminary has gone, and the building is now part of the Catholic secondary school property of the diocese. At the end of the last century the old main staircase went up in flames. The church was saved from the fire.

Notable teachers and students

Bishops

* Honoré Jozef Coppieters, bishop of Ghent. *

Henri-Charles Lambrecht Henri-Charles-Camille Lambrecht (1848–1889) was 23rd bishop of Ghent between 1888–1889. Born in a small town near Oudenaarde, Lambrecht was educated in the local school. After his studies in St. Joseph Minor Seminary and the Major Seminary ...

, bishop of Ghent. *

Oscar Joliet Oscar Joliet (13 September 1878 - 3 February 1969) was a scholar-priest who served between 1948 and 1969 as the Auxiliary bishop of Ghent. Life Oscar Jozef Joliet was born in Ghent, third recorded son of the baker, Augustus Joliet (1838-1914) a ...

, bishop of Ghent. *

Antoon Stillemans Antoon Stillemans (10 December 1832, Sint-Niklaas – 5 November 1916, Ghent) was for 26 years the twenty-fourth bishop of Ghent, in Belgium. Education Stillemans began studies at the St. Joseph Minor Seminary of Sint-Niklaas in 1846. In 1853 he ...

, bishop of Ghent. *

Gustaaf Joos Gustaaf Joos (; 5 July 1923 – 2 November 2004) was a prelate of the Diocese of Ghent, who was elevated to the Catholic College of Cardinals on 21 October 2003 by Pope John Paul II. Biography He studied with Karol Woytyla in the Belgian Pontif ...

, Cardinal and bishop of

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality co ...

. *

Henry Gabriels Henry Gabriels (October 6 1838 – April 23 1921) was a Belgian-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as bishop of the Diocese of Ogdensburg in Northern New York from 1892 until his death in 1921. Biography Early life Henry Gab ...

, bishop of

Ogdensburg, New York Ogdensburg ( moh, Kaniatarahòn:tsi) is a city in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 10,436 at the 2019 census. In the late 18th century, European-American settlers named the community after American land owner and de ...

. * Augustine Van de Vyver, bishop of

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

Others

* Amaat Joos *

Camil Van Hulse Camil Anton Johan van Hulse (1 August 1897 in Sint-Niklaas, East Flanders, Belgium – 16 July 1988 in Tucson, Arizona, United States) was a Belgian-American pianist, organist, teacher, and composer. Biography Camil van Hulse's father, Gustaaf va ...

* Blessed

Edward Poppe Edward Poppe (18 December 1890 – 10 June 1924) was a Belgian Roman Catholic priest who advocated for the frequent reception of the sacraments and established a children's league dedicated to the Eucharist; he was a strong critic of Marxism and ...

Anton van Wilderode Cyriel Paul Coupé (1918–1998) was a Belgian diocesan priest, teacher, writer and poet, also known by the pseudonym Anton van Wilderode. Life Coupé was born in Moerbeke-Waas on 28 June 1918. He was ordained as a priest on 21 May 1944 in the D ...

References

External links

* http://basis.sjks.eu/welkom/ * http://www.sjks.be/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Joseph Minor Seminary Sint-Niklaas Catholic seminaries in Belgium Churches in East Flanders Franciscan monasteries in Belgium Baroque architecture in Belgium Neoclassical architecture in Belgium Educational institutions established in 1808