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

Sint-Niklaas Sint-Niklaas (; , ) is a Belgium, Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality located in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Sin ...

, Diocese of Ghent,

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. There were previously a

Recollect The Franciscan Recollects () were a French reform branch of the Friars Minor, a Franciscan order. Denoted by their gray habits and pointed hoods, the Recollects devoted their lives to an extra emphasis on prayer, penance, and spiritual reflecti ...

monastery and a

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

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-Waut ...

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), metropol ...

consecrated the church, in

baroque style The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from the early 17th century until the 1750s. It followed Renaissance art and Mannerism and preceded the Rococo (i ...

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 y ...

of Jan Boeksent. The friars lived there in the conventual buildings until the French Revolution and the French occupation of Belgium. After they were chased out they never returned. It was later sold to Bishop Maurice-Jean de Broglie 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 Priesthood (Catholic Church), Catholic priests. They are generally ...

dedicated to

Saint Joseph According to the canonical Gospels, Joseph (; ) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. Joseph is venerated as Saint Joseph in the Catholic Church, Eastern O ...

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

Pope Pius X Pope Pius 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 Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...

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 Honoré Jozef Coppieters (30 March 1874 – 20 December 1947) was a Belgian prelate who became, in 1927, the Bishop of Ghent. Life Honoré Jozef Coppieters was born at Berlare, Overmere in East Flanders, the eldest son of Benedictus Coppieters a ...

, bishop of Ghent. *

Henri-Charles Lambrecht Henri-Charles-Camille Lambrecht (1848–1889) was 23rd bishop of Ghent between 1888 and 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 Seminar ...

, 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 Roman Catholic Diocese of Ghent, Ghent. Life Oscar Jozef Joliet was born in Ghent, third recorded son of the bake ...

, bishop of Ghent. * Antoon Stillemans, bishop of Ghent. * Gustaaf Joos, Cardinal and bishop of

Ypres Ypres ( ; ; ; ; ) 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 comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper ...

. * Henry Gabriels, bishop of

Ogdensburg, New York Ogdensburg is a city in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 10,064 at the 2020 census. In the late 18th century, European-American settlers named the community after American land owner and developer Samuel Ogden. T ...

. *

Augustine Van de Vyver Augustine Van de Vyver (December 1, 1844 - October 16, 1911) was a Belgian-born American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the sixth bishop of the Diocese of Richmond in Virginia from 1889 to 1911. Biography Early life Augus ...

, bishop of

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

Others

* Amaat Joos * Camil Van Hulse * Blessed Edward Poppe * Anton van Wilderode

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