Jesuit Heritage
As heir to the former Jesuit Business College and University (UFSIA), UCSIA is indebted to the Jesuit tradition.
Heir to UFSIA
The UCSIA themes ‘Economics & Ethics’ and ‘Europe & Solidarity’ stem from the socio-economic emphases that used to be strong in UFSIA’s courses. ‘Religion, Culture & Society’ focuses on the spiritual dimension of human beings in the world.
The spiritual legacy
By choosing these themes, UCSIA aligns with the Jesuits’ vision of education as formation for the whole person: head, heart and hands. Broad and deep scientific knowledge, spirituality, commitment and service, following Ignatius’ motto: En todo amar y servir, or in Dutch: “To love and serve in everything”. This servitude is also reflected in the promotion of the teaching form Service-Learning, which UCSIA is strongly committed to.
Care for good education, personal development and the mental health that goes with it: these are aspects of the rich spiritual and mental heritage of the Society of Jesus that UCSIA wants to carry forward. Specifically, we work closely with members of the Society and its many (net)works, both on a regional and international level.
The material heritage
Antwerp
Along with its spiritual legacy, UCSIA also pays explicit attention to the Society’s rich material heritage in Antwerp and beyond.
From the late 16th century, Antwerp was the centre of the Flemish-Belgian Jesuit province. Many traces of that presence have been preserved in Antwerp’s cityscape: the Saint Charles Borromeo Church was originally the Saint Ignatius Church of the House of Professors, while the Jesuit college was housed in the Hof van Liere on Prinsstraat until 1773.
Library of the Ruusbroec Institute
The focus on material heritage is also motivated by the close connection with the library of the Ruusbroec Institute at the University of Antwerp.
The Ruusbroec Institute is a research centre founded by the Jesuits in 1925. It studies the many expressions of spirituality and religious practice in the Low Countries. Over the years, it has collected unique sources and documents on the development of spirituality, mysticism and theology.
Nowadays, the library of the Ruusbroec Society has become a recognised heritage library, working closely with the Antwerp University Library. Founded by the Jesuits, the library contains a large collection of manuscripts and books related to the religious culture of the Low Countries, as well as a unique collection of more than 40 000 devotional prints produced before 1850.
Jesuit Heritage Foundation
In partnership with the University of Antwerp, UCSIA founded the ‘Jesuit Heritage Foundation’.
The foundation of public interest aims to promote the scientific and social valorisation of the material heritage of the Jesuits in Antwerp and in Flanders.
The operation of the Ruusbroec Library is co-directed by this foundation. Through projects, the foundation makes the library’s collections accessible to a broad audience.
The Antwerp city festival 'Baroque Influencers'
The Antwerp city festival ‘Baroque Influencers’ was set up by the Jesuit Heritage Foundation.
This grand cultural event took place from March to November 2023 and included several exhibitions, concerts, lectures, city walks, books and a podcast series.
The festival highlighted the impact the baroque made on our worldview and on Antwerp’s city centre. The Jesuits played a leading role in this era. As real ‘influencers’, they left their mark on seventeenth-century Antwerp.
The central exhibition ‘Baroque Influencers: Jesuits, Rubens and the Art of Persuasion’ was the beating heart of the festival. It showed, among other things, several masterpieces from the Ruusbroec Library’s collection. As part of the festival, the Ruusbroec Institute launched ‘Devotio’, an online database of their impressive print collection.
UCSIA and the University of Antwerp took the lead in the organisation. They brought together a broad network of partners from the cultural sector, academia and industry for this purpose.
Do you want to learn more about the city festival? Take a look at barokkeinfluencers.be or read the event report.
Fixtures and partners
An annual Ruusbroec Day is held in cooperation with the Ruusbroec Society as well. In addition, the Ruusbroec Institute and the University Library annually organise the international summer schools ‘Books and Culture’ and ‘Christian Heritage Summer School’.
Furthermore, the foundation is exploring cooperation opportunities with other heritage partners such as KADOC, PARCUM, the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies at KU Leuven and the Bollandists’ library.
Jesuit networks
UCSIA partners with several regional and international Jesuit networks on various topics.
Through our participation in international Jesuit networks, UCSIA aims to enrich the research, teaching and social service of the University of Antwerp with the global expertise that Jesuits have acquired around various societal challenges such as combating poverty, climate policy and sustainable economy.
