Collège Matteo Ricci

Metteo Ricci College Collège Matteo Ricci
Address
Boulevard Poincaré 67 1070 Brussels (Anderlecht) Belgium
Coordinates	50.841568°N 4.339483°E / 50.841568; 4.339483
Information
Type	General Secondary
Religious affiliation(s)	Catholic
Established	2019
Director	Anne L’Olivier
Campus size	5 buildings
Affiliation	Jesuit
Website	collegematteoricci.be

Matteo Ricci College (French: Collège Matteo Ricci) is a Mixed Catholic secondary school in Anderlecht, Brussels, Belgium. It opened in September 2019 and is a Jesuit college, the first Jesuit school to be opened in Belgium in the 21st century. It is located on Boulevard Poincaré, 400 metres north east of Brussels-South railway station.

History

In Brussels, the French-speaking Jesuits were already present at St Michael's College and St Jean Berchmans Church. In 2015, the Jesuits decided to build a new school in the Anderlecht municipality of the region and started the plans for its construction. There was a need for extra schools in the area, with many nearby schools being over-registered.^[1][2] Construction of the school was supported by "those involved in the Brussels community life, by former students of the Jesuits and by the Society of Jesus, in dialogue with the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels."^[3] In November 2017, it was reported that the Maimonides Jewish Athenaeum in Anderlecht would close because of a lack of students.^[4] With the site of former athenaeum vacant, it was decided to open the new school there. In January 2019, it was reported by La Libre and RTBF that a new Jesuit college offering General Secondary Education was being built, affiliated to the General Secretariat of Catholic Education (French: Secrétariat Général de l’Enseignement Catholique) in French-speaking Belgium, and that it would open in September 2019.^[5][6] The first director of the school is Anne L'Olivier, who was previously director at Notre-Dame de la Sagesse School.^[3]

Facilities

The school opened with a capacity of 820 students. It has 5 buildings, including a sports hall and a performance hall.^[3] As part of teacher training and introduction classes for new students, new teachers give supervised remedial classes to new students three weeks before the start of the academic year.^[7]

See also

• Matteo Ricci
• List of Jesuit sites in Belgium

References

1. Monique Baus, Bruxelles concentre six nouvelles écoles dont deux islamiques: du positif pour les zones où les inscriptions posent problème?, La Libre, 27 August 2019, retrieved 30 October 2022
2. Monique Baus, Un collège jésuite ouvre ses portes à Anderlecht: qu'est-ce qui distingue ce type d'enseignement?, La Libre, 27 August 2019, retrieved 30 October 2022
3. Michel Geyer and Marjorie Fellinger, Un nouveau collège jésuite fera sa rentrée des classes lundi à Anderlecht, bx1, 26 August 2019, retrieved 30 October 2022
4. Anderlecht: the Maimonides athenaeum has closed for lack of students, bx1, 10 November 2022, retrieved 1 November 2022
5. Christian Laporte, Un nouveau collège jésuite dès la rentrée prochaine à Bruxelles, La Libre, 24 January 2019, retrieved 30 October 2022
6. Un nouveau collège jésuite ouvrira ses portes à Bruxelles en septembre 2019, RTBF, 24 January 2019, retrieved 30 October 2022
7. Marie-Noëlle Dinant, Nicolas Scheenaerts and Corinne De Beul, Enseignement : des profs se préparent à leur première rentrée scolaire, bx1, 3 August 2022, retrieved 30 October 2022

External links

• Official website