Американский колледж в Лёвене: История и закрытие семинарии.

Former Roman Catholic seminary in Leuven, Belgium
The American College of the Immaculate Conception, or the American College of Louvain is a former Roman Catholic seminary in Leuven, Belgium. Founded in 1857, it was operated by United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to prepare European priests for service in the United States and to provide a residence for Americans priests studying at the Catholic University of Louvain. The American College closed in June 2011 due to low enrollment and a faculty shortage; its building was turned over to the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven) for student housing.

The college continued to train young men for service to the Church in the United States into the twentieth century under the rectorship of Jules De Becker. it remained open during German occupation in First World War. The college staff hid many documents and other valuable items of Leuven, including the statue of the Sedes Sapientiae, The staff converted the college into an emergency hospital and dispensary of food and clothing. At its peak, the college was assisting 1,500 Leuven residents per day. With the declaration of war in 1939, the college closed. In 1968, a major ethnic dispute known as the Leuven crisis erupted in Belgium between the Flemish speaking population and the Walloons (French speakers). To resolve the dispute, the Catholic University of Louvain was split into KU Leuven in Leuven and the Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain) in Louvain la Neuve, Belgium. The American College, remaining in Leuven, maintained ties with both new institutions. At the close of the 2010–2011 academic year, there were nineteen seminarians in formation with the college. Their sponsoring dioceses were: Boise, Cheyenne, Congregation of Holy Cross, Green Bay, Lublin, Madison, Milwaukee, Orange, Portland (Oregon), Rochester, Salford, and Spokane.

The primary mission of the American College was the formation of priests who would serve the Catholic Church in North America. In addition to the classes offered by KU Leuven the College provided a comprehensive program of human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral formation for seminarians. The college also hosted graduate students studying canon law and theology in Leuven. The college ran a semester long sabbatical program for priests, religious, or laity sent by their dioceses or religious congregations. Both the graduate students and sabbaticals took classes through KU Leuven while living at and participating in activities at the college.

On November 22, 2010, the USCCB released a statement:"Due to the small number of seminarians and available priest faculty, the American College of the Immaculate Conception in Leuven, Belgium, has announced its closure in June 2011." On August 19, 2011, the USCCB, the American College board, KU Leuven and UCLouvain signed an agreement on the future use of the American College property. The facility was renovated in 2013 to serve as housing for Mater Dei and the St. Damien Community students, and for American researchers studying philosophy, theology and canon law at KU Leuven and UCLouvain.