Ferdinand Verbiest Foundation
Welcome to our new website! We are gradually adding more information.
Introduction
The Verbiest Foundation Leuven, based in Belgium, is dedicated to fostering dialogue and mutual understanding between China and Belgium. Founded in 1983, the Foundation promotes open exchange in the fields of culture, education, and society, with particular attention to intercultural and interreligious dialogue.
To carry out this mission, the Verbiest Foundation focuses on four main pillars: research, publications, education, and cultural exchange. Learn more about our mission below and meet the team that helps bring it to life.
To fullfill this mission, we rely on donations. Learn more how to contribute to our mission here.
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Our Mission
Research
We lead research on the history of the Catholic Church in China, focusing particularly on the activities and legacy of CICM missionaries in Northern China, Mongolia, and Xinjiang. We translate, publish, and study missionary records to explore their influence, methods, and reception. Through these projects, we foster intercultural dialogue, contribute to Sino-European historiography, and preserve the legacy of the Catholic Mission in China.
Education/Formations
In the spirit of the Scheut Fathers (CICM), the Verbiest Foundation continues their mission of offering courses that directly support the work of Church ministers, in fields such as Pastoral Ministry, Catechesis, Social Doctrine, and Spirituality.
Cultural Exchange
The Verbiest Foundation fosters dialogue and mutual understanding between the Church in Belgium and the Church in China through a wide range of cultural activities designed to maintain lasting ties and strengthen collaboration.
Facilities
Scheut Memorial Library
The Verbiest Foundation is heir to a number of scholarly libraries. In the early 1990s, these libraries were brought together as the "Scheut Memorial Library". The Library is a tribute to the pioneering work of Belgian missionary-scholars in China and adjacent areas prior to 1949.
Chinese College Leuven
The Chinese College Leuven (CCL) was established by Verbiest Foundation in 1993 inside the South American College Leuven. Today it is located at Vlamingenstraat 1 3000 Leuven, in a former CICM seminary. The college hosts encounters and programs that promote exchange and dialogue between Catholic churches and communities in Europe, China and East Asia. Its Chinese name is Ren Yi Shu Yuan (任意书院 House of Humanity and Justice). CCL is a place of shared community life, where residents live together and actively participate in communal activities. In addition, CCL offers accommodation to pilgrims and researchers who make use of its library. If you have questions you can contact the Rector of the CCL, Fr. Matthew via matthewgonzx@outlook.com
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Newsflash
Leuven Chinese Studies XLVIII
Religion, Society, and Secularization: Proceedings of the 15th International Conference of the Verbiest Institute KU Leuven
Participants at this Leuven conference, September 3-6, 2024, will particularly welcome the fact that the conference papers are now available in print. The slim book by Cardinal J. De Kesel, Faith and
Religion in a Secular Society (2021), has proved seminal; in their multifaceted contributions to the eponymous conference, religious leaders as well as scholars from West and East have formulated their interpretations of what the challenge of secularization means for the future of the Church, not least in China.
