Monastery of Vaalbeek

The monastery of the Minor Brothers-Franciscans, Prosperdreef 9 in Vaalbeek, was built after World War II (the groundwork began in 1947 and the construction was completed in 1950). It was intended as a training house for the Franciscans of the Flemish Minor Brothers province.

After the novitiate (which at that time was done in Tielt in West Flanders), the young brothers-in-training came to Vaalbeek for their further studies: two years of philosophy and one year of theology; after that, they moved on to Sint-Truiden for another three years of theology. In Vaalbeek, there was also a training program for brothers who would not become priests: the juvenate.

At one point, there were around 60 to 70 brothers living in the monastery. It was buzzing with activities: there was a farm, a carpentry workshop, a bookbinding shop, a large library, and people from the surrounding area joined the Eucharistic celebrations and prayer hours (especially the Sunday Vespers) of the monastic community.

In 1964, a merger was established for the priest training: not only the young Franciscans attended the classes, but also the priests-in-training from the Augustinians, the Carmelites, and the Picpus priests. Two years later, this merger was expanded to the CKS (Center for Church Studies) which had as many as 400 students. The classes were held in Leuven with the Dominicans and the Scheutists and in Heverlee with the Jesuits. In 1970, the training community moved to Leuven and the building became available; it was set up for reflection and training sessions. This continued until the end of 1993.

In early 1994, an agreement was reached between the non-profit organization of Minor Brothers and CAFED (Christian Academy for European Dialogue), whereby a large part of the building was made available to CAFED; that part of the building was renamed “La Foresta” (the forest), after a place in Italy that has gained historical significance in the life of Saint Francis of Assisi.

Calle