Student residence Collegium Pro America Latina (COPAL)

The student residence COPAL on Tervuursestraat in Leuven, near the student residence Camilo Torres on Brusselstraat.

In 1874, twelve Redemptorists took residence in the Villers College on Vaartstraat, but the old college was soon found to be unsuitable. The sisters then decided to build a new monastery complex on Tervuursestraat in 1886. Two years later, they moved into the new building and remained there until the mid-1950s.

In 1955, the Collegium pro America Latina, established by the Belgian bishops, took residence in the vacant monastery buildings. Missionaries and development workers were prepared there for their mission to Latin America and received, among other things, an immersion in Spanish, Portuguese, and Creole. The operation of the college once again called upon the monastic sisters. The college closed its doors in 2002. The university purchased the complex and converted it into a student residence.

More Info: history of COPAL

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