The Leo XIII seminary has a long tradition concerning the housing of students. Since 1892 hundreds of students have studied and lived at our residence. The Leo XIII seminary was built on request of Pope Leo XIII who wrote in his encyclic Aeterni Patris in favor of the Thomistic philosophy. The Leo XIII seminary was therefore built together with the Higher Institute of Philosophy, an institute that would be specialized in thomism. The several neo-gotic buildings of the Leo XIII seminary are one of the most remarkable and one of the most beautiful buildings of Leuven. The foundations of this seminary were laid more than a hundred years ago by Cardinal Mercier.
100 years ago, all students were seminarians, but times have changed and today almost all students are lay. Also the destination of some buildings changed. Today, both the faculty of Pedagogy and the University Parish reside in these buildings. Next to that, there are about eighty rooms that are available for students.

Those eighty rooms are divided into several communities. Every community has a well-equipped communal kitchen that is considered the heart of the communal life. Every community has its own specific characteristics. There are two communities of the University Parish: , Paloma and Tabor, a community called San Damiano of the prayer group Tibériade, a mixed community consisting of Belgians and international students and a community for boys only called the jongenspeda. Every group has its own functioning and commitments. Whoever wants to join a community has to commit him/herself to the communal life.

As you can see, the Leo XIII seminary is not just another student hostel with a number of rooms; it is much more than that. In this aspect Leo XIII is a member of KOTPLUS ”: it wants to be a student hostel where there is room for a little something more. There are collective activities like an opening barbecue, an Advent vigil, a kotconcert, a solidarity meal etc.

On-line sinds 29 november 2000.