The Ruusbroec Institute was founded by Jesuits, and still is closely connected to the Jesuit congregation in Antwerp. Jesuit activity in Antwerp and in the Low Countries has always been a special interest of its researchers.
The influence of Jesuit spirituality on nationalist and general political thought in Flanders during the first half of the twentieth century (2004-2006)
This project is a continuation of the research project finished in 2001 on the foundation and early years of the Ruusbroec Institute, and studies the influence of Jesuit spirituality on nationalistic and general political thought in Flanders in the first half of the twentieth century. Embedded in a general study on the relations between the Jesuits and the Flemish Movement, this project focuses on the so-called 'false mysticism', which is suspected to have played an important role in the spiritual life of the Flemish members of the Jesuit order. The aims of the project are to give an accurate description of 'false mysticism' and to examine its connections with (1) Ignatian spirituality, and (2) the body of ideas of the Jesuits with Flemish-nationalist leanings.
- Project: 2004-2006
- Christian de Borchgrave
- Supervisors: Guido de Baere and Herman Van Goethem (University of Antwerp)
- Funded by: SFO-Eigen Initiatieven UFSIA
- Publications:
- C. de Borchgrave & L. Kenis, ‘Het rijke roomse jezuïetenleven. De Oude Abdij als vormingshuis van de Sociëteit van Jezus 1837-1968’, in: J. Decavele, J. De Maeyer, P. Quaghebeur en P. Trio (eds.), De Oude Abdij van Drongen. Elf eeuwen geschiedenis, s.l., Oude Abdij van Drongen vzw-KADOC-K.U.Leuven, 2006, pp. 306-371.
- C. de Borchgrave, ‘Jozef Van Opdenbosch s.j. (1892-1944)’, in: K. Schepers en F. Hendrickx (eds.), De letter levend maken. Opstellen aangeboden aan Guido de Baere bij zijn zeventigste verjaardag, Leuven, Peeters, 2010 (Miscellanea Neerlandica 39), pp. 202- 232.
- C. de Borchgrave, ‘Een boegbeeld van het integraal-katholieke Vlaams-nationalisme in het interbellum: Jozef Van Opdenbosch s.j. (1892-1944)’, in: Wetenschappelijke tijdingen 69 (2010), pp. 331-359.
- C. de Borchgrave, Les jésuites et le mouvement flamand. Histoire d’un engagement tardif mais virulent, Leuven, Peeters, 2014 (Annua Nuntia Lovaniensia 68).
- C. de Borchgrave, 'De Savaanstraat: het jezuïetencollege. Het roomse collegeleven', in: R. Mantels, A.-L. Van Bruaene, C. Verbruggen en G. Deneckere (eds.), Geloven in Gent. Plaatsen van het religieuze verleden, Gent, Academia Press, 2015, pp. 236-245.