UCD-OFM G 9 (formerly C 12). 3 April 1607. Vellum with papal seal.
Papal bull issued by Pope Paul V on 3 April 1607 to the archbishop of Mechelen (Malines) sanctioning the foundation of St Anthony's College, Louvain.
The re-organisation of the church in the Spanish Netherlands during the reign of Philip III of Spain was an essential part of the Counter-Reformation in Europe. Seminaries such as the Irish Franciscan college at Louvain were established to train clergy for Ireland. The college was under the jurisdiction of the archbishop of Mechelen (Malines) and it became a house of studies affiliated to the University of Louvain. The papal bull was a formal document sanctioning the foundation of St Anthony's College as sought by Florence Conry. Papal indulgences were granted to whomever worshipped there on the feast of St Anthony of Padua. A further grant of papal indulgences was issued from Rome on 26 February 1608 for those who worshipped in the college on 17 March, St Patrick's Day.
