History

Berchmanskolleg 1925	Adacemic Staff and Students	Lecture	Opening Ceremony

   
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The Munich School of Philosophy, which has resided since the fall term of 1971 in Munich, at Kaulbachstraße 31-33, was originally founded as the »Berchmanskolleg« in 1925, in the town of Pullach. Its founder, Augustin Bea, then principal of the Northern German Province of the Society of Jesus, later became Cardinal.

The school received accreditation by the Bavarian state government, as a school for instruction in the priesthood, on November 27, 1925, based on an ordinance of May 10, 1905, and in accordance with the Bavarian Concordat (Art. 13, § 2). By decree of the Sacra Congregatio de Seminariis et Studiorum Universitatibus the school was raised, on September 8, 1932, to a Faculty of Philosophy in canonical law, thereby enabling it to confer the doctoral degree in philosophy upon its students, who then consisted solely of young members of the Society of Jesus. In these early years, the school's primary purpose was to provide education in philosophy for new entrants into the Society from the German-speaking Jesuit provinces. However, from its beginning the school was also attended by Jesuits from other nations, and, since 1945, students not belonging to the Jesuit Order have also been enrolled at the school.

The school moved to its present location in the center of Munich in 1971, so as to be able to offer its courses and programs to all students interested in philosophy. Since then, the name »Berchmanskolleg« is no longer used for the school, but it continues to be the name of the Jesuits' residence, which is found behind the school at Kaulbachstrasse 31a. Most of the Jesuit professors and the younger members of the order who study at the school live there. At present there are approximately 600 students of philosophy enrolled at the school. The majority of students are not members of the Jesuit Order, and now include women and international students.

Prehistory

From its inception, the Society of Jesus considered the study of philosophy to be an indispensable foundation for theological training, and cultivated philosophical schooling accordingly. In the southern German region, from the middle of the sixteenth century until the nullification of the Jesuit order (1773), the University of Ingolstadt, precursor of the modern Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich, was the most important center for philosophical and theological studies. As early as 1549, Petrus Canisus and two other Jesuits came to Ingolstadt and gave lectures in theology there for three years. From 1561 onwards, Jesuits were regularly among the philosophical faculty there, and, in 1588, Duke Wilhelm V consigned the faculty entirely to the Jesuit order.

From Ingolstadt, in 1573, the Jesuits founded a school for philosophy in Munich, which can be seen as a forerunner of today's school. However, after a few years the Jesuits returned to Ingolstadt, where their lectures were held in equal esteem with those given at the university. The vigorous development of the Jesuits' philosophical and theological seminaries, through two centuries, was abruptly broken off with the papal disbanding of the Jesuit order in 1773. Following the reinstatement of the order in 1814, the best known Jesuit schools for philosophy in the German regions, predating the present school in Munich, were: Freiburg in Switzerland (1818-1847), Maria Laach (1863-1872), and Valkenburg in Holland (1863-1872) - after political struggles between church and state caused the banishment of the Jesuits from Germany.

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