Lovanium: a university born in the tension between religious missions and colonial modernization
Before 1954: the role of the Jesuits and UCL
Even before Lovanium, the Catholic University of Louvain (UCL) had founded two institutions
important in the Belgian Congo:
* FOMULAC (1926), medical center intended to train nurses and conduct research in tropical medicine.
* CADULAC (1932), agronomic center in Kisantu, intended to train Congolese agronomists.
Administered with the missions, notably the Jesuits, these institutions will serve as a scientific basis for the future university project.
1949–1953: mandate from the Jesuits to found a university
In 1949, the Apostolic Delegate officially entrusted the Jesuits with the task of preparing a Catholic university in the Belgian Congo. They then acquired the land of Kimwenza, where the first pavilions were built in 1953. Several colonial circles were opposed to the formation of an African elite, fearing that it would accelerate political demands.
The Jesuits themselves favored a pre-university cycle, out of educational or political prudence.
The emergence of Mgr Luc Gillon: builder and strategist
According to the archives, Mgr Luc Gillon (nuclear physicist, trained in Louvain and Princeton) was sent to the Congo in 1954 to inspect the work. He then became founding rector of Lovanium, from 1954 to 1967.
A fine strategist, Gillon deceives the Jesuits by claiming to only be creating a pre-university center. Faced with the conservative Jesuits and the colonial administration, UCL wanted a more ambitious project.
Thanks to Mgr Gillon, UCL firmly took up the project in 1954, despite colonial reluctance.
Eager to create a modern university, Gillon quickly joined forces with the Minister of Colonies, Auguste Buisseret.
The decisive role of Auguste Buisseret (1954–1958)
Auguste Dieudonné Eugène Buisseret, Walloon liberal, lawyer and defender of human rights, was an activist for equality between Congolese and Europeans, promoter of public and secular education in Congo, he was Minister of Colonies from 1954 to 1958.
Buisseret wanted to reduce the religious monopoly on colonial education and develop public schools, official higher education, and a secular university.
The « deal » Gillon–Buisseret
Mgr Gillon obtains financial support from the Belgian state for Lovanium (1954) in exchange, Buisseret obtains the creation of the official secular University of Élisabethville, founded in 1956. This compromise avoids an open conflict between liberals and clergy Catholic.
Lovanium University (1954–1971): intellectual beacon of Central Africa
Officially founded in 1954, Lovanium became the first large modern university in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa, one of the three most prestigious establishments on the continent, along with Ibadan and Makerere, with an ultra-modern campus at Mount Amba. It also developed the first African site with a TRIGA I nuclear reactor (1959) under the leadership of Gillon.
The formation of the African elite: some major figures
1. Étienne Tshisekedi
First Congolese graduate in law from Lovanium, doctor of law in 1961. In 1960 he became deputy commissioner general of Justice. Then he will play a big role in the political history of Zaire because he will be the first to create an opposition political party in 1980 called UDPS. he will be the first minister of the CNS (sovereign national conference) in August 1992.
2. Mgr Tharcisse Shield
Became a doctor in Theology and subsequently First Congolese rector of Lovanium (1967 to 1971). Subsequently, he was rector of UNAZA (national university of Zaire) which replaced Lovanium.
3. Barthelemy Bisengimana
First African civil engineer in electricity graduated from Lovanium (1961) from Rwanda from Astrid College in 1956. nicknamed the “MAZARIN OF ZAIRE” who will be the powerful man and strategist of the consolidation of Mobutu’s power in 1965 to 1977
4. Albert Ndele, graduated in Economic Sciences in 1958 who will be vice-president of the college of general commissioners in September 1960. Economist, he was the future governor of the National Bank of Congo from 1961 to 1970
5. Prosper Madrandele Tanzi, graduated in political and administrative sciences in 1960, he was the first black general director of REGIDESO in 1960. Then he became a member of the political bureau, General Secretary and finally political director of the MPR (Popular Movement of the Revolution) party. state.(1970-1974)
6. Ngendandumwe Pierre (Prime Minister of Burundi) graduated from Lovanium in 1960, graduated in political and administrative sciences. Became Prime Minister of Burundi. He was assassinated on January 15, 1965.
7. Martin Belinga (Cameroon, diplomat) after leaving Lovanium, he became Special Advisor to President Biya then Cameroon’s ambassador to the United Nations.
8. Mengistu Haile Mariam: graduate of Lovanium with a bachelor’s degree in Economics who became the leader of the military junta that overthrew Emperor Haile Selassie in Ethiopia. He now lives in exile in Zimbabwe.
9. Gerard Kamanda wa kamanda, graduated from Lovanium in law in 1964, former Deputy Secretary General of the OAU, Secretary General at the Presidency of the Republic of Zaire in 1966, Former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice and Foreign Affairs, a mastermind who mastered the issues between the West and Africa.
Lovanium’s contribution to the African elite
Between 1954 and 1971, Lovanium trained the first executives of Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Cameroon, Central Africa and Ethiopia, provided a political elite (ministers, diplomats, senior civil servants), produced doctors, engineers and scientists of international level, contributed to the modernization of national institutions after independence.
Conclusion
Lovanium University was decisive in the training of the modern African elite, thanks to the intellectual ambition of Mgr Gillon, combining an advanced university infrastructure, and a demanding program oriented towards scientific excellence. Today his legacy lives on
the University of Kinshasa.
And tomorrow…?
In the perspective of a renewed CEPGL, we can envisage the establishment of regional inter-university cooperation capable of bringing about a new elite, carrying a common identity in the Great Lakes, a shared humanism and a vision beyond borders
national. The road remains long, but every vision ends up creating its own dynamic. History reminds us that the foundations of such cooperation had already been laid, in their time, by the University of Lovanium.
We once again express our gratitude to Mr. Charles Lututa, expert on the Great Lakes region, for the clarity of his insights and the depth of his analysis, which allow us to better understand current issues in the light of History.
