"The Placet was a place where you didn't feel like a foreigner ... We felt at home, in a place in the world where it was possible, with others, to rebuild or strengthen an identity..."
Elena Bicera, former Placet resident (Uruguay) - 2001
The origin of the name “PLACET” comes from the the Brothers of Christian Doctrine - also called Placet College, founded in 1889 in Leuven. The College, which has now disappeared, had this name inscribed above its front door: “PLACET DEUS” (“who pleases God” in Latin). With time, the inscription “DEUS” faded away, leaving only the name “PLACET”. The name was retained when the building was purchased in Leuven to convert it into a student house. The name was retained when the UCLouvain was transferred to Louvain-la-Neuve, where the hostel now resides.
The name of our Association is deeply linked to both "Louvain" (Leuven, in Dutch and located in Flanders, & Louvain-la-Neuve, located in Wallonia, french-speaking region of Belgium) as well as to the University.
1425

1889
Lithography of Placet College (only the entrance gate remains in Leuven), made by Gustaaf Wellis - Museum M of Leuven (licence CC BY-NC-SA).

1967
One will be Flemish and Dutch-speaking (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven - KU Leuven), the other French-speaking (Université catholique de Louvain - UCLouvain).
The official name in English of the Université catholique de Louvain is University of Louvain.
Archive of Hythlodaeus (CC BY-NC-SA licence).
1968

1972
Placet helps its first students find accommodation on the Louvain-la-Neuve campus.

1973
The university, informed by decree of the Belgian government's encouragement of the creation of clubs and hostels for international scholarship holders, takes the opportunity to set up the hostel as an nonprofit organization. Centre Placet is recognised and subsidised by the General Agency for Development Cooperation (AGCD) of Belgian government.
Relocation to Louvain-la-Neuve.

1974
The members of the ARP, an existing de facto association recognised on this occasion as a partner of the Univeristy of Louvain for this project, are actively involved in the development and evaluation of projects, stimulating and supporting staff and management in the search for resources, the many negotiations and the implementation of the various actions.
Archives of the University of Louvain, Jean-Jacques Rousseaux, CO029-Lieux
1979

1980

1989

90's-00's
2001

2002

2007
Photo of EmDee (licence CC BY-NC-SA).

2015
The management of the grocery store has since been delegated to the Belgian Red Cross.
2016
2016

2017

2018
2020

2020

2023
We also have a photo album of the people who have come to stay in our home over the years. The photos are published with the agreement of our former residents.
Many thanks to Jean-Marie Lechat & Michel Ledent, formers directors of Centre Placet, for the additional information that made the writing of this page possible.