Collège François-de-Laval
Origins and current status. The school was founded in 1668, as part of the Séminaire de Québec. Until 1970, the Superior of the Seminary was also the Rector of Université Laval, which was originally an offshoot of it. In 1985, the seminary transferred the secondary school to a new secular not-for-profit organization, "le Collège François-de-Laval", which was given the right to use the "Petit Séminaire de Québec" name. Another school, Le Petit Séminaire de Québec, campus de l'Outaouais was founded as a branch of the school in the Outaouais area of western  Quebec. A separate organization with a similar name, the Petit séminaire diocésain de Québec, is a residential school for boys considering the Roman Catholic priesthood, managed by the Séminaire de Québec. Background. Many French-Canadian clergy of the 18th and 19th century, as well as innumerable academics, went through the Petit Séminaire before higher education became widely accessible. Of 867 students who lived at the Petit Séminaire during the French period, 198 graduated. Of these, 118 became priests or brothers, and 80 chose other occupations, according to research by historian Mgr Amédée Gosselin.