Josephites of Belgium
The Institute of the Josephites of Belgium (), commonly called Josephites is a Roman Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men devoted to the Christian education of the youth It was founded in Ghent Belgium by Canon van Crombrugghe, in 1817. Its members add the nominal letters C.J. after their names to indicate membership in the Institute. While their primary apostolate is the education of the youth, they also have a missionary past in Africa. Their headquarters is at Karmelietenstraat 57, 9500 Geraardsbergen, Belgium. The organisation is a Congregation of Pontifical Right. History. The Josephites were  founded in the Diocese of Ghent by Canon Constant van Crombrugghe in 1817. Members of the congregation use the initials "C.J." after their names. The purpose was the education of children from poorer backgrounds who might not otherwise go to school. The congregation set up a commercial school and an industrial school. As of 2017 the congregation had established four schools in Belgium, two in England, one in the United States, and nine in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Statistics. In 2018, they had 9 houses, with 111 members including 72 priests.