The Pontifical Gregorian University is a pontifical university located in Rome, Italy. Heir of the Roman College founded by Saint Ignatius of Loyola over 460 years ago, the Gregorian University was the first university founded by the Jesuits. Containing faculties and institutes of various disciplines of the humanities, the Gregorian has one of the largest theology departments in the world, with over 1600 students from over 130 countries. Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus, established a "School of Grammar, Humanity, and Christian Doctrine" on 18 February 1551 in a... house at the base of the Capitoline Hill. Saint Francis Borgia, the vice-king of Catalonia who became a Jesuit himself, provided financial patronage. With a small library connected to it, this school was called the Collegio Romano . Within the first year, the site was transferred to a larger facility behind the church of San Stefano del Cacco due to the large number of students seeking enrollment. After only two years of existence, the Roman College already counted 250 alumni.
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