The Pontifical North American College is a Roman Catholic educational institution in Rome, Italy educating seminarians for the dioceses in the United States and providing a residence for American priests studying in Rome. It was founded in 1859 by Blessed Pope Pius IX and was granted pontifical status by the Holy See in 1884. The formal incorporated name for the College is The American College of the Roman Catholic Church of the United States. Oversight of the College is given to the Catholic bishops of the United States, as well as the Holy See's Congregation for Catholic Education. The Pontifical North American College, while the more well-known of the United States Bishops' two national seminaries, is actually the younger of the two institutions. The American College of the Immaculate Conception, located in Leuven (Louvain), Belgium, was founded in 1857, two years before the institution of the Pontifical North American College. The Pontifical North American College was founded in 1859 by Blessed Pope Pius IX in a former Dominican and Visitation Convent, the Casa Santa Maria, located in central Rome near the Trevi Fountain.