Due to the 'Kulturkampf' (Cultural Struggle) of the Protestant Otto von Bismarck, Catholic monasteries were banished from Germany from around 1870 onwards. Numerous monastic orders settled in the border region, including the Jesuit Order, which settled in Valkenburg. The Jesuits had conceived the ambitious plan to build the largest building in the Netherlands there. The Ignatius College, as the monastery would become known, was founded between 1893 and 1895 based on a design by the German architect H.J. Hürth, who had already designed several religious buildings.

The Igatius College became a 'Collegium Maximum', a study and research facility for theologians and philosophers. In addition to the living quarters for the monks, a vast library with over 100,000 books and a star observatory were established. In 1910, a new wing was added, known as the 'Moselbrücke'. A group of writing monks, with a collection of 70,000 books, settled here. The college housed professors, writers, and students, whose fruitful collaboration earned them international fame with the series 'Commentaries on Holy Scripture'.

During the German occupation of World War II, the Jesuits were expelled again. In September 1942, the SS established the Reichsschule for Boys there. The old Gothic chapel was destroyed and completely removed in 1943. From 1944 onwards, the complex was used by the Allies as a hospital.

After the war, the complex remained empty for many years until the Franciscan Sisters of St. Joseph settled there in 1961. At their initiative, a new chapel was built between 1962 and 1964 on the site of the former Gothic chapel. It became a 'modern' chapel, its style somewhat contrasting with that of the classical monastery complex. Between 1964 and 1985, the sisters ran the monastery complex as a retirement home, known as 'Huize Boslust'.