John Berchmans, SJ was a Jesuit scholastic and is revered as a saint in the Catholic Church.

Diest is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. Situated in the northeast of the Hageland region, Diest neighbours the provinces of Antwerp to its North, and Limburg to the East and is situated around 60 km from Brussels. The municipality comprises the city of Diest proper and the towns of Deurne, Kaggevinne, Molenstede, Schaffen and Webbekom. As of January 1, 2006, Diest had a total population of 22,845. The total area is 58.20 km2 which gives a population density of 393 inhabitants per km2.