After the invasion of Antwerp by Alexander Farnese in 1584 the Spanish invaders forced all Protestants to leave the city or convert to Catholicism within four years.Not only did this lead to an emigration of about half the city's population in just two years, it also started the counter-reformation, a movement led by the Jesuits to counter the reformation of the Protestants.The most visible project of this movement was the construction of the baroque Carolus Borromeus church, originally known as the Ignatius church, named after the founder of the Jesuits, Ignatius of Loyola.