The Thomasian identity is rooted in Catholic faith. This section presents the Catholic faith and inspiration that the University of Santo Tomas leans on鈥攖he Virgin Mary, the saints and martyrs, the Pope, the clergy, as well as the modern-day Christians who try every day to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ.
The rich history of the Catholic Church and the Order of Preachers have blessed the Dominican family, particularly the University of Santo Tomas, with a wellspring of inspiration in the form of men and women, saints and martyrs, whose lives of faith, are worthy of emulation. Some of these saints and martyrs hold a special place in the hearts of Thomasians, who look up to them as the听Patrons and Patronesses听of the University and the units within them.
Close to four centuries into the Order鈥檚 existence, one of the Dominican brethren, Manila Archbishop Miguel de Benavides, O.P., willed the establishment of a听colegio, where would-be priests will learn about theology, grammar, and the arts. This will was made before Benavides died in July 1605, and was finally realized on April 28, 1611, with the founding of the听Colegio del Santissimo Rosario, later the听Colegio de Santo Tomas, and the present-day University of Santo Tomas.
The Order of Preachers, through the Dominican Province of the Philippines, owns and operates the University of Santo Tomas. The community of friars ministering in the University is assigned to the Priory of Saint Thomas Aquinas.
Fr. Rolando V. de la Rosa, O.P.听(2016)
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The year 1970 marked the eighth centenary of the birth of St. Dominic. On April 30, 1970, the Master of the Order, Fr. Aniceto Fernandez, O.P., sent a circular to all Dominican Provinces, convents, monasteries, and sisters鈥� congregations, inviting all Dominicans to observe with due solemnity and fervor that significant occasion. In the Philippines, the celebrations were inaugurated on August 4, 1970, and were to end on December 31, 1971. Within this yearlong festival, two important events in the Order happened: the declaration of St. Catherine of Siena as Doctor of the Church on October 4, 1970, and the establishment of the forty-first Province of the Dominican Order, which would climax the celebrations.
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On December 8, 1971, at about 9:30 in the morning, the Mass began with the Master of the Order himself as the main celebrant. Dominicans from all over the Philippines, as well as from other countries, graced the solemn occasion. In his homily, the Master of the Order recommended two things which he believed would guarantee the success of the new Province in continuing the glorious history of the Mother Province:
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i 鈥� a great fidelity to the Church, to the Pope, to the hierarchy, to the Master of the Order, as had been exemplified in St. Dominic himself, our Founder, and;
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ii 鈥� a great fidelity to the new constitution of the Order and to the decrees of the Second Vatican Council.
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The ceremony proper for the inauguration of the new Province began immediately after the Mass. First came the reading of the Decree of Establishment of the Dominican Province of the Philippines. This decree provides information about the new Province:
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After the reading of the decree, the Master of the Order announced the appointment of Fr. Rogelio Alarcon, O.P. as the first Provincial of the Dominican Province of the Philippines. Father Alarcon accepted his appointment in public, as provided for by custom, after which he made the Profession of Faith before the Master of the Order, as a manifestation of his trust in Divine Providence. After the听Credo, all the brethren of the new Province approached the altar, and in one impressive expression of their allegiance to the new Provincial, they made the听venia,听the traditional sign of obedience to the Dominican superior. The Provincial then went on to deliver his inaugural address. After his talk, both the Spanish and Filipino Dominicans sang the triumphant hymn,听Te Deum, and the ageless Marian antiphon听Salve Regina, their voices blending into a melody of hope and intercession.
The Pontifical Universities are Roman Catholic universities under the authority of the Holy See. These are licensed to grant academic degrees in the sacred faculties, such as Canon Law, Philosophy, and Sacred Theology, in the bachelor鈥檚 licentiate, and doctorate levels. Studies in the said institutions normally address the Christian revelation and disciplines correlative to the evangelical mission of the Catholic Church. High moral standards and discipline are expected of students, and the teachings are also equivalent to the apostolic constitution of the Catholic Church.
草榴视频 of Santo Tomas, Manila, Philippines, was conferred the title 鈥淧ontifical鈥� in 1902 by Pope Leo XIII. In the Philippines, UST remains to be the only university accorded such status.
Fr. Fidel E. Villarroel, O.P. (2009).听A History of the University of Santo Tomas 鈥� Volume II.
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The Holy Father sent Monsignor Giovanni Battista Guidi [on a mission to the Philippines]. A man of long experience in the Vatican diplomatic service, he arrived in the Philippines in November 1902. Guidi brought with him the Apostolic Constitution听Quae Mari Sinico, signed in Rome by Pope Leo XIII on September 17, 1902 and which he promulgated in the Manila Cathedral on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 9, 1902. This document was of unprecedented importance because it introduced great reforms of far-reaching consequences to the local Church.
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The relevant topics discussed were: the creation of four new dioceses, the need to increase the number of the native clergy, the foundation of conciliar seminaries, the importance of the Catholic missions and norms for the organization of the parishes, etc. One important section in the document dealt with the education of the youth and the programs of university studies in Manila.
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After the revolution, the University of Santo Tomas was on the brink of extinction because of some decrees passed by the Malolos Congress and the refusal of the new political regime to recognize its curricular programs and degrees. Nevertheless, it eventually saw the threats of extinction vanish, thanks to the support of the highest authority of the Church.
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Guidi served a copy of Quae Mari Sinico to the Dominicans who accepted it with great joy and exuberance because Section VII of the document contains a Papal declaration that conferred upon the University of Santo Tomas the title of Pontifical University and recognized its academic degrees as having the same value as those of other pontifical universities in the world. The UST Press reprinted the document in December 1902, not only in original Latin, but also in five other languages: Spanish, English, Tagalog, Ilocano, and Visayan. The pertinent section of the Quae Mari Sinico read:
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The Bishops should be concerned not only with the Seminaries, but also with the other young students [in country] who are likewise entrusted to their care and solicitude. It is therefore their duty to see to it, with all diligence, that the youths who attend the public schools are not deprived of religious training. In order that this be properly attended to, let the Bishops take effective measures that the books used [in these schools] be not tainted with error.
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Since we are speaking, of public schools, We cannot let this opportunity pass without bestowing the much-deserved praise on the great [University of Santo Tomas], founded by the Dominicans under the authority of Innocent X. This school has always shone in the integrity of its doctrine, in the excellence of its doctors, and has rendered great service [to the Church and country]. Therefore, We desire that all Bishops look upon it with favor, and We and Our Successors take it under Our patronage.
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Hence,听We confirm in all their plenitude the privileges and honors conferred on the [University of Santo Tomas] by the Roman Pontiffs Innocent X and XI and Clement XII, and We endow it with the title of PONTIFICAL UNIVERSITY, hereby declaring that the academic degrees that are conferred by it. Shall have the same values as those of other Pontifical Universities.
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Since the beginning of the 13th听century, some important universities were distinguished by the Church for their excellent quality of education. History attests that 鈥渙f the 52 universities founded before 1400, there were 29 created by Papal decree, and 10 others by decrees jointly issued by the Roman Pontiffs, emperors and reigning princes. The most famous among these were the universities of Paris, Oxford, Cambridge, Bologna and Salamanca.鈥� But despite their establishment by Papal authorization, those universities were not referred to as pontifical. In fact, with the passing of the centuries some of them lost their Catholic character because of the Protestant Reformation.
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A look at the list of the present pontifical universities will illustrate the singular privilege granted to the University of Santo Tomas by the apostolic constitution听Quae Mari Sinico听in 1902. The 2000 edition of the听Annuario Pontifico, the annual official directory of the Holy See, lists all Catholic and/or pontifical institutes of higher learning, grouping them into two categories: Roman Athenaeums and Catholic Universities. Only 24 are called听pontifical, and of these, six are located at Rome (Gregorian University, Lateran University, Urbaanum Angelicum, Salesianum, and the Holy Cross University); three are in Europe; fourteen in Latin America; and only one in Asia: the University of Santo Tomas in Manila.
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The first university to be officially granted the title of pontifical is the Gregorian University in Rome. Although founded in 1551, it was only in 1873 that Pope Pius IX elevated it into a pontifical university. Among the other 23 pontifical universities, the first to have been conferred the title in the 20th听Century is the University of Santo Tomas of Manila, through the Apostolic Constitution, Quae Mari Sinico, in 1902.
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It must be pointed out that the University of Santo Tomas has been called pontifical much earlier than 1902, and not only once but hundred of times. References to it as Royal and Pontifical occurred frequently in printed speeches and sermons delivered by Dominican rectors and professors before 1902. Three statutes of the university drafted in the years 1734, 1785, and 1859 bore the title:听Estatutos de la Real y Pontificia Universidad de Santo Tomas de Manila.听The various inaugural addresses delivered during the opening of the school year also referred to the university as pontifical. But this was due to the fact that the university has always enjoyed the patronage and support of the Papacy, as evident in Quae Mari Sinico itself, where Pope Leo XIII clearly stated that he was confirming in all their plenitude, the privileges and honors conferred on the University of Santo Tomas by Roman Pontiffs. So, although papal documents always referred to the University of Santo Tomas as听universitas听or as听academia,听or听lyceum,听and not as听pontifica, it is safe to say that in the mind of the Popes, the University of Santo Tomas has always been pontifical in character, and what Pope Leo XIII did in 1902 was simply to make the title official.
Break Time听is the weekly Sunday Gospel reflection video produced by the Communications Bureau. The preaching features members of the Dominican family in the Philippines.
iLumen is a catechetical program that originated in the Dominican Province of the Philippines. Now produced by the Communications Bureau, the video series now focuses on content that explains Church teachings and also introduces to the faithful our role models, the Saints and Blessed.
Father Answers Questions听is a catechetical program that aims to answer the faithful’s questions in a fun and quirky manner. Our guest priests base their responses on our Church’s teachings and localize them to the lives of the Filipino faithful.
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Rix the Seminarian is a Catholic vlogger in the person of UST seminarian Br. Enrico Macrohon.
The most recent visit by the Supreme Pontiff was held on January 18, 2015, with the incumbent Pope, Francis, visiting the University of Santo Tomas as part of his five-day Apostolic Visit to the Philippines.
Pope John Saint Paul II made his second and final visit to the University of Santo Tomas on January 13, 1995, on the occasion of the International Youth Forum, held in conjunction with the World Youth Day celebration.
1981 –听February 18:听Pope John Paul II
1970 – November 28:听Pope Paul VI
Prof. Lilian J. Sison, PhD, Secretary-General of Religions for Peace Philippines, emphasizes what interreligious and interfaith dialogue entail in this episode of Zoomed In.
On October 8, 2021, the College of Science and the Center for Theology, Religious Studies, and Ethics held the , which gathered religious leaders from different faith and belief systems to advocate for COVID-19 vaccination, dispelling fears that vaccination may run contrary to religious beliefs.
草榴视频 of Santo Tomas is one of the leading private research universities in the Philippines and is consistently ranked among the top 1000 universities in the whole world. With academic degrees and research thrusts in the natural, health, applied, social, and sacred sciences, as well as business and management, the University continuously strives to make a positive impact on the society.
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