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Revision as of 19:10, 28 January 2011

Coordinates: 14°36′35″N 120°59′22″E 14.60980977354137, 120.98949193954468

University of Santo Tomas

• Address:
  • España Blvd., Sampaloc, Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines
• Phone:
  • (632) 731-5709
• Website:
  • [1]
• Overview

The foundation of the University is ascribed to the Most Reverend Miguel de Benavides, O.P., the third Archbishop of Manila. He came to the Philippines with the first Dominican mission in 1587. He went on to become bishop of Nueva Segovia, and was promoted archbishop of Manila in 1601. Upon Fr. Benavides’ death in July 1605, he bequeathed his library and personal property worth 1,500 pesos to be used as the seed fund for the establishment of an institution of higher learning. Fr. Bernardo de Santa Catalina carried out Fr. Benavides’ wishes and was able to secure a building near the Dominican church and convent in Intramuros for the College.^[1]

In 1609, permission to open the College was requested from King Philip II, which only reached Manila in 1611. On April 28, 1611, notary Juan Illian witnessed the signing of the act of foundation by Frs. Baltazar Fort, OP, Bernardo Navarro, OP, and Francisco Minado, OP. Fr. Fort, appointed that year to the post of Father Provincial, was its first Rector.

The Colegio de Nuestra Señora del Santísimo Rosario was established on April 28, 1611, from the library of the late Fray Miguel de Benavídez, O.P., then Archbishop of Manila. Later renamed Colegio de Santo Tomas, it was elevated by Pope Innocent X to a university on November 20, 1645 in his brief, In Supreminenti.[2]. This made the university the second royal and pontifical university in the Philippines, after the Universidad de San Ignacio which was founded in 1590 but closed in the 1770s following the expulsion of the Society of Jesus from the Philippines.^[1]

Its complete name is the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines. It was given the title "Royal" by King Charles III of Spain on March 7, 1785; "Pontifical" by Pope Leo XIII on September 17, 1902 in his constitution, Quae Mari Sinico, and the appelative "The Catholic University of the Philippines" by Pope Pius XII on April 27, 1947.

The university was formerly located within the walled city of Intramuros in Manila. It was started by the Spanish Archbishop of Manila in the early 17th century as a seminary for aspiring young priests, taking its name and inspiration from Saint Thomas Aquinas, a Dominican theologian. The first courses offered by the Colegio de Santo Tomas were canon law, theology, philosophy, logic, grammar, the arts, and civil law. In 1871, it began offering degrees in Medicine and Pharmacy, the first in colonized Asia.^[1]

At the beginning of the 20th century, with the growing student population, the Dominican fathers bought land at the Sulucan Hills in Sampaloc, Manila and built its 220,000 square meter campus there in 1927 with the inauguration of its Main Building (said to be the first earthquake-proof building in the Philippines). Also that year, it began accepting female enrollees. In the last four centuries, the university grew into a full-fledged institution of higher learning, conferring degrees in law, medicine and various academic letters. The university has graduated Philippine national heroes, presidents, and even saints.

During World War II, the Japanese converted the campus into a concentration camp for civilians, foreigners and POWs. Some of the most brutal war crimes against American soldiers and civilians living abroad occurred in Santo Tomas.^[1]

In recognition of its achievements, a number of important dignitaries have officially visited the university, among them, during the last three decades: His Holiness Pope Paul VI on November 28, 1970; His Majesty King Juan Carlos I of Spain in 1974 and 1995; Mother Teresa of Calcutta in January 1977 and again in November 1984; Pope John Paul II on February 18, 1981 and January 13, 1995 (as part of the World Youth Day 1995).

Today the University has a total enrollment of approximately 38,000 students, 33,000 undergraduates and 5,000 students in Medicine, Law and the Graduate School. The University admits about 10,000 new students out of 50,000 applicants per year,roughly 20%.^[1]

• Overview & Photographs
  • The University of Santo Tomas (UST) which was founded in 1611 is Asia's first university and antedates Harvard, America's oldest institution of higher learning.

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