UST Through the Centuries Notes

The University Seal

• The present seal of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) is likened to a shield, quartered by the Dominican Cross on which is superimposed the sun of St. Thomas Aquinas, patron saint of Catholic schools, after whom the university is named.
• On the upper left corner is the Papal Tiara, indicating the pontifical roots of the university.
• The upper right shows the lion, which is derived from the seal of Spain, indicative of royal patronage throughout the greater part of the university’s centuries-old existence.
• The lower left quadrant contains an image of a sea-lion, from the old seal of the City of Manila, the capital of the country, symbolizing that this university is a part of the Republic of the Philippines.
• The rose on the lower right corner is a symbol of the patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary, under whose care the university was placed from its very beginnings.
• The symbols are set in gold on a field of light blue, the Marian color. The cross, however, is in black- and-white, the Dominican colors.
• The seal bears the words Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas Manila, $1611$.

UST Through the Centuries

• $1605$: The University of Santo Tomas (UST) is conceived through the vision of the third Archbishop of Manila, Msgr. Miguel de Benavides, O.P., who bequeathed a modest amount out of his personal funds and a personal library collection.
• $1611$: The University is founded with the establishment of a seminary-college Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario, which was later renamed Colegio de Santo Tomas.
• $1624$: The new Colegio begins conferring academic degrees in Theology, Philosophy, and Arts.
• $1645$: Pope Innocent X issues a decree elevating the college to the rank of a University.
• $1785$: UST is given the title “Royal University” for its exceptional loyalty in defending Manila against the British invasion.
• $1865$: A royal order from Queen Isabella II hands over the supervision of all Philippine academic institutions to UST, which became the Bureau of Education.
• $1902$: Pope Leo XIII declares UST a "Pontifical University."
• $1927$: UST moves its campus from the walled city of Intramuros to its present site in the Sampaloc district, a $21.5$-hectare land. The Main Building is blessed in this year.
• $1947$: Pope Pius XII bestows upon UST the title “The Catholic University of the Philippines.”
• $1970$: Pope Paul VI, now beatified, visits UST.
• $1981$: Pope John Paul II, declared a saint in 2013, visits the campus.
• $1995$: Pope John Paul II revisits the University for the Fifth International Youth Forum. He celebrates a Mass at the UST Seminary chapel.
• $2011$: The world witnesses the grand celebration of UST’s 400 years of unending grace with the theme “Building the Church, the Nation, and the Family: Our Birthright and Destiny.”
• $2015$: Pope Francis sets foot on the University campus for an “Encounter with the Youth.”
• $2019$ and beyond: UST stays true to its mission of ‘spreading the light’ of education and evangelization to the Philippines and the world.