MANILA — On November 20, 1896, Dr. Jose Rizal stood before Judge Advocate Colonel Francisco Olive to address the charges brought against him.

Rizal was presented with documentary and testimonial evidence during this preliminary investigation, which spanned five days.

Notably, Colonel Olive had previously led a company of soldiers five years earlier to evict tenants in Calamba, Laguna, including the Rizal family. (Source: Pambansang Komisyong Pangkasaysayan)

UST granted university status

Also on November 20, 1645, the Colegio de Nuestra Señora del Santissimo Rosario, known today as the University of Santo Tomas (UST), one of the oldest and still existing universities in Asia, was granted university status by Pope Innocent X.

UST was originally established on April 28, 1611, as a school to train young men for the priesthood. However, the growing demand for education led to its transformation into a university.

The institution, officially named The Royal Pontifical University of Santo Tomas, spent more than 300 years in Intramuros before relocating to its current 21.5-hectare campus along España Boulevard in Sampaloc, Manila, due to the rising student population.

Founded by Msgr. Miguel de Benavides, O.P., along with Frays Domingo de Nieva and Bernardo de Santa Catalina, a Dominican and the Third Archbishop of Manila, who bequeathed his library and goods valued at P1,500 in 1611, the university was later renamed Colegio de Santo Tomas in honor of the eminent Dominican theologian St. Thomas Aquinas.

In 1645, Pope Innocent X elevated UST to university status through his brief “In Supreminenti.” In 1785, King Charles III of Spain granted UST the title “Royal,” and on September 17, 1902, Pope Leo XIII, in his constitution “Quae Mari Sinico,” designated UST as a “Pontifical University.” In 1947, Pope Pius XI bestowed upon UST the title of “The Catholic University of the Philippines.”

UST holds a distinguished place in the world of higher learning, counting among its graduates notable figures such as Dr. Jose Rizal, Apolinario Mabini, the martyr priests Fathers Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora, as well as Presidents Manuel Luis Quezon, Sergio Osmeña, Jose P. Laurel, and Diosdado Macapagal.

The university has hosted various dignitaries, including Pope Paul VI on November 28, 1970; King Juan Carlos of Spain in 1974 and 1995; Mother Teresa of Calcutta in January 1977 and November 1984; and Pope John Paul II in February 1981 and January 1995.

Source: Philippine News Agency archives

(JR AMIGO/ai/mnm)