(January 27, 2011) Pope Benedict XVI is sending the prefect of the Congregation for
Catholic Education to represent him at the celebration of the 400th anniversary of
Manila's Pontifical University of Santo Tomas. Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski was named
papal envoy and he will take part in the celebrations on Friday, feast of St. Thomas
Aquinas, patron of the university. In his note, the Holy Father highlighted the contribution
the university has offered for centuries "to the educational, cultural and religious
development of young people," carrying out a valuable service to "spread and confirm
the Catholic faith in Asia." The Pontiff reflected that the institution has furnished
high-level instruction "to hundreds of presbyters and bishops, religious and faithful,"
who then went to many places "to build the Kingdom of God." The school and the university
constitute "a particular ambit of the encounter between the Word of God and culture,"
he added. The Bishop of Rome praised "the constant faithful action and the merits"
of the university, and expressed his hope that it will continue forward, "so that
faith in Christ will obtain the first place." Santo Tomas University is the oldest
operating university in Asia. It was established under the initiative of Dominican
Archbishop Miguel de Benavides, the third archbishop of Manila who allocated his properties
and personal library to the institution. The college was founded officially on April
28, 1611, with the name "Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary." Later, the name was changed
in homage to St. Thomas Aquinas, and authorized to confer academic titles in theology
and philosophy. In 1902, Pope Leo XIII conferred on it the title of "Pontifical University,"
and in 1947, Pope Pius XII named it the "Catholic University of the Philippines."