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fixed URLs, added text from 2005 president's report, replaced text of history section and other sections with official Ateneo text from 2005 Ateneo Executive Planner , not a Jesuit University system |
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mascot = Blue Eagle | |
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homepage = [http://www. |
homepage = [http://www.ateneo.edu/ www.ateneo.edu] |
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It is one of only two schools in the country to receive Level IV accreditation, the highest possible level, from the Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines and the [[Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities|PAASCU]]. This mark of distinction is awarded to institutions which have distinguished themselves in a broad area of academic discipline and enjoy prestige and authority comparable to that of international universities. |
It is one of only two schools in the country to receive Level IV accreditation, the highest possible level, from the Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines and the [[Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities|PAASCU]]. This mark of distinction is awarded to institutions which have distinguished themselves in a broad area of academic discipline and enjoy prestige and authority comparable to that of international universities. |
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==The Ateneo Commitment: Faith that Does Justice== |
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==History== |
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The Ateneo has always grounded its visionand mission in Jesuit educational tradition. In a recent workshop, the leadership of the Ateneo developed various formulations of the Ateneo Vision-Mission, and one summary is as follows: |
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Ateneo de Manila University began in [[1859]] as a public primary school established in [[Intramuros]] for the city of Manila by Spanish Jesuits. However, the educational tradition of the Ateneo embraces a much older history, one intimately associated with the history of the Jesuits as a teaching order in the Philippines. |
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"The Ateneo de Manila University seeks to foster the formation of men and women who critically examine the world around them, pursue excellence and leadership so as to go forth and develop solutions that beset society, and positively contribute to the development of the Filipino nation and the world at large." |
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The Ateneo has produced generations of capable and idealistic leaders who have played important roles in shaping and transforming the political, economic, and social life of the country, such as Jose Rizal, Horacio de la Costa, Claro M. Recto, Raul Manglapus, Soc Rodrigo, and Ninoy Aquino, an the many men and women in government, academe, private sector, and civil society. |
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The University, aside from intensive academic pursuits in research and teaching, is also largely involved in civic work, with projects such as the Ateneo-Mangyan Project for Understanding and Development and Bigay Puso at the Grade School, the Christian Service and Involvement Program, Banlaw immersion, and Tulong Dunong program for senior students, all at the High School, at the College, the many progams by the Office of Social Concern and Involvement such as builds with Gawad Kalinga and Kalinga Luzon, the Labor Trials Program which is tied in with juniors' Philosophy classes, and at the Professional Schools, projects such as the Graduate School of Business' Mulat-Diwa, the Leaders for Health Project, the Law School's Human Rights Center and Legal Aid programs, to name a few. Other projects include the Pathways to Higher Education program, a tie-up with the Ford Foundation which is a comprehensive response to the problem faced by academically-gifted by financially-underprivileged youth who who seek a college education. There are also programs by the Ateneo Center for Educational Development. |
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== The Ateneo’s History== |
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The Ateneo de Manila University began in 1859 as a public primary school established in Intramuros for the city of Manila by Spanish Jesuits. However, the educational tradition of the Ateneo embraces a much older history, one intimately associated with the history of the Jesuits as a teaching order in the Philippines. |
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The first Spanish Jesuits arrived in the country in 1581. While primarily missionaries, they were also custodians of the ratio studiorum, the system of Jesuit education formulated about 1559. Within a decade, the Jesuits founded the Colegio de Manila (also known as the Colegio Seminario de San Ignacio), established in Intramuros in 1590 by the Jesuit Priest Antonio Sedeño, and formally opened in 1595. |
The first Spanish Jesuits arrived in the country in 1581. While primarily missionaries, they were also custodians of the ratio studiorum, the system of Jesuit education formulated about 1559. Within a decade, the Jesuits founded the Colegio de Manila (also known as the Colegio Seminario de San Ignacio), established in Intramuros in 1590 by the Jesuit Priest Antonio Sedeño, and formally opened in 1595. |
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Authorized by a Royal Decree of 1852, ten Spanish Jesuits arrived in Manila on April 14, 1859, nearly a century after the Society had been ordered to leave. |
Authorized by a Royal Decree of 1852, ten Spanish Jesuits arrived in Manila on April 14, 1859, nearly a century after the Society had been ordered to leave. |
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This Jesuit mission was sent mainly for missionary work in Mindanao and Jolo. Their reputation as educators, however, remained entrenched among |
This Jesuit mission was sent mainly for missionary work in Mindanao and Jolo. Their reputation as educators, however, remained entrenched among Manila’s leaders. On August 5, the Ayuntamiento or city council requested the Governor-General for a Jesuit school financed by public money. |
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On October 1, 1859, the Governor General authorized the Jesuits to take over the Escuela Municipal, then a small private school maintained for some 30 children of Spanish residents. Partly subsidized by the Ayuntamiento, it was the only primary school in Manila at the time Under the Jesuits, the Escuela eventually became the Ateneo Municipal de Manila in 1865, when it was elevated to an institution of secondary education. It offered the bachillerato as well as technical courses leading to certificates in agriculture, surveying, and business. |
On October 1, 1859, the Governor General authorized the Jesuits to take over the Escuela Municipal, then a small private school maintained for some 30 children of Spanish residents. Partly subsidized by the Ayuntamiento, it was the only primary school in Manila at the time Under the Jesuits, the Escuela eventually became the Ateneo Municipal de Manila in 1865, when it was elevated to an institution of secondary education. It offered the bachillerato as well as technical courses leading to certificates in agriculture, surveying, and business. |
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With the arrival of American colonial rule in the early 1900s, the Ateneo lost its government subsidy and became a private institution. The Jesuits removed the word |
With the arrival of American colonial rule in the early 1900s, the Ateneo lost its government subsidy and became a private institution. The Jesuits removed the word “Municipal” from the school’s official name, and it has since been known as the Ateneo de Manila. In 1908, the colonial government recognized it as a college licensed to offer the bachelor’s degee and certificates in various disciplines, including electrical engineering. |
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American Jesuits took over the administration of the Ateneo de Manila in 1912. In 1932, under Fr. Richard |
American Jesuits took over the administration of the Ateneo de Manila in 1912. In 1932, under Fr. Richard O’Brien, third American rector, the Ateneo transferred to Padre Faura after a fire destroyed the Intramuros campus. In 1952, it moved to its present Loyola Heights campus even as the Padre Faura campus continued to house the professional schools. |
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The first Filipino rector, Fr. Francisco Araneta, was appointed in 1958. And in 1959, its centennial year, the Ateneo became a university. |
The first Filipino rector, Fr. Francisco Araneta, was appointed in 1958. And in 1959, its centennial year, the Ateneo became a university. |
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The Padre Faura campus was closed in 1976. A year after, the University opened a new campus for its professional schools in Salcedo Village, in the bustling business district of Makati. In October 1998, the University completed construction of a bigger site of the Ateneo Professional Schools at Rockwell, also in Makati. |
The Padre Faura campus was closed in 1976. A year after, the University opened a new campus for its professional schools in Salcedo Village, in the bustling business district of Makati. In October 1998, the University completed construction of a bigger site of the Ateneo Professional Schools at Rockwell, also in Makati. |
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==Campus== |
==Campus== |
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The Loyola campus overlooks the [[Marikina City|Marikina]] Valley. It is located along Katipunan Avenue and is adjacent to [[Miriam College]] to the north. One kilometer further north is the [[University of the Philippines, Diliman]]. |
The Loyola campus overlooks the [[Marikina City|Marikina]] Valley. It is located along Katipunan Avenue and is adjacent to [[Miriam College]] to the north. One kilometer further north is the [[University of the Philippines, Diliman]]. |
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Among the many buildings in the campus are the imposing [[Ateneo Blue Eagle Gym]] and [[Moro Lorenzo Sports Center]]. The Ateneo Gym is one of the largest gymnasiums among the universities in [[Metro Manila]] while the MLSC is one of the best sports facilities in the country. |
Among the many buildings in the campus are the imposing Loyola Center, also known as the [[Ateneo Blue Eagle Gym]] and [[Moro Lorenzo Sports Center]](MLSC). The Ateneo Gym is one of the largest gymnasiums among the universities in [[Metro Manila]] while the MLSC is one of the best sports facilities in the country, used by the Philippine National Team as well as other professional teams for their training needs. |
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The majestic [[Church of the Gesu (Philippines)|Church of the Gesu]], completed in July 2002, overlooks the campus. |
The majestic [[Church of the Gesu (Philippines)|Church of the Gesu]], completed in July 2002, overlooks the campus. |
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*Center for Continuing Education |
*Center for Continuing Education |
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===Loyola |
===Loyola Schools=== |
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Formerly a single School of Arts and Sciences, the Loyola Schools are primarily the tertiary undergraduate-level division. The Schools also offer graduate and post-graduate courses. |
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*School of Science and Engineering |
*School of Science and Engineering |
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most notable of which are the [[University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP)]] sporting events. The school enjoys a healthy rivalry with [[De La Salle University]]. |
most notable of which are the [[University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP)]] sporting events. The school enjoys a healthy rivalry with [[De La Salle University]]. |
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== |
==The Ateneo Name== |
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Fr. James J. Meany, S.J. explains that the name Ateneo is the Spanish form of Atheneum, which the Dictionary of Classical Antiquities defines as the name of “the first educational institution in Rome” where “rhetoricians and poets held their recitations.” Fr. Meany further explains that Hadrian’s Roman school drew its title from a Greek temple dedicated to Athena, the goddess of wisdom, where, the Encyclopedia Britannica says “poets and men of learning were accustomed to meet and read their productions.” |
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Atheneum is also used to designate schools and literary clubs, a famous example of which is the Atheneum Angelicum, a Dominican center of learning in Rome. Its closest English translation is academy, pertaining to institutions of secondary learning. In fact the Escuela Municipal de Manila became an Ateneo only after it began offering secondary education in 1865. It became known then as the Ateneo Municipal de Manila. But in the Philippines, the name Ateneo is not merely a common Spanish noun. The Society of Jesus established several other Ateneos since 1865, and over the years, the name Ateneo has become recognized as the official title of Jesuit institutions of higher learning. |
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When |
When America withdrew government subsidy from the Ateneo in 1901, Father Rector Jose Clos, S.J. dropped municipal from the school name, and it became the Ateneo de Manila, a name it keeps to this day. And since its university charter was granted in 1959, the school has officially been called the Ateneo de Manila University. |
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Lux-in-Domino |
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What the Ateneo stands for—what shapes it, where it comes from, where it wishes to go, and where it can take the rest of the world—may be better understood through its motto, Lux in Domino: “Light in the Lord.” This is not the school’s original motto. The Escuela Municipal’s 1859 motto was Al merito y a la virtud: “In Merit and in Virtue.” This motto persisted through the school’s renaming in 1865 and in 1901. |
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Ateneo is well-known in the Philippines as the official title of Jesuit institutions of learning. Quite appropriate, as it is tied to an inspiring Graeco-Roman heritage, to Spanish culture, to a tradition of liberal education and men devoted to Divine Wisdom. Sapientia aedificavit sibi domum (Proverbs 9:1). |
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The motto Lux in Domino first appeared as part of the Ateneo seal introduced by Father Rector Joaquin Añon, S.J. for the 1909 Golden Jubilee. It comes from the letter of Paul to the Ephesians, 5.8:“For you were once in darkness, now you are light in the lord. Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness, righteousness, and truth.” |
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== The motto: Lux-in-Domino == |
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This break from the original signifies a more profound appreciation of what the Ateneo de Manila stands for. Beyond mere merit and virtue, the Ateneo’s aim is to bring light, the Lord’s Light, into this dark and broken world. |
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What the Ateneo stands for—what shapes it, where it comes from, where it wishes to go, and where it can take the rest of the world—may be better understood through its motto, Lux in Domino: “Light in the Lord.” This is not the school’s original motto. The Escuela Municipal’s 1859 motto was Al merito y a la virtud: “In Merit and in Virtue.” This motto persisted through the school’s renaming in 1865 and in 1901. |
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Life at the Ateneo is a journey into God’s light, and more than that, learning to understand how to keep that light burning brightly for others. In the pursuit of illuminating truth, living as children of light calls for an insistent moving towards God as the center of a person’s life, and then moving out into the world to effect change rooted in love and truth. |
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The motto Lux in Domino first appeared as part of the Ateneo seal introduced by Father Rector Joaquin Añon, S.J. for the 1909 Golden Jubilee. It comes from the letter of Paul to the Ephesians, 5.8:“For you were once in darkness, now you are light in the lord. Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness, righteousness, and truth.” |
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THE vision and the mission of the ateneo |
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Rooted in the spirit of being Lux in Domino, light in the Lord, the Ateneo seeks to train men and women-for-others. In a document on the Ateneo’s future prepared for a presentation to the Loyola Schools faculty, Father President Bienvenido Nebres, S.J. writes: |
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This break from the original signifies a more profound appreciation of what the Ateneo de Manila stands for. Beyond mere merit and virtue, the Ateneo’s aim is to bring light, the Lord’s Light, into this dark and broken world. |
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“While many schools and apostolates aspire to form leaders, the Ignatian vision, as embodied in the dynamics of the Spiritual Exercises seeks to form people to develop their talents to the utmost and challenge them to the highest levels of service. Not just to seek the good, but the greater good. The magis. It thus has a tendency to form an elite—but its desire has been to form an apostolic elite, an elite for service.” |
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Life at the Ateneo is a journey into God’s light, and more than that, learning to understand how to keep that light burning brightly for others. In the pursuit of illuminating truth, living as children of light calls for an insistent moving towards God as the center of a person’s life, and then moving out into the world to effect change rooted in love and truth. |
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This, helps foster a deeper appreciation of the Ateneo de Manila’s Vision-Mission statement. |
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== Blue and White == |
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==The Ateneo de Manila Seal== |
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The Ateneo has adopted the colors of Our Lady as its own school colors. The school colors are therefore signs of the Ateneo’s devotion to Mary and its commitment to become, like her, a constantly true and faithful servant of the Lord. |
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In 1859, the Escuela Municipal carried the arms of the city of Manila, granted by no less than King Philip II of Spain. By 1865, along with the change of name, the school’s seal had evolved to include some religious images, such as the Jesuit monogram IHS and Marian symbols. In 1909, the Ateneo’s Golden Jubilee, a revised seal was introduced, with clearer Marian symbols and the current motto, Lux in Domino. |
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Marian blue, ultramarine, is the purest, most brilliant, and most enduring of blues. It is also the rarest and most expensive of pigments, and exceeds gold in value. The color must be extracted in tiny amounts from crushed lapis lazuli, a gem. Medieval artists therefore reserved blue for the robes of the Virgin and the Child Jesus. Mary is also Queen of Heaven and Star of the Sea, and appropriately, her color is also the color of sky and water. Sky blue symbolizes distance, divinity, and dreams; Marine blue, mystery, depth, intimacy. In Mary’s blue mantle, Heaven and Earth, depth and height, the divine and the human come together. No wonder then that blue is the color of faith, peace, and commitment. No wonder then, that the Ateneo has made her Lady’s blue its own. |
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For 20 years, the 1909 seal was used. It was a mark of clear distinction and historical prestige. But except for the Marian overtones, and a small IHS monogram, the seal contained little that spoke of the Ateneo’s thriving Jesuit academic tradition. |
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White is also a color of Mary, conceived without sin and clothed with the sun. It is at once colorless and yet bears the entire spectrum of color. White signifies silence, an emptiness and space that is pregnant with possibility. It is also the color of openness, of truth, of purity, and of hope. In a sense, white is the color of ‘yes’. And it is a color of the Ateneo, because, like Mary, we hope to surrender ourselves to God, so that He may do His work through ours, and so that His will may be made flesh in our lives. |
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Father Rector Richard O’Brien, S.J. introduced a new seal for the Ateneo de Manila’s Diamond Jubilee in 1929. This seal abandons the arms of Manila and instead adopts a design that is thoroughly Ignatian and Jesuit in character. It is the seal the Ateneo uses to this day. 2004 marks the 75th year of this seal. |
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The Ateneo de Manila seal is defined by two semi-circular ribbons. The crown ribbon contains the school motto, “lux-in-domino”, and the base ribbon contains the school name, “ateneo de manila”. These ribbons define a circular field on which rests the shield of Oñaz-Loyola: a combination of the arms of the paternal and maternal sides of the family of St. Ignatius. (See the sidebar description.) |
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Above the shield is a Basque sunburst, referring to Ignatius’ Basque roots, but also representing a consecrated host. It bears the letters IHS, the first three letters of the Holy Name of Jesus in Greek. an adaptation of the emblem of the Society of Jesus. |
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Many people erroneously believe that the Ateneo de Manila seal features the letters JHS. This misunderstanding stems from the peculiar rendering of the letters in the Ateneo de Manila seal. The letter I is drawn in a florid calligraphic style and conforms to the circle’s shape. It therefore appears similar to a J. |
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The seal’s colors are blue, white, red, and gold. In traditional heraldry, white or silver (Argent) represents a commitment to peace and truth. Blue (Azure) represents fortitude and loyalty. Red (Gules) represens martyrdom, sacrifice, and strength. Gold (Or) represents nobility and generosity. |
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White and blue are also the Ateneo’s school colors, the colors of Our Lady. Red and gold are the colors of Spain, home of Ignatius and the Ateneo’s Jesuit founders. Finally, these four tinctures mirror the tinctures of the Philippine flag, marking the Ateneo’s identity as a Filipino University. |
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==Blue and White== |
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The Ateneo has adopted the colors of Our Lady as its own school colors. The school colors are therefore signs of the Ateneo’s devotion to Mary and its commitment to become, like her, a constantly true and faithful servant of the Lord. |
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Marian blue, ultramarine, is the purest, most brilliant, and most enduring of blues. It is also the rarest and most expensive of pigments, and exceeds gold in value. The color must be extracted in tiny amounts from crushed lapis lazuli, a gem. Medieval artists therefore reserved blue for the robes of the Virgin and the Child Jesus. Mary is also Queen of Heaven and Star of the Sea, and appropriately, her color is also the color of sky and water. Sky blue symbolizes distance, divinity, and dreams; Marine blue, mystery, depth, intimacy. In Mary’s blue mantle, Heaven and Earth, depth and height, the divine and the human come together. No wonder then that blue is the color of faith, peace, and commitment. No wonder then, that the Ateneo has made her Lady’s blue its own. |
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White is also a color of Mary, conceived without sin and clothed with the sun. It is at once colorless and yet bears the entire spectrum of color. White signifies silence, an emptiness and space that is pregnant with possibility. It is also the color of openness, of truth, of purity, and of hope. In a sense, white is the color of ‘yes’. And it is a color of the Ateneo, because, like Mary, we hope to surrender ourselves to God, so that He may do His work through ours, and so that His will may be made flesh in our lives. |
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==Marian Devotion== |
==Marian Devotion== |
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Ateneans value symbols of devotion to Maria Purissima, Queen of the Ateneo. Among them are the rosary in the pocket, the blue October Medal of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, and the alma mater song “A Song for Mary”. |
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Profound devotion to Mary can be observed in the Ateneo school hymn, "Song for Mary": |
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When he was found dead on February 11, 1986, former Antique governor Evelio Javier was clutching his rosary, which he always kept in his pocket. When he was still alive, the Atenean governor often found himself walking the grounds of the Loyola campus, clutching the same rosary, pacing and praying. Those who knew him said Evelio often returned to the Ateneo, his home, whenever he needed to get away from the world’s confusion. |
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:''Mary for you, for your white and blue'' |
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:''We pray you'll keep us Mary, constantly true.'' |
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:''We pray you'll keep us Mary, faithful to you!'' |
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In the hours before his death, Jose Rizal is said to have clutched a rosary given to him by his family before he died. The same rosary is on display at the University Archives (opposite), together with a small statue of the Sacred Heart that he had carved as a student at the Ateneo (right). |
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This devotion has its roots in [[Ignatius of Loyola|St. Ignatius]], founder of the [[Society of Jesus]], who is said to have nearly killed a man after a heated debate about Mary's virginity. |
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In 2001, in the final moments of their first championship series after over a decade, the Ateneo Blue Eagles faced a relentless opponent and extremely unfavorable odds. Sensing that things might take a turn for the worse, the team captain gathered those on the bench and led them in praying the rosary. The Ateneo lost that championship. But after the games, the Hail Mary Team, as the Blue Eagles are called, led the Ateneo faithful in the singing of “A Song for Mary”. |
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Devotion to Mary at the Ateneo is seen in various University affairs. There are the school colors, blue and white, the traditional distribution of the October medals, and celebrations of various Marian feasts. During the golden jubilee of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1904, around 2000 people approached the altar table on the day of the general communion, which also saw the statue of Our Lady of Antipolo brought from the hills to the Manila Cathedral, and was decorated with a special crown and necklace made from 78 jewels donated by Don Bernardino Hernandez. There was also a special octavo volume published by the Ateneo students, La Immaculada a traves de los Siglos: Corona Poetica, a collection of poetry in Spanish, Latin, Greek, and English. The sodality of the Ateneo united with that of the Escuela Normal, also Jesuit-run, in a Certamen Mariano, where prizes were offered for poems, essays, and art in honor of Mary. |
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==The Blue Eagle== |
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==Blue Eagle== |
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Ateneo officially adopted the Blue Eagle as its mascot in the late 30s. The choice of mascot was a reference to the "high-flying" basketball team which was the dominating force in NCAA. Furthermore, the eagle has mythological and political significance as a symbol of power. |
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For the longest time during the National Collegiate Athletic Association competitions in the 1930s and earlier, the Ateneo had no mascot. The basketball team lorded it over the opposition, proudly carrying the school’s colors and name. |
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Believed to be the bird of Jupiter himself, the eagle was seen as the bird of God, the only bird that could fly above the clouds and stare directly at the sun. Dante in his Divine Comedy even uses the Eagle as a clear reference to the Roman Empire, which used the bird as part of its official standard. |
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Meanwhile, Catholic Schools in the United States, particularly those named after saints, were distressed by the cheekiness with which they were mentioned in sports pages. Headlines read “St. Michael’s Wallops St. Augustine’s,” or “St. Thomas’ Scalps St. Peter’s.” It was then agreed that each school adopt a mascot, a symbol for the team which sportswriters could toss about with impunity and which would consequently allow the saints to live in peace. |
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Lamberto Avellana (G.S. 28, H.S. 33, AB 37) writes: |
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The idea quickly caught on in the Philippines. By the late 30s, the Ateneo had adopted the Blue Eagle as a symbol, and had a live eagle accompany the basketball team. |
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:“The Eagle—fiery, majestic, whose kingdom is the virgin sky, is swift in pursuit, terrible in battle. He is a king—a fighting king... |
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The choice of mascot, of course, held iconic significance. It was a reference to the “high-flying” basketball team which would “sweep the fields away;” the dominating force in NCAA. Furthermore, there was some mythological—even political—significance to the eagle as a symbol of power. |
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:And thus he was chosen—to soar with scholar's thought and word high into the regions of truth and excellence, to flap his glorious wings and cast his ominous shadow below, even as the student crusader would instill fear in those who would battle against the Cross. |
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In On Wings of Blue, a booklet of Ateneo traditions, songs, and cheers published in the 1950’s, Lamberto Javellana writes: |
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:And so he was chosen—to fly with the fleet limbs of the cinder pacer, to swoop down with the Blue gladiator into the arena of sporting combat and with him to fight—and keep on fighting till brilliant victory, or honorable defeat. |
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“The Eagle—fiery, majestic, whose kingdom is the virgin sky, is swift in pursuit, terrible in battle. He is a king—a fighting king… And thus he was chosen—to soar with scholar’s thought and word high into the regions of truth and excellence, to flap his glorious wings and cast his ominous shadow below, even as the student crusader would instill fear in those who would battle against the Cross. And so he was chosen—to fly with the fleet limbs of the cinder pacer, to swoop down with the Blue gladiator into the arena of sporting combat and with him to fight—and keep on fighting till brilliant victory, or honorable defeat. And so he was chosen—to perch on the Shield of Loyola, to be the symbol of all things honorable, even as the Great Eagle is perched on the American escutcheon, to be the guardian of liberty. And so he was chosen—and he lives, not only in body to soar over his campus aerie, but in spirit, in the Ateneo Spirit… For he flies high, and he is a fighter, and he is King!” |
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:And so he was chosen—to perch on the Shield of Loyola, to be the symbol of all things honorable, even as the Great Eagle is perched on the American escutcheon, to be the guardian of liberty. |
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The eagle also appears in the standards of many organizations, schools, and nations as a guardian of freedom and truth. It is also worthwhile to note that the national bird of the Philippines is an eagle as well. |
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:And so he was chosen—an he lives, not only in body to soar over his campus aerie, but in spirit, in the Ateneo Spirit... For he flies high, and he is a fighter, and he is King!” |
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Dante in his Divine Comedy uses the Eagle as a clear symbol of the Roman Empire, which used the bird as part of its standard. The Romans considered the eagle sacred to Jupiter himself. To this day, the eagle is often seen as the bird of God, the only bird that could fly above the clouds and stare directly at the sun. In fact, the eagle represents St. John, the Evangelist, in honor of the soaring spirit and penetrating vision of his gospel. |
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==The Ateneo's Cheering Tradition== |
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The Ateneo’s success in athletics was renowned even before the NCAA began. Intense games were fought before rather disorganized and rambunctious Atenean spectators. To help cheer the Ateneo squad on, the Jesuits decided that the Ateneo ought to have some sort of organization in its cheering. As a result of their effort, the Ateneo introduced organized cheering to the country by fielding the first-ever cheering squad in the Philippines. |
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The Ateneo was a proud pioneer. There were even arguments about how the Ateneo’s brand of cheering is both unique and rooted in classical antiquity. In the 1959 Ateneo Aegis, Art Borjal argues: |
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“It all started about 2,000 years ago along the Via Appia in Rome. The deafening cheers of Roman citizens, lined along the way, thundered in the sky as the returning victorious warriors passed by…The type of cheering that the Ateneo introduced was, in a way, quite different from that of the Romans. When the warriors came home in defeat, the citizens shouted in derision and screamed for the soldiers’ blood. To the Atenean, victory and defeat do not matter much. To cheer for a losing team that had fought fairly and well is as noble, if not nobler, than cheering for a victorious squad.” |
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The words of some of the cheers seem incomprehensible or derived from an exotic tongue. Loud, rapid yells of “fabilioh” and “halikinu” mean to rally the team and to intimidate and confuse the enemy gallery. Meanwhile, fighting songs help inspire the team, and to “roll out the victory.” The united crowd, a Blue Babble Battalion, enlivens the team “under banners of white and fair blue.” |
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==A Song for Mary: The Ateneo de Manila Alma Mater Hymn== |
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Up to the time that the Ateneo de Manila had moved to Loyola Heights, the school anthem was “Hail Ateneo, Hail”, a song of triumph, of marching on to victory with loyalty. However, the move from Padre Faura to Loyola Heights seems to have evoked change. The new campus stood for something new, something nobler. |
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Fr. James Reuter, S.J. wrote a song that seemed to embody the “newness” that permeated the new Ateneo. It, perhaps, better suited what the school is all about. |
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“We stand on a hill between the earth and sky. Now all is still where Loyola’s colors fly. Our course is run and the setting sun ends Ateneo’s day. Eyes are dry at the last goodbye; this is the Ateneo way. |
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Mary for you! For your white and blue! We pray you’ll keep us, Mary, constantly true! We pray you’ll keep us, Mary, faithful to you! |
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Down from the hill, down to the world go I; rememb’ring still, how the bright Blue Eagles fly. Through joys and tears, through the laughing years, we sing our battle song: Win or lose, it’s the school we choose; this is the place where we belong! |
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Mary for you! For your white and blue! We pray you’ll keep us, Mary, constantly true! We pray you’ll keep us, Mary, faithful to you! |
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Its music is adapted from Calixa Lavalée’s music to the hymn “O Canada”, composed in 1880, which is why many people believe that the Ateneo copied the music of Canada’s national anthem. However, it is interesting to note that Canada only adopted “O Canada” as its own national anthem in 1980. The Ateneo de Manila adopted “A Song for Mary” as its alma mater song 4 decades earlier. |
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“A Song for Mary” speaks more clearly and more ardently from the Atenean’s heart. |
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Life is not merely about competition or about assailing enemies “in strong array.” The struggle is, as in chivalry, for one’s Lady. And the Ateneo’s own Lady is no less than Mary, the Mother of God, and our own mother. The aim is not merely victory, but steadfast faith and commitment—to keep “constantly true”, whether we win or lose. |
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The song also speaks of a purpose higher than to “win our laurels bright,” a greater challenge than being able to “do or die.” |
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The song declares that we go “down from the hill, down to the world,” to live, to give, and to serve. |
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That is the Ateneo way. |
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==St. Ignatius of Loyola and the Society of Jesus== |
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Iñigo Lopez de Loyola was born in 1491. Being a Basque, he was naturally attached to the Catholic faith; but did not avoid sin when the occasion presented itself. In his own words, up until the age of thirty he was a man given over to vanities of the world; with a great and vain desire to win fame. How could God call such a one as Iñigo was? That was up to God. |
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== Ateneo songs and cheers == |
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God’s call came by way of a French cannonball. While defending Pamplona from the invading French, a cannonball hit his leg and shattered it. He was brought to the family castle, the tower house of Loyola to recover from his injuries. There he asked for books of romance and chivalry. |
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Unfortunately, the house of Loyola had only two books: one on the lives of saints, and the other on the life of Christ. As he read these books, Ignatius converted from a man who craved worldly fame and pleasure to a man who desired to distinguish himself in the service of the Eternal King. He began to see the saints as courageous knights serving the most regal of monarchs: Christ the King. By recovery’s end, Iñigo had resolved not only to follow the examples of the saints, but more so, to outdo them in the service of Christ. He then offered his knightly arms to Our Lady at her shrine in Montserrat. |
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He was led by God through almost a year of prayer in Manresa where he grew in understanding of God’s will for him and became a new man in Christ. After a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, he decided he could serve God best by studying for the priesthood. While at the University of Paris, his manner of life, his religious views, and gift for leadership attracted followers. And later, Iñigo, who by then had taken the name Ignatius, gathered a group of friends who vowed themselves to poverty and chastity and placed themselves at the disposal of the Pope. |
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The Pope entrusted various missions to their care and soon they were traveling all over Europe, for the defense and propagation of the Faith. Eventually, they decided that it was for God’s greater glory that they unite themselves into a formally constituted organization by the vow of religious obedience to a superior. They drew up a document outlining the characteristics of the religious order they had in mind. The Compañia de Jesus (Companions of Jesus) would be primarily apostolic, not hidden away in some monastery, but out in the world. Besides the three vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, they would also make a separate fourth vow: to go anywhere the Pope would send them. |
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On Sept. 27, 1540, Pope Paul III approved their petition to form a religious order and also approved their constitution without a single word altered. And so the Society of Jesus was born. Soon, the Jesuits were all over Europe. |
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In the twilight of life, when asked why he had decided in such and such a way, the reply of Ignatius was always, “Because it was what God wanted.” The love in his stubborn Basque heart, which sought always the will of its Savior, led him on such a physical and spiritual journey—from Iñigo to Ignatius, from Pamplona to Rome, from sinner to saint—that he often referred to himself as a pilgrim. |
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In 1556, as his many sons generously labored in the Lord’s vineyard throughout the world, the pilgrim Ignatius closed his eyes and was led home. |
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But even after the death of Ignatius, the Jesuit pilgrimage continued. As early as 1556, Jesuits had already journeyed to distant lands. And the Word of God would eventually be shared in the Imperial courts of China and Japan, among the swamis of India, in the Congo, Ethiopia, and Brazil. |
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Today there are Jesuits in every continent, striving to fulfill the mission entrusted to them by God through the Holy Father and their superiors: to be apostles who will bring the Good News to the ends of the earth. |
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Saint Ignatius desired his men to be contemplatives-in-action, people seeking their union with God through active and total service of others. He wanted them to combine a total personal commitment to Christ and His Cross with decisive involvement in the transformation and salvation of the world. |
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Thus, the Jesuit is an apostle: one sent by the Father through Jesus into the world to spread the Good News. The Jesuit then is a man on a mission, who belongs to a community of friends in the Lord who have pledged to accompany Christ. |
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The Ateneo’s success in athletics was renowned even before the NCAA began. Intense games were fought before then rather disorganized—albeit rambunctious—Atenean spectators. To help cheer the Ateneo squad on, the Jesuit fathers decided the Ateneo ought to have some sort of organization in its cheering. As a result of their effort, the Ateneo introduced organized cheering to the country by fielding the first-ever cheering squad. |
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As apostles, Jesuits must be “all things to all men”: men ready to go anywhere, live anywhere, do anything, suffer anything, be anything, in order to be instruments of God’s salvation. Thus, the Society has no one particular apostolate: there is literally no work that a Jesuit may not do, if it is for the greater glory of God. |
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For the greater glory of God: concretely, that means that the Society must direct its apostolates, firstly, towards whatever reaches more people and does more universal good; secondly, to whatever answers urgent needs which cannot be delayed without endangering the people of God; and lastly, to works that are neglected and that few want to do. |
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As if it were characteristic of the Ateneo to find some classical reference to what it does, there were indeed some arguments put forth about how the Ateneo’s brand of cheering is unique and original. As Arturo Borjal puts it in the 1959 Aegis: |
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Today, the Society of Jesus, considering these criteria of Ignatius, and aware of the needs and hopes of men to today, focuses service of God and humanity on “the service of faith and the promotion of justice”. |
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“It al started about 2,000 years ago along the Via Appia in Rome. The deafening cheers of Roman citizens, lined along the way, thundered in the sky as the returning victorious warriors passed by… |
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The first decree of the 32nd General Congregation Decree “Jesuits Today”, largely the work of Fr. Horacio de la Costa, S.J. says: |
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…The type of cheering that the Ateneo introduced was, in a way, quite different from that of the Romans. When the warriors came home in defeat, the citizens shouted in derision and screamed for the soldiers’ blood. To the Atenean, victory and defeat do not matter much. To cheer for a losing team that had fought fairly and well is as noble, if not nobler, than cheering for a victorious squad.” |
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“What is it to be a Jesuit today? It is to know that one is a sinner, yet called to be a companion of Jesus, as Ignatius was, who begged the Blessed Virgin to place him with her Son, and who then saw the Father Himself ask Jesus, carrying His cross, to take this pilgrim into his company…” |
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Of course, this is both conceited and ideal. To anyone, victory is sweeter than defeat, hence the rallying behind a team in hopes of cheering them to victory. And indeed, this has sparked a tradition of cheering which is unique to the Ateneo. |
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“It is to engage, under the standard of the cross, in the crucial struggle of our time the struggle for faith and that struggle for justice which it includes.” |
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The words to the cheers seem incomprehensible, or derived from an Indian tongue. Loud, rapid yells of “fabilioh” and “halikinu” mean to really the team and intimidate and confuse the enemy gallery. Meanwhile, fighting songs help rally the team, and as one song puts it, helps us “roll out the victory.” The united crowd, a Blue Babble Battalion, helps the team “under banners of white and fair blue.” |
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===Official web sites=== |
===Official web sites=== |
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* [http://www.ateneo.net/ |
* [http://www.ateneo.net/ Network of Jesuit Universities in the Philippines] |
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* [http://www. |
* [http://www.ateneo.edu/ Ateneo de Manila University] |
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* [http://hs.admu.edu.ph/ Ateneo de Manila High School] |
* [http://hs.admu.edu.ph/ Ateneo de Manila High School] |
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Revision as of 17:19, 13 March 2005
Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) is a leading university in the Philippines. It is located in Loyola Heights, Quezon City in Metro Manila.
It is one of only two schools in the country to receive Level IV accreditation, the highest possible level, from the Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines and the PAASCU. This mark of distinction is awarded to institutions which have distinguished themselves in a broad area of academic discipline and enjoy prestige and authority comparable to that of international universities.
The Ateneo Commitment: Faith that Does Justice
The Ateneo has always grounded its visionand mission in Jesuit educational tradition. In a recent workshop, the leadership of the Ateneo developed various formulations of the Ateneo Vision-Mission, and one summary is as follows:
"The Ateneo de Manila University seeks to foster the formation of men and women who critically examine the world around them, pursue excellence and leadership so as to go forth and develop solutions that beset society, and positively contribute to the development of the Filipino nation and the world at large."
The Ateneo has produced generations of capable and idealistic leaders who have played important roles in shaping and transforming the political, economic, and social life of the country, such as Jose Rizal, Horacio de la Costa, Claro M. Recto, Raul Manglapus, Soc Rodrigo, and Ninoy Aquino, an the many men and women in government, academe, private sector, and civil society.
The University, aside from intensive academic pursuits in research and teaching, is also largely involved in civic work, with projects such as the Ateneo-Mangyan Project for Understanding and Development and Bigay Puso at the Grade School, the Christian Service and Involvement Program, Banlaw immersion, and Tulong Dunong program for senior students, all at the High School, at the College, the many progams by the Office of Social Concern and Involvement such as builds with Gawad Kalinga and Kalinga Luzon, the Labor Trials Program which is tied in with juniors' Philosophy classes, and at the Professional Schools, projects such as the Graduate School of Business' Mulat-Diwa, the Leaders for Health Project, the Law School's Human Rights Center and Legal Aid programs, to name a few. Other projects include the Pathways to Higher Education program, a tie-up with the Ford Foundation which is a comprehensive response to the problem faced by academically-gifted by financially-underprivileged youth who who seek a college education. There are also programs by the Ateneo Center for Educational Development.
The Ateneo’s History
The Ateneo de Manila University began in 1859 as a public primary school established in Intramuros for the city of Manila by Spanish Jesuits. However, the educational tradition of the Ateneo embraces a much older history, one intimately associated with the history of the Jesuits as a teaching order in the Philippines.
The first Spanish Jesuits arrived in the country in 1581. While primarily missionaries, they were also custodians of the ratio studiorum, the system of Jesuit education formulated about 1559. Within a decade, the Jesuits founded the Colegio de Manila (also known as the Colegio Seminario de San Ignacio), established in Intramuros in 1590 by the Jesuit Priest Antonio Sedeño, and formally opened in 1595.
In 1621, Pope Gregory XV authorized the San Ignacio, through the archbishop of Manila, to confer degrees in theology and arts. Two years later, King Philip IV of Spain confirmed the authorization, making the school both a papal and a royal university, thus the very first university in the Philippines and in Asia.
The Jesuits relinquished the San Ignacio to Spanish civil authorities in 1768 after their expulsion from Spain and the rest of the Spanish realm, including the Philippines.
Authorized by a Royal Decree of 1852, ten Spanish Jesuits arrived in Manila on April 14, 1859, nearly a century after the Society had been ordered to leave.
This Jesuit mission was sent mainly for missionary work in Mindanao and Jolo. Their reputation as educators, however, remained entrenched among Manila’s leaders. On August 5, the Ayuntamiento or city council requested the Governor-General for a Jesuit school financed by public money.
On October 1, 1859, the Governor General authorized the Jesuits to take over the Escuela Municipal, then a small private school maintained for some 30 children of Spanish residents. Partly subsidized by the Ayuntamiento, it was the only primary school in Manila at the time Under the Jesuits, the Escuela eventually became the Ateneo Municipal de Manila in 1865, when it was elevated to an institution of secondary education. It offered the bachillerato as well as technical courses leading to certificates in agriculture, surveying, and business. With the arrival of American colonial rule in the early 1900s, the Ateneo lost its government subsidy and became a private institution. The Jesuits removed the word “Municipal” from the school’s official name, and it has since been known as the Ateneo de Manila. In 1908, the colonial government recognized it as a college licensed to offer the bachelor’s degee and certificates in various disciplines, including electrical engineering.
American Jesuits took over the administration of the Ateneo de Manila in 1912. In 1932, under Fr. Richard O’Brien, third American rector, the Ateneo transferred to Padre Faura after a fire destroyed the Intramuros campus. In 1952, it moved to its present Loyola Heights campus even as the Padre Faura campus continued to house the professional schools.
The first Filipino rector, Fr. Francisco Araneta, was appointed in 1958. And in 1959, its centennial year, the Ateneo became a university.
The Padre Faura campus was closed in 1976. A year after, the University opened a new campus for its professional schools in Salcedo Village, in the bustling business district of Makati. In October 1998, the University completed construction of a bigger site of the Ateneo Professional Schools at Rockwell, also in Makati.
Campus
The Ateneo has three major campuses. The sprawling main campus is located in Loyola Heights in Quezon City. This campus is the place most of the students of the Ateneo, from elementary to the graduate level, attend. The Ateneo also has two other campuses located in Makati City, one in Rockwell and another in Salcedo. These two campuses are home to the Ateneo Professional Schools.
Loyola campus
The Loyola campus overlooks the Marikina Valley. It is located along Katipunan Avenue and is adjacent to Miriam College to the north. One kilometer further north is the University of the Philippines, Diliman.
Among the many buildings in the campus are the imposing Loyola Center, also known as the Ateneo Blue Eagle Gym and Moro Lorenzo Sports Center(MLSC). The Ateneo Gym is one of the largest gymnasiums among the universities in Metro Manila while the MLSC is one of the best sports facilities in the country, used by the Philippine National Team as well as other professional teams for their training needs.
The majestic Church of the Gesu, completed in July 2002, overlooks the campus.
The university has two on-campus dormitories: Cervini Hall and Eliazo Hall. Conveniently located on the highest point in the campus, Cervini can accomidate 204 male students while Eliazo can house 164 female students.
Makati campuses
The Ateneo Graduate School of Business,Law School and School of Government are located within the Rockwell compound in northern Makati City. The Ateneo Information Technology Institute is housed in the Salcedo campus, also in Makati City
Organization
Ateneo de Manila University is one of the many universities founded by the Jesuits all over the Philippines. Almost all of them are also named Ateneo. This particular university is divided into four schools, plus some other divisions.
Professional schools
The professional schools are the graduate-level division of Ateneo de Manila. The most well-known of the schools is the Ateneo School of Law.
- AGSB-BAP Institute of Banking
- Ateneo Graduate School of Business
- Ateneo Information Technology Institute
- Ateneo School of Government
- Ateneo School of Law
- Center for Continuing Education
Loyola Schools
Formerly a single School of Arts and Sciences, the Loyola Schools are primarily the tertiary undergraduate-level division. The Schools also offer graduate and post-graduate courses.
- School of Science and Engineering
- John Gokongwei School of Management (JGSoM)
- School of Social Sciences
- School of Humanities
High School
The Ateneo de Manila High School campus features various facilities designed to give value-added support to the rigorous academic environment of the Ateneo. It features a library which provides access to numerous collections, both local and foreign, as well as educational CD-ROMs and other computer based materials.
The ITC, Instructional Technology Center, has two audio visual rooms and provides a wide variety of non-print materials for faculty and students. The Tanghalang Onofre Pagsanghan, the home of Dulaang Sibol, is a showcase for theatrical and musical presentations.
The Center for Math, Science and Technology which was blessed on 13 March 2003, will be in full operation for the coming school year.
The religious formation programs bring out the best in Ateneo students and these are constantly improving.
Finally, fine sports facilities and a green campus under blue skies make the Ateneo de Manila High School an excellent place for a young man to grow up to be a person of excellence.
Grade School
The Ateneo de Manila Grade School is an all-boys institution unlike the Loyola Schools which are co-educational.
Culture, sports, and traditions
Ateneo de Manila University is active in a number of inter-university sport activities, the most notable of which are the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) sporting events. The school enjoys a healthy rivalry with De La Salle University.
The Ateneo Name
Fr. James J. Meany, S.J. explains that the name Ateneo is the Spanish form of Atheneum, which the Dictionary of Classical Antiquities defines as the name of “the first educational institution in Rome” where “rhetoricians and poets held their recitations.” Fr. Meany further explains that Hadrian’s Roman school drew its title from a Greek temple dedicated to Athena, the goddess of wisdom, where, the Encyclopedia Britannica says “poets and men of learning were accustomed to meet and read their productions.”
Atheneum is also used to designate schools and literary clubs, a famous example of which is the Atheneum Angelicum, a Dominican center of learning in Rome. Its closest English translation is academy, pertaining to institutions of secondary learning. In fact the Escuela Municipal de Manila became an Ateneo only after it began offering secondary education in 1865. It became known then as the Ateneo Municipal de Manila. But in the Philippines, the name Ateneo is not merely a common Spanish noun. The Society of Jesus established several other Ateneos since 1865, and over the years, the name Ateneo has become recognized as the official title of Jesuit institutions of higher learning.
When America withdrew government subsidy from the Ateneo in 1901, Father Rector Jose Clos, S.J. dropped municipal from the school name, and it became the Ateneo de Manila, a name it keeps to this day. And since its university charter was granted in 1959, the school has officially been called the Ateneo de Manila University. Lux-in-Domino
What the Ateneo stands for—what shapes it, where it comes from, where it wishes to go, and where it can take the rest of the world—may be better understood through its motto, Lux in Domino: “Light in the Lord.” This is not the school’s original motto. The Escuela Municipal’s 1859 motto was Al merito y a la virtud: “In Merit and in Virtue.” This motto persisted through the school’s renaming in 1865 and in 1901.
The motto Lux in Domino first appeared as part of the Ateneo seal introduced by Father Rector Joaquin Añon, S.J. for the 1909 Golden Jubilee. It comes from the letter of Paul to the Ephesians, 5.8:“For you were once in darkness, now you are light in the lord. Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness, righteousness, and truth.”
This break from the original signifies a more profound appreciation of what the Ateneo de Manila stands for. Beyond mere merit and virtue, the Ateneo’s aim is to bring light, the Lord’s Light, into this dark and broken world.
Life at the Ateneo is a journey into God’s light, and more than that, learning to understand how to keep that light burning brightly for others. In the pursuit of illuminating truth, living as children of light calls for an insistent moving towards God as the center of a person’s life, and then moving out into the world to effect change rooted in love and truth. THE vision and the mission of the ateneo
Rooted in the spirit of being Lux in Domino, light in the Lord, the Ateneo seeks to train men and women-for-others. In a document on the Ateneo’s future prepared for a presentation to the Loyola Schools faculty, Father President Bienvenido Nebres, S.J. writes:
“While many schools and apostolates aspire to form leaders, the Ignatian vision, as embodied in the dynamics of the Spiritual Exercises seeks to form people to develop their talents to the utmost and challenge them to the highest levels of service. Not just to seek the good, but the greater good. The magis. It thus has a tendency to form an elite—but its desire has been to form an apostolic elite, an elite for service.”
This, helps foster a deeper appreciation of the Ateneo de Manila’s Vision-Mission statement.
The Ateneo de Manila Seal
In 1859, the Escuela Municipal carried the arms of the city of Manila, granted by no less than King Philip II of Spain. By 1865, along with the change of name, the school’s seal had evolved to include some religious images, such as the Jesuit monogram IHS and Marian symbols. In 1909, the Ateneo’s Golden Jubilee, a revised seal was introduced, with clearer Marian symbols and the current motto, Lux in Domino.
For 20 years, the 1909 seal was used. It was a mark of clear distinction and historical prestige. But except for the Marian overtones, and a small IHS monogram, the seal contained little that spoke of the Ateneo’s thriving Jesuit academic tradition.
Father Rector Richard O’Brien, S.J. introduced a new seal for the Ateneo de Manila’s Diamond Jubilee in 1929. This seal abandons the arms of Manila and instead adopts a design that is thoroughly Ignatian and Jesuit in character. It is the seal the Ateneo uses to this day. 2004 marks the 75th year of this seal. The Ateneo de Manila seal is defined by two semi-circular ribbons. The crown ribbon contains the school motto, “lux-in-domino”, and the base ribbon contains the school name, “ateneo de manila”. These ribbons define a circular field on which rests the shield of Oñaz-Loyola: a combination of the arms of the paternal and maternal sides of the family of St. Ignatius. (See the sidebar description.)
Above the shield is a Basque sunburst, referring to Ignatius’ Basque roots, but also representing a consecrated host. It bears the letters IHS, the first three letters of the Holy Name of Jesus in Greek. an adaptation of the emblem of the Society of Jesus. Many people erroneously believe that the Ateneo de Manila seal features the letters JHS. This misunderstanding stems from the peculiar rendering of the letters in the Ateneo de Manila seal. The letter I is drawn in a florid calligraphic style and conforms to the circle’s shape. It therefore appears similar to a J.
The seal’s colors are blue, white, red, and gold. In traditional heraldry, white or silver (Argent) represents a commitment to peace and truth. Blue (Azure) represents fortitude and loyalty. Red (Gules) represens martyrdom, sacrifice, and strength. Gold (Or) represents nobility and generosity.
White and blue are also the Ateneo’s school colors, the colors of Our Lady. Red and gold are the colors of Spain, home of Ignatius and the Ateneo’s Jesuit founders. Finally, these four tinctures mirror the tinctures of the Philippine flag, marking the Ateneo’s identity as a Filipino University.
Blue and White
The Ateneo has adopted the colors of Our Lady as its own school colors. The school colors are therefore signs of the Ateneo’s devotion to Mary and its commitment to become, like her, a constantly true and faithful servant of the Lord.
Marian blue, ultramarine, is the purest, most brilliant, and most enduring of blues. It is also the rarest and most expensive of pigments, and exceeds gold in value. The color must be extracted in tiny amounts from crushed lapis lazuli, a gem. Medieval artists therefore reserved blue for the robes of the Virgin and the Child Jesus. Mary is also Queen of Heaven and Star of the Sea, and appropriately, her color is also the color of sky and water. Sky blue symbolizes distance, divinity, and dreams; Marine blue, mystery, depth, intimacy. In Mary’s blue mantle, Heaven and Earth, depth and height, the divine and the human come together. No wonder then that blue is the color of faith, peace, and commitment. No wonder then, that the Ateneo has made her Lady’s blue its own.
White is also a color of Mary, conceived without sin and clothed with the sun. It is at once colorless and yet bears the entire spectrum of color. White signifies silence, an emptiness and space that is pregnant with possibility. It is also the color of openness, of truth, of purity, and of hope. In a sense, white is the color of ‘yes’. And it is a color of the Ateneo, because, like Mary, we hope to surrender ourselves to God, so that He may do His work through ours, and so that His will may be made flesh in our lives.
Marian Devotion
Ateneans value symbols of devotion to Maria Purissima, Queen of the Ateneo. Among them are the rosary in the pocket, the blue October Medal of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, and the alma mater song “A Song for Mary”.
When he was found dead on February 11, 1986, former Antique governor Evelio Javier was clutching his rosary, which he always kept in his pocket. When he was still alive, the Atenean governor often found himself walking the grounds of the Loyola campus, clutching the same rosary, pacing and praying. Those who knew him said Evelio often returned to the Ateneo, his home, whenever he needed to get away from the world’s confusion.
In the hours before his death, Jose Rizal is said to have clutched a rosary given to him by his family before he died. The same rosary is on display at the University Archives (opposite), together with a small statue of the Sacred Heart that he had carved as a student at the Ateneo (right).
In 2001, in the final moments of their first championship series after over a decade, the Ateneo Blue Eagles faced a relentless opponent and extremely unfavorable odds. Sensing that things might take a turn for the worse, the team captain gathered those on the bench and led them in praying the rosary. The Ateneo lost that championship. But after the games, the Hail Mary Team, as the Blue Eagles are called, led the Ateneo faithful in the singing of “A Song for Mary”.
Blue Eagle
For the longest time during the National Collegiate Athletic Association competitions in the 1930s and earlier, the Ateneo had no mascot. The basketball team lorded it over the opposition, proudly carrying the school’s colors and name.
Meanwhile, Catholic Schools in the United States, particularly those named after saints, were distressed by the cheekiness with which they were mentioned in sports pages. Headlines read “St. Michael’s Wallops St. Augustine’s,” or “St. Thomas’ Scalps St. Peter’s.” It was then agreed that each school adopt a mascot, a symbol for the team which sportswriters could toss about with impunity and which would consequently allow the saints to live in peace.
The idea quickly caught on in the Philippines. By the late 30s, the Ateneo had adopted the Blue Eagle as a symbol, and had a live eagle accompany the basketball team.
The choice of mascot, of course, held iconic significance. It was a reference to the “high-flying” basketball team which would “sweep the fields away;” the dominating force in NCAA. Furthermore, there was some mythological—even political—significance to the eagle as a symbol of power.
In On Wings of Blue, a booklet of Ateneo traditions, songs, and cheers published in the 1950’s, Lamberto Javellana writes:
“The Eagle—fiery, majestic, whose kingdom is the virgin sky, is swift in pursuit, terrible in battle. He is a king—a fighting king… And thus he was chosen—to soar with scholar’s thought and word high into the regions of truth and excellence, to flap his glorious wings and cast his ominous shadow below, even as the student crusader would instill fear in those who would battle against the Cross. And so he was chosen—to fly with the fleet limbs of the cinder pacer, to swoop down with the Blue gladiator into the arena of sporting combat and with him to fight—and keep on fighting till brilliant victory, or honorable defeat. And so he was chosen—to perch on the Shield of Loyola, to be the symbol of all things honorable, even as the Great Eagle is perched on the American escutcheon, to be the guardian of liberty. And so he was chosen—and he lives, not only in body to soar over his campus aerie, but in spirit, in the Ateneo Spirit… For he flies high, and he is a fighter, and he is King!”
The eagle also appears in the standards of many organizations, schools, and nations as a guardian of freedom and truth. It is also worthwhile to note that the national bird of the Philippines is an eagle as well.
Dante in his Divine Comedy uses the Eagle as a clear symbol of the Roman Empire, which used the bird as part of its standard. The Romans considered the eagle sacred to Jupiter himself. To this day, the eagle is often seen as the bird of God, the only bird that could fly above the clouds and stare directly at the sun. In fact, the eagle represents St. John, the Evangelist, in honor of the soaring spirit and penetrating vision of his gospel.
The Ateneo's Cheering Tradition
The Ateneo’s success in athletics was renowned even before the NCAA began. Intense games were fought before rather disorganized and rambunctious Atenean spectators. To help cheer the Ateneo squad on, the Jesuits decided that the Ateneo ought to have some sort of organization in its cheering. As a result of their effort, the Ateneo introduced organized cheering to the country by fielding the first-ever cheering squad in the Philippines.
The Ateneo was a proud pioneer. There were even arguments about how the Ateneo’s brand of cheering is both unique and rooted in classical antiquity. In the 1959 Ateneo Aegis, Art Borjal argues:
“It all started about 2,000 years ago along the Via Appia in Rome. The deafening cheers of Roman citizens, lined along the way, thundered in the sky as the returning victorious warriors passed by…The type of cheering that the Ateneo introduced was, in a way, quite different from that of the Romans. When the warriors came home in defeat, the citizens shouted in derision and screamed for the soldiers’ blood. To the Atenean, victory and defeat do not matter much. To cheer for a losing team that had fought fairly and well is as noble, if not nobler, than cheering for a victorious squad.”
The words of some of the cheers seem incomprehensible or derived from an exotic tongue. Loud, rapid yells of “fabilioh” and “halikinu” mean to rally the team and to intimidate and confuse the enemy gallery. Meanwhile, fighting songs help inspire the team, and to “roll out the victory.” The united crowd, a Blue Babble Battalion, enlivens the team “under banners of white and fair blue.”
A Song for Mary: The Ateneo de Manila Alma Mater Hymn
Up to the time that the Ateneo de Manila had moved to Loyola Heights, the school anthem was “Hail Ateneo, Hail”, a song of triumph, of marching on to victory with loyalty. However, the move from Padre Faura to Loyola Heights seems to have evoked change. The new campus stood for something new, something nobler.
Fr. James Reuter, S.J. wrote a song that seemed to embody the “newness” that permeated the new Ateneo. It, perhaps, better suited what the school is all about.
“We stand on a hill between the earth and sky. Now all is still where Loyola’s colors fly. Our course is run and the setting sun ends Ateneo’s day. Eyes are dry at the last goodbye; this is the Ateneo way.
Mary for you! For your white and blue! We pray you’ll keep us, Mary, constantly true! We pray you’ll keep us, Mary, faithful to you!
Down from the hill, down to the world go I; rememb’ring still, how the bright Blue Eagles fly. Through joys and tears, through the laughing years, we sing our battle song: Win or lose, it’s the school we choose; this is the place where we belong!
Mary for you! For your white and blue! We pray you’ll keep us, Mary, constantly true! We pray you’ll keep us, Mary, faithful to you!
Its music is adapted from Calixa Lavalée’s music to the hymn “O Canada”, composed in 1880, which is why many people believe that the Ateneo copied the music of Canada’s national anthem. However, it is interesting to note that Canada only adopted “O Canada” as its own national anthem in 1980. The Ateneo de Manila adopted “A Song for Mary” as its alma mater song 4 decades earlier. “A Song for Mary” speaks more clearly and more ardently from the Atenean’s heart.
Life is not merely about competition or about assailing enemies “in strong array.” The struggle is, as in chivalry, for one’s Lady. And the Ateneo’s own Lady is no less than Mary, the Mother of God, and our own mother. The aim is not merely victory, but steadfast faith and commitment—to keep “constantly true”, whether we win or lose.
The song also speaks of a purpose higher than to “win our laurels bright,” a greater challenge than being able to “do or die.”
The song declares that we go “down from the hill, down to the world,” to live, to give, and to serve.
That is the Ateneo way.
St. Ignatius of Loyola and the Society of Jesus
Iñigo Lopez de Loyola was born in 1491. Being a Basque, he was naturally attached to the Catholic faith; but did not avoid sin when the occasion presented itself. In his own words, up until the age of thirty he was a man given over to vanities of the world; with a great and vain desire to win fame. How could God call such a one as Iñigo was? That was up to God.
God’s call came by way of a French cannonball. While defending Pamplona from the invading French, a cannonball hit his leg and shattered it. He was brought to the family castle, the tower house of Loyola to recover from his injuries. There he asked for books of romance and chivalry.
Unfortunately, the house of Loyola had only two books: one on the lives of saints, and the other on the life of Christ. As he read these books, Ignatius converted from a man who craved worldly fame and pleasure to a man who desired to distinguish himself in the service of the Eternal King. He began to see the saints as courageous knights serving the most regal of monarchs: Christ the King. By recovery’s end, Iñigo had resolved not only to follow the examples of the saints, but more so, to outdo them in the service of Christ. He then offered his knightly arms to Our Lady at her shrine in Montserrat.
He was led by God through almost a year of prayer in Manresa where he grew in understanding of God’s will for him and became a new man in Christ. After a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, he decided he could serve God best by studying for the priesthood. While at the University of Paris, his manner of life, his religious views, and gift for leadership attracted followers. And later, Iñigo, who by then had taken the name Ignatius, gathered a group of friends who vowed themselves to poverty and chastity and placed themselves at the disposal of the Pope.
The Pope entrusted various missions to their care and soon they were traveling all over Europe, for the defense and propagation of the Faith. Eventually, they decided that it was for God’s greater glory that they unite themselves into a formally constituted organization by the vow of religious obedience to a superior. They drew up a document outlining the characteristics of the religious order they had in mind. The Compañia de Jesus (Companions of Jesus) would be primarily apostolic, not hidden away in some monastery, but out in the world. Besides the three vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, they would also make a separate fourth vow: to go anywhere the Pope would send them.
On Sept. 27, 1540, Pope Paul III approved their petition to form a religious order and also approved their constitution without a single word altered. And so the Society of Jesus was born. Soon, the Jesuits were all over Europe.
In the twilight of life, when asked why he had decided in such and such a way, the reply of Ignatius was always, “Because it was what God wanted.” The love in his stubborn Basque heart, which sought always the will of its Savior, led him on such a physical and spiritual journey—from Iñigo to Ignatius, from Pamplona to Rome, from sinner to saint—that he often referred to himself as a pilgrim.
In 1556, as his many sons generously labored in the Lord’s vineyard throughout the world, the pilgrim Ignatius closed his eyes and was led home.
But even after the death of Ignatius, the Jesuit pilgrimage continued. As early as 1556, Jesuits had already journeyed to distant lands. And the Word of God would eventually be shared in the Imperial courts of China and Japan, among the swamis of India, in the Congo, Ethiopia, and Brazil.
Today there are Jesuits in every continent, striving to fulfill the mission entrusted to them by God through the Holy Father and their superiors: to be apostles who will bring the Good News to the ends of the earth.
Saint Ignatius desired his men to be contemplatives-in-action, people seeking their union with God through active and total service of others. He wanted them to combine a total personal commitment to Christ and His Cross with decisive involvement in the transformation and salvation of the world.
Thus, the Jesuit is an apostle: one sent by the Father through Jesus into the world to spread the Good News. The Jesuit then is a man on a mission, who belongs to a community of friends in the Lord who have pledged to accompany Christ. As apostles, Jesuits must be “all things to all men”: men ready to go anywhere, live anywhere, do anything, suffer anything, be anything, in order to be instruments of God’s salvation. Thus, the Society has no one particular apostolate: there is literally no work that a Jesuit may not do, if it is for the greater glory of God.
For the greater glory of God: concretely, that means that the Society must direct its apostolates, firstly, towards whatever reaches more people and does more universal good; secondly, to whatever answers urgent needs which cannot be delayed without endangering the people of God; and lastly, to works that are neglected and that few want to do.
Today, the Society of Jesus, considering these criteria of Ignatius, and aware of the needs and hopes of men to today, focuses service of God and humanity on “the service of faith and the promotion of justice”.
The first decree of the 32nd General Congregation Decree “Jesuits Today”, largely the work of Fr. Horacio de la Costa, S.J. says:
“What is it to be a Jesuit today? It is to know that one is a sinner, yet called to be a companion of Jesus, as Ignatius was, who begged the Blessed Virgin to place him with her Son, and who then saw the Father Himself ask Jesus, carrying His cross, to take this pilgrim into his company…”
“It is to engage, under the standard of the cross, in the crucial struggle of our time the struggle for faith and that struggle for justice which it includes.”
Noted alumni and professors
- Jose Rizal
- Benigno Aquino Jr.
- Evelio Javier
- Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
- Gregorio del Pilar
- Horacio De La Costa, S.J.
- Claro M. Recto
- Manuel Pangilinan
- Dick Gordon
- Domingo Siazon
External links
Official web sites
- Network of Jesuit Universities in the Philippines
- Ateneo de Manila University
- Ateneo de Manila High School
Professional schools
- Ateneo Law School
- Ateneo Graduate School of Business
- Ateneo IT Institute
- Ateneo Professional Schools Library