Four Hundred Years

  
THE PHILIPPINES, 1981 and 1985, Scott 1537, 1737
a few of this second sheet have missing period after 3 and read P300

1981, FDI cancel for Scott 1537 above

The Philippine Islands marked 400 years since the first arrival of the Jesuits with a souvenir sheet (later surcharged) and four stamps. The Jesuits came to the Philippines in 1581, and were expelled after 187 years of work there; they returned to Manila in 1859.

Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan

 
THE PHILIPPINES, 1983, the 50th anniversary of the University, Scott 1647-48

 
 
Note the name of Jesuit Teilhard de Chardin at the bottom of the list of scientists on the Science Center, 3166

 
THE PHILIPPINES, 2008, 75th anniversary of the University
featuring (a) the Immaculate Conception Chapel, (b) the statue of St. Francis Xavier,
(c) Archbishop Hayes, SJ, the founder, and (d) the Science Center
and the FDI cancel for the set

Xavier University was founded in 1933 as a high school named Ateneo de Cagayan by Jesuit missionary Fr. James T.G. Hayes SJ, but was destroyed during World War II. Reconstruction began immediately after the war; the College of Agriculture was started in 1953 by Fr. William Masterson, SJ, and the College of Law and the Manresa farm in 1955. In March 1958 the Ateneo de Cagayan received university status and the new name, Xavier University. Today Xavier University has a grade school with over 1,500 students, a high school with over 1,160, six undergraduate colleges with a total enrollment close to 9,000 (Arts and Sciences, Education, Commerce, Agriculture, Nursing, and Engineering), a Center for Industrial Technology for professional technician courses, and three professional schools (Law, Medicine and Graduate School), with a total enrollment of about 1219 students.

Sacred Heart School - Hijas de Jesus, Cebu City

THE PHILIPPINES, 50th anniversary of the school, Scott 3135

THE PHILIPPINES, 2007, 50th anniversary issue stamps and mini-sheet, Scott 3136

While Sacred Heart School - Hijas de Jesus, formerly the Sacred Heart School for Girls, is not currently a Jesuit school, the Jesuit emblem on two of the above stamps and the repeated "Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam" motto indicate a Jesuit origin. The issue also shows Blessed Candida Maria of Jesus Cipitria, who based her spirituality on the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius and founded the Hijas de Jesus with the help of Fr. Michael Herranz, SJ.

In 1953, the Cebu Chinese community asked Fr. Paul O’Brien, SJ, who was the Superior of the Jesuits' China Province Mission to establish a Chinese Catholic middle school. By 1954, the first 400 students started classes (K-6) under Jesuit educators Fr. Miguel Pardinas, Fr. Francisco Heras and Fr. Eugene Lauzon, in affiliation with the Colegio de San Jose Recoletos. By 1955, Sacred Heart School became an independent school, with separate boys’ and girls’ departments. In 1956 Fr. Heras, the rector, requested the Congregation of the Hijas de Jesus to send Sisters to oversee the Girls’ Department. Mother Superior Eloisa Alonso, FI and five companions arrived the same year and tended to the girls while the Jesuits tended to the boys on the same campus. By November 1957, the two schools split: the Hijas de Jesus Community transferred what was to be known as Sacred Heart School for Girls to its present location. In recent years both schools have become co-education, and the the names have been altered to Sacred Heart School - Jesuits, and Sacred Heart School - Hijas de Jesus. Sacred Heart School - Hijas de Jesus celebrated the Jubilee of this independent existence in 2007. Sacred Heart School - Jesuit celebrated its Jubilee in 2005.

St. James Church, Dapitan

PHILIPPINES, 1996, Historical Places in the Life of Riza: the Church of St. James in Dapitan, Scott 2450d

The Society of Jesus came to the Philippines in 1581. When the country was divided in 1598 among four religious congregations, the Jesuits were given the Diocese of Cebu which included Dapitan. At first, they were chaplains for the Spanish naval force, but in 1629, the Mexican Jesuit, Pedro Gutierez, was sent specifically to found the Dapitan mission. He established a permanent Jesuit residence there by 1671 and became its first superior. The Jesuits worked for the conversion of the Subanen, the original inhabitants of the peninsula, at times offering their lives as martyrs like Francisco Paliola 1648. Despite promising success, the Bourbon monarchs expelled them from Spanish lands in 1768 and from the Philippines shortly thereafter. Augustinian Recollects took over the Dapitan mission in 1770. The Royal Decree of 1852 allowed the Jesuits back. They returned to the Philippines, to their old Mindanao mission, and in 1870 to Dapitan. When it was established as a full fledged parish in 1896 Fr. Jose Vilaclara, spiritual advisor to the national hero Jose Rizal, was its first parish priest.

Dapitan is famous mostly for the four years which Rizal spent here in exile. Each Sunday he would attend Mass at the Church of St. James, which had been built by the Jesuits in 1883. Dapitan had been so harassed by pirates that the Jesuit missionaries chose James the Greater as their patron saint. James is said to have appeared during the legendary battle of Clavijo in 844, riding a white horse and brandishing a sword, to help the vastly outnumbered Christians beat the Islamic Moors led by the Emir of Cordoba. So it was hoped that he would help the people of Dapitan protect themselves from the Moro raiders. A statue of James astride a horse stands in the town square.

The Ateneo de Davao University

THE PHILIPPINES, 2008, the 60th anniversary of the University, Scott 3167
Three stamps feature the main school units of the school: (a) the facade of Finster Hall for the Jacinto campus, (b) the high school building facing Acacia Street, (c) the grade school building facing McArthur Highway, and (d) the fourth stamp features the stained glass window in the University Chapel of the Assumption of Our Lady, Patroness of the University. Finster Hall was named in memory of Fr. Paul Finster, SJ one of the pioneering educators assigned to Davao City and former president of Ateneo de Davao.

THE PHILIPPINES, 2008, souvenir sheet for the 60th anniversary of the University

The Ateneo de Davao University is one of nine schools in the Philippines run by the Jesuits. Bishop Luis del Rosario SJ, Bishop of Zamboanga, in 1948 invited his Jesuit brothers to take over St. Peter's Parochial School and to found the Ateneo de Davao. Fr. Theodore E. Daigler, SJ was the first Rector of the school. The Ateneo de Davao at first offered Grades 5 and 6, and the first 3 years of high school on the Matina campus. The Jacinto campus was obtained in 1951. In 1953, the Ateneo de Davao College became co-educational, and by then 9 collegiate course programs were being offered. In 1961, the College of Law was started. In 1977 the College of Agriculture was started and the Ateneo de Davao gained University status; Fr. Emeterio Barcelon, SJ was it first University President.

La Inmaculada Concepcion Church, Guiuan, Eastern Samar

PHILIPPINES, 2012, from a block of four, part of a series of 8 heritage churches, Scott 3428a

On May 1, 2012 the Philippines honored eight Philippine Heritage Churches. One, La Inmaculada Concepcion Parish Church in Guiuan, Eastern Samar, was built by the Jesuits in the early 18th century and further decorated by the Franciscans in the 19th century, and the Parish Church of San Joaquin in Iloilo that was built in the 19th century by the Augustinians. La Inmaculada Concepcion Parish is the best preserved church complex in Samar-Leyte. The decoration of shells and coral throughout the church complex and especially in the baptistery is a tour-de-force and the only one of its kind in the country.

La Inmaculada Concepcion Church, Jasaan, Misamis Oriental

PHILIPPINES, 2012, from a souvenir sheet, part of a series of 8 heritage churches, Sctt 3429b

The Parish Church of La Inmaculada Concepcion, Jasaan, Misamis Oriental, about an hour from Cagayan de Oro City, was built in the late 19th century and early 20’s by the Jesuits. The Jesuit brothers Francisco Rivera and Juan Cuesta are credited with the construction of the original church. It is a "provincial" attempt at imitating San Ignacio Church in Manila. There are significant portions left of the original brick paving, neo-Geo ratablo and ceiling woodwork. The church was declared one of the National Historical Landmarks in the Philippines January 10, 1974 by the Philippine Government and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA)

The Ateneo de Manila

  
THE PHILIPPINES, 1961, the old Ateneo to the left, Scott 836
1981, Rizal in front of the Jesuit university, the Ateneo de Manila, Scott 1534

 

THE PHILIPPINES, 1959, the centenary of the Ateneo de Manila, Scott 810-811, and the FDI cancel

1961, FDI cancel for Scott 836 showing the Ateneo de Manila

 
THE PHILIPPINES, 1984, the 125th anniversary of the Ateneo, Scott 1730-1731

When the Ateneo was recognized as a municipal institution it bore the municipal coat of arms to which the Jesuit monogram and a biblical motto "Lux in Domino" were added; when the municipality withdrew its support in 1901, a new coat of arms was devised. The above four stamps stamps show both.

 

PHILIPPINES, 2009, the 150th anniversary of the Ateneo de Manila with the FDI cancel, Scott 3223a-e

 
PHILIPPINES, 2009, the 70th anniversary of Quezon City
the Eagle Gym appears on the selvage in the lower left, Scott 3238e

The souvenir sheet for the 150th anniversary of the Ateneo shows many elements of the school: Fr. Horacio de la Costa, SJ; the old Manila Observatory at the original location of the school;the Blue Eagle Gym, the first structure on the new site at Loyola Heights: the Blue Eagle which is the mascot of the school; the Chapel of St. Stanislaus Kostka patron of the high school; a Statue of St. Ignatius, patron of the Ateneo, with his sword; the Church of the Gesu, the landmark church on campus; Dr. José Rizal, alumnus of the Ateneo and the National Hero of the Philippines:the Rockwell Campus in Makati City; Ateneo-Gawad-Kalinga (Housing for the Poor), the Ateneo's special social outreach program; the Ateneo Faculty and Staff; Fr. William Masterson, SJ, President of the Ateneo, who led its move in 1952 from Padre Faura, in Ermita, Manila to its present location in Loyola Heights; the Intramuros Manila Campus; the two seals of the Ateneo, and the Heroes Torch.

Although the first Jesuits arrived in the country in 1581, and founded one of the first colleges in the Philippines, the Colegio de Manila (also known as the Colegio Seminario de San Ignacio), their educational work was undone by their violent expulsion from all Spanish territories in 1768, and their Suppression in 1773. Pope Pius VII reinstated the Society in 1814, but the Jesuits would not return to the Philippines until 1859. Ten Spanish Jesuits arrived in Manila on April 14, 1859. They were sent mainly for missionary work in Mindanao and Jolo, but their reputation as educators remained entrenched in the minds of Manila’s leaders. In August th ecity council requested the Governor-General for a Jesuit school financed by public money. And in OCtober the Governor-General authorized the Jesuits to take over the Escuela Municipal, the only primary school in Manila at the time. Under the Jesuits, the Escuela eventually became the Ateneo Municipal de Manila in 1865, now an institution of secondary education. When American colonial rule came in 1902, the Ateneo lost its government subsidy, but in 1908, the colonial government recognized it as a college. American Jesuits took over administration in 1921.

The Ateneo de Manila High School

PHILIPPINES, 2010, the Jubilee of the Ateneo de Manila High School's Class of 1960, Scott 3341

The High School is part of the general complex that includes the University above, and it shares the University's history. The stamps above show (a) the familiar seals of the Ateneo, and "Fabilioh" a traditional cheer unique to the Ateneo, that dates to the 1940s and 1950s, which means a lot of things if you are Ateneo-educated, but too much to relate here. (b) Themascot of the school is seen against the Church of the Gesu. "We stand on a hill..." is the anthem of the school. (c) And the White and Blue, the colors of Mary, are the its colors. The statue is of Mary, the Patroness of the Ateneo. (d) Members of Ateneo High School Class of 1960, along with some others, donated the carillon at the Church of the Gesu in 2004 in the ruby celebration of their college graduation, and now on their golden jubilee have added more bells to fill up missing notes. Hence, the moniker The Bell Ringers of the Gesu.

Colegio de San Ildefonso, Manila

SPAIN, 1988, this Europa issue shows the Plaza of Manila and specifically
the Seminario Real de San Carlos on the right side, earlier called the Colegio de San Ildefonso, Scott 2556

On 21 August 1595 the Jesuits established the Colegio de San Ildefonso attached to their residence in Cebu. Although not specifically for the training of priests, the school provided an ideal place for native young boys to develop good character traits and learn the basics of the newly-planted Christian faith. The school officially closed on June 1, 1769 when King Charles III ordered the expulsion of the Jesuits from all Spanish territory.

In 1777 the Bishop of Cebu, Mateo Joaquin Rubio de Arevalo, petitioned King Charles III for the land and building of the closed Colegio to use it as a seminary. The King granted the request in 1779 and decreed the founding of a diocesan seminary to be called Real Seminario de San Carlos. In 1867 the seminary officially admitted extern students, and this led eventually into a separation into the Seminario Mayor de San Carlos and The University of San Carlos.

San Jose College and Seminary, Manila

 
SPAIN, 1988, this stamp shows the Real Colegio de San Jose to the left of the Seminario Real de San Carlos, Scott 2556
PHILIPPINES, 2001, 4th centenary of the Colegio de San Jose, Scott 2744

The Jesuits also opened the Colegio de Manila, the first institution of higher learning in the Philippines and the predecessor of Colegio de San Jose. In 1601 Fr. Pedro Chirino, rector of the Colegio de Manila, began to organize the Colegio de San Jose which opened on August 1st of that year. In 1722 King Philip V of Spain conferred upon the Colegio de San Jose the title "royal" making it El Real Colegio de San Jose. In 1768 orders arrived in Manila, issued the previous year by King Carlos III of Spain, ordering the expulsion of the Jesuits from all Spanish territories and the confiscation of their possessions. The Colegio de San Jose continued to function under the secular clergy. During the American Occupation of the Philippines, the United States inherited from the Spanish Crown all government assets in the islands, including the administration of the Colegio de San Jose estate. And in 1907, through the Taft-Harty Agreement, it was agreed that the school should fall entirely under church jurisdiction with no claims from the government. A Brief of Pope Pius X dated May 3, 1910, returned the school to the Jesuits. On June 15, 1915 the Colegio de San Jose once more opened as a seminary for the training of the secular clergy in the Philippines. In the 1930s the institution became known as San Jose Seminary. After several moves the Seminary was transferred in 1964 to its present location in Loyola Heights, where in 2001 it celebrated its fourth centenary, honored by the Philippine government with the issue of a stamp.

The Manila Observatory

 
THE PHILIPPINES, 1981, Scott 1535
THE PHILIPPINES, 2015

    
THE PHILIPPINES, 1965, the centenary of the Meteorological Service in the Philippines, revalued in 1970, Scott 922-924, 1069

In response to the need for advance warnings against typhoons, the Jesuits acquired in 1869 Angelo Secchi's recent invention, the universal meteorograph. Federico Faura was put in charge of the observatory. His success in predicting typhoons the following year established the reputation of the Observatory and dependence upon its service by people in the Philippines and the Far East. The Observatory became so important that the Spanish government designated it an official institution and secondary stations were set up throughout Luzon. The Observatory went on to establish a time service, make seismological observations, publish a seismological bulletin, and eventually undertake astronomical studies.

Xavier School, Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila

THE PHILIPPINES, 2006, the 50th anniversary of Xavier School
and the 500th of the birth of St. Francis Xavier, Scott 3049

The stamps were issued June 6, the date when Xavier first opened in Echague, Manila. The school colors of blue and yellow are the background and a stylized school seal an overarching watermark. (1) The old and new seals are shown on stamp one. The new one, adopted in 1963, features on a blue field two suns representing China and the Philippines with the emblem of the Society of Jesus at the center, and on a red field the checkered black and white arms of Xavier. (2) The new high school building, the first of several facilities constructed during a period of rapid expansion in the 90s, houses classrooms, science labs, a tennis court, library and a multipurpose hall. (3) The bust of Paul Hsu Kuang-Chi on the school campus is a replica of the original in the Xu Guangqi Memorial Park in Shanghai, China. Xavier School is also named for him. (4) The bronze statue of St. Francis Xavier by Virginia Ty-Navarro was installed on the Greenhills campus to commemorate the school's 20th anniversary there.

Many Jesuit missionaries who left China in 1949 found a new home and mission in the Chinese community of the Philippines. Eventually, an international group of Jesuits led by the late Frs. Jean Desautels, Louis Papilla, and Cornelius Pineau, set up Xavier School in 1956 in a converted warehouse in Echague, Manila, and welcomed 170 children of Chinese immigrants. The school was named for St. Francis Xavier, the original inspiration behind Jesuit missions in China; the school's Chinese name is Kuang Chi for Paul Hsu Kuang-chi (XU Guangqi), a 16th-century Chinese nobleman and high court official who converted to Christianity and supported its spread in China. In 1960, Xavier School transferred to Greenhills, San Juan, then only rice fields and grasslands. Within a decade, the outlying areas became home to many Xavier families, evolving into one of Manila's most dynamic Chinese-Filipino communities today. The present campus is a complex of 12 buildings housing over 4,000 students from Nursery to High School.

Ateneo of Naga University

PHILIPPINES, 2015, to mark the 75th anniversary

The stamps show the Golden Knight symbol, referring to the founding father of the Society of Jesus, St. Ignatius of Loyola, who was a soldier before his saintly conversion and the  four pillars of the University.  Both stamps carry the slogan "Ateneo De Naga University 75 years of Magis. Living the Spirit. Forging new frontiers."

The Ateneo de Naga University is a private research university under the supervision of the Society of Jesus in Naga City in the province of Camarines Sur, Philippines. It was established in 1940 when American Jesuits took over the Camarines Sur Catholic Academy, a small private school under the supervision of the Diocese of Nueva Caceres, at the invitation of the bishop of the diocese. The Jesuits changed the name of the school to Ateneo de Naga. During its first year, Ateneo de Naga included the intermediate grades (grades 4-6) of elementary school.  In 1941, however, the elementary school students were transferred to the nearby school ran by the Daughters of Charity, a Catholic religious order for women, and the Ateneo was solely an all-male high school up to school year 1946-47.  The college department opened with 87 male students in June 5, 1947.  Six years later, in October 26, 1953, the college became coeducational with the admission of five female students.

The Graduate School which had a brief existence in the seventies, was revived in 1993. In 1997, the Ateneo expanded into four colleges, namely: the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Commerce, the College of Education and the College of Information Technology and Engineering. In 2001, the College of Computer Studies was established. The Ateneo de Naga was granted university status by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) on November 11, 1998. The inauguration as a university was held February 20, 1999. Raul Bonoan, S.J. was the first university president.

Ateneo of Zamboanga University

PHILIPPINES, 2012, Scott 3421a

This souvenir sheet and four stamps commemorates the 100th year of Ateneo de Zamboanga University (ADZU). They feature: (A) the Fort Pilar Shrine built by Jesuit engineer, Fr. Melchor de Vera, S.J. The arrival of the first Jesuit Missionaries in 1635 marked the systematic beginnings of the Catholic Church of Zamboanga; (B) the Fr. William H. Kreutz, SJ Campus, the campus for basic education units; (C) the Ateneo Brebeuf Gym, the oldest structure in La Purisima Campus; and (D) Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus.

Ateneo de Zamboanga started as Escuela Catolica, a small parochial school in 1912. Located at the old Immaculate Conception site, it was run by the Spanish Jesuits headed by Fr. Manuel M. Sauras who was committed to serve the community by educating and instilling the values of St. Ignatius de Loyola. The school was later called Ateneo de Zamboanga in 1916. During the Second World War, it was closed down but was reopened by the Japanese who made it as a public elementary school. On March 8 and 9, days before the liberation of Zamboanga City, the Americans shelled and bombed the school. In 1947 the high school began accepting students and a year after, Ateneo de Zamboanga was officially recognized as a Jesuit school that operated independently from the parish. This historical transformation gave rise to what is now known as the century-old tradition of Jesuit Education. In 1952, Ateneo de Zamboanga's college department was established while the graduate school came out with its first program in 1976. It was in the 1980's that Fr. Ernesto A. Carretero, SJ worked so hard to acquire the university status of the school. When Fr. William H. Kreutz, SJ replaced Fr. Carretero as president in 1989, he continued the call to elevate the status of the school to a university. On August 10, 2001, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) granted the university status along with the full deregulation and autonomy. After 100 years, Ateneo de Zamboanga continues its mission in working for a progressive western Mindanao. To date, it has two undergraduate schools and three colleges (Arts and Sciences, Education, Management and Accountancy, Science and Information Technology and Nursing) as well as three professional schools (Graduate School, School of Medicine and the College of Law in partnership with Xavier University). With a 6,822 population and a new building in Tumaga, Ateneo de Zamboanga University (ADZU) continues to gear up for a wider horizon and a promising future.

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