COMILLAS, PONTIFICAL SEMINARY AND UNIVERSITY OF. - Center of ecclesiastical culture in Spain, in the province of Santander, founded, on the suggestion of Fr. Tommaso Gomez, a Jesuit, by the Marquis and Marchioness of C., Antonio Lopez y Lopez (1817-83) and his son Claudio Lopez y Brú (1853-1925), in their native town.
By the brief Sempiternam dominici gregis (Dec. 16, 1890) Leo XIII accepted the ownership of the magnificent building and laid the foundations for the canonical erection of the new athenaeum which, directed by the Society of Jesus, was to be re et nomine pontifical under the patronage of the Holy See in the person of the apostolic nuncio of Spain. It was inaugurated on Jan. 7, 1892. Pius X, by the decree of the Sacred Congregation of Studies Praeclari honoris (March 29, 1904), raised it to the rank of university with the right to confer academic degrees in philosophy, theology and canon law. Pius XI approved the new statutes conformed to the constitution Deus scientiarum Dominus.
Together with the three higher faculties, C. has always promoted the in-depth study of the classics and of national letters. Founded to be "a glory of religion and a most useful work for the Church" (brief of erection), it has placed in all ranks of the ecclesiastical hierarchy of Latin America very numerous priests who were its students, who have distinguished themselves in the various fields of religious, social, scientific and fine-arts apostolate.
Its Schola cantorum, founded by the Jesuit N. Otano, is also very well known. The library of C. possesses ca. 100,000 volumes. In the series Bibliotheca Comillensis, valuable works have appeared, such as the juridical-canonical ones of Regatillo.
Since 1918 the University has published the monthly review Sal terrae for the clergy and, since 1942, Miscellanea C. of a distinctly scientific character, to which the series Ciencia y Arte e Humanidades has recently been added.
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Emanuele Candal