Manila, Archdiocese of

MANILA, Archdiocese of. - Archdiocese and capital city of the Philippine Islands, on the western coast of the island of Luzon, at the mouth of the Pasig River. It comprises the provinces of Bataan, Bulacan, Cavite, Nueva Ecija.

It has an area of 2,233 km² with a population of 2,120,590 inhabitants, of whom 1,749,316 are Catholics. It has 117 parishes served by 157 diocesan priests and 332 regulars, a seminary, 27 male religious communities and 76 female ones (Annuario Pont., 1951, p. 263).

The Pasig River divides the city into two parts; the southern one was founded in 1575 by the Spaniards, who occupied it after its discovery by Magellan and fortified it. It was attacked several times by the Dutch, who also attempted to blockade it in 1624. Later it was harassed by the English (1762). At the end of the 19th century, with J. Rizal at their head, the natives rose up; in 1896, following the Spanish-American War, the Spaniards surrendered in Aug. 1898 and independence was proclaimed with M. as its capital. As a result of the guerrilla warfare the United States occupied it; with the Constitution of 1935, amended in 1940, the Philippines became independent on July 4, 1946.

The first bishop of M. was the Dominican D. di Salazar (1579-94), who was succeeded by the Franciscan I. de Santisbanes (1595). The diocese was created by Pope Gregory XIII on Feb. 6, 1579 as a suffragan of the archdiocese of Mexico, from which it was separated by Pope Clement VIII on Aug. 14, 1595, raising M. to the dignity of a metropolitan see. Pope Pius XI, with the apostolic constitution Ad Christi regnum of July 15, 1932, created the new diocese of Bacolod as a suffragan of M. (AAS, 25 [1933], pp. 357-360); with the apostolic constitution Ad maius religionis incrementum of Jan. 20, 1933, he also made the new diocese of Cagayan a suffragan of M., which later became a suffragan of the Name of Jesus (ibid., p. 360); with the apostolic constitution Romanorum Pontificum of Apr. 28, 1934 he dismembered the ecclesiastical province of M., creating the new province of the Name of Jesus (AAS, 27 [1935], pp. 263-64); Pope Pius XII, with the apostolic constitution Probe noscitur of Dec. 11, 1948, separated from the archdiocese of M. a part of its territory in order to erect the new diocese of St. Ferdinand (AAS, 41 [1949], pp. 400-402). At present the suffragans of M. are the dioceses of Lingayen, Lipa, Lucena, Nueva Cáceres, Nueva Segovia, San Fernando, Tuguegarao, and the prelatures nullius of Batanes and Babuyan, and Infanta. The Cathedral, since 1595, has been dedicated to the Immaculate Conception. Other notable churches are: that of the Dominicans of 1888; the church of the Augustinians (1599-1614); that of the Jesuits (1878-99); that of the Capuchins (1898); St. Sebastian, St. Mary of the Rosary, the convent of St. Clare.

Enrico Josi

THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF MANILA

The Dominican archbishop of M., Michele de Benavides, founded in the city, in 1611, the College of Our Lady of the Rosary (soon called "Colegio de S. Tomás"), which in 1619 received from Urban VIII the faculty of granting academic degrees, later recognized by Philip IV of Spain with the decree of 6 Sept. 1624; and in 1645 the brief of Innocent X In supereminenti, which declared it a university in perpetuum. In 1734 came the codification of the Statutes (Estatutos de la Pontificia y Real Universidad), renewed in the years 1785, 1843, 1936, and the establishment of the Faculties of canon and civil law, approved by Clement XII. Placed, in 1680 and 1785, under the protectorate of Spain and elevated by Leo XIII (1902) to a pontifical university, the Manila Athenaeum has held, since 1947, the official title of Universidad de S. Tomás, "The catholic University of the Philippines". The ancient University, destroyed by the events of war in 1941 and 1945, was rebuilt and now comprises 16 buildings. The ecclesiastical Faculties are 3 (theology, 1611; canon law, 1734; philosophy, 1896); the civil ones 5 (law, 1734; medicine and surgery, 1871; pharmacy, 1871; engineering, 1907; philosophy and letters, 1896); the colleges are 4 (liberal arts, 1923; education, 1926; commerce and administration, 1933; architecture and fine arts, 1930 and 1935). In addition: the music conservatory, 1946; the schools for teachers, 1941; for nurses, 1946; the secondary schools, 1923; the school for graduates.

The teaching staff is composed of 556 professors, of whom 35 are Dominicans. Among the most celebrated are cited: the theologians

N. del Prado (d. 1918) and Fr. Marin Sola (d. 1928); the canonists G. Noval (d. 1936) and A. Blat (d. 1942); the philosopher T. Gonzalez, later cardinal (d. 1894); the historians G. Ferrando, J. Fonseca, E. Bazaco; the bb. A. Gonzalez and G. Courtet, martyrs of Japan (1637), and M. Garcia Sampedro, martyr of Tonkin (1858). From among the ranks of the students came the first president Quesón, various ministers and numerous magistrates. The number of students, which during the revolution of 1898-99 and under the Japanese occupation (1941-45) had been greatly reduced, rose in 1949-50 to 14,193. The annual announcements and academic notices are found in the General Information, and in the Announcements of the Faculties, schools and colleges. Beside the University was created the central pontifical ecclesiastical Seminary, approved by Pius XI on 27 Nov. 1928; the Museum, begun in 1682, has sections of natural history, ethnology, numismatics, archaeology and bibliography; the Library with rare books, after the grave losses due to the war (1941-1945), now numbers 60,000 vols.; the printing press, which dates back to 1593 and is the oldest in the Far East and the first in the Philippines, is deserving of praise for the printing of doctrinal, missionary and journalistic texts in Latin, Spanish and English and in Asiatic languages and characters, and for the Boletín eclesiástico (since 1872), the Unitas (since 1921) and 7 other reviews; the hospital has departments of medicine and surgery with free and paying places; the vast Chapel is the center of religious functions.

For the observatory of the Jesuits at M. and its publications, v. OSSERVATORI.

Angelo Walz