The Order of Preachers, also known as the Dominican Order, is a Roman Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilian priest named Dominic de Guzmán. It was approved by Pope Honorius III via the papal bull Religiosam vitam on 22 December 1216. Members of the order, who are referred to as Dominicans, generally display the letters OP after their names, standing for Ordinis Praedicatorum, meaning 'of the Order of Preachers'. Membership in the order includes friars, nuns, active sisters, and lay or secular Dominicans. More recently, there has been a growing number of associates of the religious sisters who are unrelated to the tertiaries.
The University of Santo Tomas (UST), officially the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila, is a private, Catholic research university in Manila, Philippines. Founded on April 28, 1611, by Spanish friar Miguel de Benavides, third Archbishop of Manila, it has the oldest extant university charter in Asia and is one of the world's largest Catholic universities in terms of enrollment found on one campus. It is the main campus of the University of Santo Tomas System that is run by the Order of Preachers.
The Archdiocese of Cáceres is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. It is a metropolitan see that comprises the Bicol Region, while directly overseeing the third, fourth, and fifth congressional districts of Camarines Sur, Naga City, Iriga City and the Municipality of Gainza. The archdiocese, having been founded in 1595 in Nueva Cáceres, is also considered one of the oldest dioceses in the Philippines with Cebu, Segovia and Manila, and once had jurisdiction that stretched from Samar in the south and Isabela Province in the north. The seat of the archdiocese is currently located in Naga City, also known as the Queen City of Bicol.
The Master of the Order of Preachers is the Superior General of the Order of Preachers, commonly known as the Dominicans.
The UST Angelicum College is a private Catholic basic and higher education institution run by the Philippine Dominican Province of the Order of Preachers located in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. It was founded in July 1972 by the Dominican priest Rev. Fr. Rogelio B. Alarcon, OP who became its first rector. UST Angelicum is an official member of the Dominican Network. It attained Level II Primary Accreditation conducted by PAASCU
Domingo Ibáñez de Erquicia, OP was a Spanish Dominican priest and missionary. After teaching at the Colegio de Santo Tomas in Manila, he went to Japan in 1623, where he ministered incognito to the Catholic community for about ten years. Betrayed by an apostate, he was captured and executed. His feast day is 28 September.
The 17 Thomasian Martyrs were the 12 Dominican priests, 1 Franciscan priest and 3 Dominican bishops who became administrators, professors, or students in the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, they are venerated in the Catholic Church regarded them as a martyrs and declared as a saints and blesseds by several popes throughout the 20th and 21st century, All of them gave up their lives for their Christian faith, some in Japan, others in Vietnam, and in the 20th century, in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila was among the lay companions of the Thomasian Martyrs of Japan, their feast day is celebrated every year on November 6.
The University of Santo Tomas–Legazpi, also referred to by its acronym UST–Legazpi or USTL, is a private, Catholic basic and higher education institution run and owned by the Philippine Dominican Province of the Order of Preachers (OP) in Legazpi City, Philippines It was founded by Buenaventura de Erquiaga in 1948 and named Legazpi Junior Colleges.
José Serofia Palma O.P. is a Filipino prelate and a professed member of the Dominican Order who is currently serving as the Archbishop of Cebu since 15 October 2010. He had previously served as Archbishop of Palo in Leyte. He also served as president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines from 2011 to 2013.
The University of Santo Tomas is one of the oldest existing universities and holds the oldest extant university charter in the Philippines and in Asia. It was founded on April 28, 1611, by the third Archbishop of Manila, Miguel de Benavides, together with Frs. Domingo de Nieva and Bernardo de Santa Catalina. It was originally conceived as a school to prepare young men for the priesthood. Located Intramuros, it was first called Colegio de Nuestra Señora del Santísimo Rosario and later renamed Colegio de Santo Tomás in memory of Dominican theologian Saint Thomas Aquinas. In 1624, the Colegio was authorized to confer academic degrees in theology, philosophy and arts. On November 20, 1645, after representations by Vittorio Riccio, Pope Innocent X elevated the college to the rank of a university and in 1680 it was placed under royal patronage.
Miguel de Benavides y Añoza, O.P. was a Spanish clergyman and sinologist who was the third Archbishop of Manila. He previously served as the first Bishop of the Diocese of Nueva Segovia, and was the founder of the University of Santo Tomas in Manila.
Gilbert Armea Garcera is the Roman Catholic Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Lipa in the Philippines. He succeeds Archbishop Ramon Arguelles, who earlier filed his resignation prior to his mandatory retirement age in 2017. His previous assignment was the bishop of the Diocese of Daet in Camarines Norte.
Bruno Cadoré OP is a French Catholic priest of the Dominican Order who headed the Order from 2010 to 2019.
Juan de Arechederra, O. P. was a Venezuelan friar and member of the Dominican Order who served as the Rector of Colegio de San Juan de Letran from 1725 until 1735 and University of Santo Tomas from 1735 to 1737 and from 1743 to 1745 and Bishop-elect of Nueva Segovia from 1745 and in turn, the Bishop from 1750 until his death in 1751. In Philippine history, he is best remembered as being the Governor-General from 1745 to 1750 who baptized Alimuddin I, the only Catholic Sultan of Sulu.
José Lázaro Fuerte Advíncula Jr. is a Filipino prelate of the Catholic Church and a professed member of the Dominican Order, who became 33rd Archbishop of Manila on June 24, 2021. He became a cardinal in November 2020. He previously served as bishop of San Carlos from 2001 to 2011 and Archbishop of Cápiz from 2011 to 2021. On December 16, 2020, Pope Francis appointed Cardinal Advincula as a member of the Dicastery for Clergy.
The Rector Magnificus of the University of Santo Tomas is the highest-ranking officer and chief administrator of the University of Santo Tomas (UST), the oldest and the largest Catholic university in Manila, Philippines. The rector typically sits as chief executive and chair of the university board of trustees. He exercises policy-making as well as general academic, managerial, and religious functions over all university academic and non-academic staff. His term lasts for four years and he is qualified for re-election for two or more terms.
Fidel Villarroel was a Spanish historian, writer, filipinologist, biographer, political commentator, Master Theologian of the Dominican Order, and member of the Order of Isabella the Catholic. A recipient of the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice, he is the former Archivist, Spanish Department Director, Prefect of Libraries, and professor at the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas. He had also served as secretary to the Apostolic Nunciature for 32 years(1959–1991), and is currently an academic director of the prestigious Academia Filipina de la Lengua Española, the local branch of the renowned Real Academia Española based in Madrid, Spain, and part of the Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española.
Rolando V. de la Rosa, O.P., is the Provincial Archivist of the Dominican Province of the Philippines.
Rex Andrew Clement Alarcon,, is a prelate of the Catholic church in the Philippines. He is the Bishop of Daet, with its seat at Daet, Camarines Norte. He succeeded Gilbert A. Garcera, who was appointed Archbishop of Lipa in 2017.
Richard G. Ang, O.P. is a Filipino priest, divinity scholar, and educational administrator. He is the 97th Rector Magnificus of the University of Santo Tomas (UST), the oldest and the largest Catholic university in Manila, Philippines. He is the eighth Filipino to become rector of the pontifical university.
