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HISTORY OF
SAN BEDA COLLEGE
San Beda College is the first school in the Philippines founded by the
monks of the order of St. Benedict (O.S.B.). An institution for
young men, it has four departments: the Grade School, the High School,
the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Law.
THE
BENEDICTINE MONKS
The founder of the Benedictine Order is St. Benedict of Nursia, Italy
(480-547 A.D.). St. Benedict had a twin sister named
St. Scholastica. At the age of 17, answering the call of God
instead of studying in Rome, St. Benedict went sincerely to the
mountains of Subiaco to live as a hermit. He lived there for
three years known only to the holy monk Romanus who provided him with
food and clothing. Soon the fame of his holiness spread rapidly
and people flocked to him.
After building 12 monasteries at Subiaco, he founded the Abbey of
Monte Casino, a place about 80 miles Southeast of Rome. In this
monastery, he wrote the Holy Rule and lived until his death on March
21, 547 A.D.
The Abbey of Monte Casino became the cradle of the Benedictine Order.
From the great monastery, the Benedictine Order spread far and wide,
becoming one of the chief formative factors in the development of the
New Europe. The Benedictine monks became the pioneers of
Christian civilization, preaching the Gospel, serving the poor and
sick and teaching religion and various crafts to the young. So
great was their influence that the centuries from the 6th to the 13th
are called by the historians the "Benedictine centuries" and
St. Benedict is known as the "Father of Western
Monasticism".
BENEDICTINE
PIONEERS IN THE PHILIPPINES
The Benedictines came to the Philippines not to establish a school but
to undertake agricultural and missionary work in Surigao. The
first group of Benedictines from the Monastery of Monseratt, Spain,
consisting of eight Fathers and six Brothers, led by abbot Jose Deas y
Villar, arrived in Manila in the morning of September 12, 1985.
They stayed for a while with the Jesuit community in Sta. Ana.
They were able to acquire a house in Blames St., Tanduay on April 25,
1896. This was to be their home base in Manila.
The Benedictines stayed in Surigao from May 1896 to September 1909
when the missions were turned over to the Dutch Fathers of the Sacred
Heart missionaries, Fr. Juan Sabater, then Superior, thought of
counteracting the influence of public schools established by the
American Government and the American Protestant Missionaries.
Coupled with this purpose was an imperative need of sustaining the
monastic community with suitable work for its members.
After overcoming several obstacles - lack of trained personnel,
finances, permit to operate, suitable place and the uncertainty of the
future - and trusting in the Divine Providence, the community approved
the establishment of a school. On June 17, 1901 San Beda
College, named after the great English Benedictine scholar and saint,
Venerable Bede, was inaugurated in Arlegui with Fr. Silvestre Jofre,
first Rector, celebrating the opening Mass at 6 o'clock in the
morning.
The curricula were composed of Primaria Ensenanza and Secundaria
Ensenanza. The Primaria Ensenanza consisted of class Infirma,
Media and Superior, the equivalent of the first grades of the present
elementary system. The Secundaria Ensenanza was made up of the
four years of high school and the first two years of college leading
to a Bachelor of Arts degree and a course leading to a Diploma in
commerce.
On January 24, 1906, after an agreement, the Pontifical University of
Sto. Tomas recognized all courses offered by San Beda College.
In 1910, San Beda was granted government recognition and the authority
to confer the degree of Bachelor of Arts and diplomas for the
Elementary and High School.
When the Arlegui campus became congested, the Benedictine Fathers
purchased a large tract of land along Mendiola on October 17, 1906 and
additional land also along Mendiola on December 15, 1918. The
cornerstone of the main building (St. Bede's Hall) was laid on
September 15, 1925 and it was solemnly inaugurated on June 20, 1926
coinciding with the silver jubilee of the opening of San Beda College.
The Abbey Church was consecrated on January 13, 1926.
As the college population grew, more buildings and facilities were
constructed. St. Benedict's Hall was inaugurated on February 24,
1952 while St. Anselm's Hall was inaugurated in July, 1963. The
swimming pools were completed on February 2, 1968.
St. Placid's Hall, which houses the medical-dental clinic and the
bookstore, was completed on November 13, 1976. The
athletics/scouting building was blessed on January 23, 1982 while St.
Maur's Hall was inaugurated in 1996.
In 1971, in view of the decrease of religious personnel, the
administration decide to reduce its commitment to collegiate education
and concentrate on the primary and secondary levels. The
Commerce courses were phased-out and the Liberal Arts courses were
reduced to Political Science and Economics.
In 1974, before the phase-out was completed, the administration
decided to retain the College of Arts and Sciences. The Commerce
courses offered were Accounting and Marketing.
Spanish as a third major area was added to the Liberal Arts courses in
1976. With the proper approval of the Ministry of
Education and Culture, the Management course was revived in 1977,
while Political Science was phased-out in 1979. The
Philosophy and Letters program was offered in 1984 as an additional
major area to the Liberal Arts program of the College.
In 1990, a new program, B.S. Accountancy, was introduced to replace
the B.S.C. Accounting making Accountancy a separate course. In
1993, new programs were introduced such as BSC major in Business
Management and Entrepreneurship (to replace BSC Management), BSC
Marketing Management (to replace BSC Marketing), AB major in Economics
with Computer Applications (to replace AB Economics), AB major in
Philosophy and Human Resources Development (to replace AB major in
Philosophy and Letters), and BSC computer Application and Information
Science.
The San Beda College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) is a charter member of
the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and
Universities (PAASCU). There were then only eleven chartered
members in 1957, the CAS has been repeatedly re-accredited by PAASCU
in 1961, 1968, 1975, 1982, and 1990.
In 1992, San Beda College was cited by the DECS, this time as one of
the best private schools offering excellent higher education programs
in Liberal Arts, Commerce and Law.
In 1994, San Beda College was cited by the Department of Education,
Culture and Sports (DECS) as one of the top 10 schools which offer the
Accounting course and where graduates have been topping the CPA Board
Exams.
HOLY INFANT
OF PRAGUE
The Abbey Church was dedicated to the Holy Infant of Prague when it
was consecrated in 1926. The image of the Sto. Niņo
sculptured in 1905 was, installed above the Abbatial throne of the
altar. The College celebrates the annual feast of the Infant
Child on the fourth Sunday of January.
Devotion to the Holy Infant has become part of the tradition of San
Beda College. The year triduum-novena and procession are
religious activities anticipated not only by the members of the school
community but also by devotees of the Sto. Niņo all over Metro
Manila.
OUR LADY OF
MONTSERRAT
The patroness of the College is Our Lady of Montserrat after whom the
first abbey of the Benedictine Order in the country is named.
The dark image of the Blessed Virgin, donated by Mr. Bartolome Oller,
was brought to the Philippines by the first group of Benedictine
monks. The image later was enthroned in a modest chapel in
Tanduay Street and later transferred to the Abbey Church. The
College celebrates the Feast of Our Lady of Montserrat on September
12.
ST. BEDE
The College Commemorates the feast of St. Bede, its patron saint, on
the first day of the schoolyear.
St. Bede was born in 673 A.D. in Wearmouth Estate within the territory
of the monastery of Abbot Benedict Bishop. He joined the
Benedictine Order at the Abbey of St. Peter, England. St. Bede
was later transferred to the Abbey of St. Paul at Jarrow.
As a young man, St. Bede showed exceptional intelligence. His
brilliance and extraordinary talent attracted men to the Abbey of St.
Paul to see his works. Though he was a well known preacher, St.
Bede spent most of his time in historical researches.
His famous work was the "Ecclesiastical History of the English
People". St. Bede died after dictating the last
sentence of his translation in English of the Gospel according o St.
John at the ninth hour of Wednesday, the Feast of the Ascension, May
26, 735.
SAN BEDA
COLLEGE
The school is a community composed of students, parents, teachers,
administrators, service personnel and alumni. At its heart and
pervading its life is a teacher-discipline relationship which reflects
the love between parent and child. The prime concern of this
community is the education of the young, the advancement of knowledge,
the promotion of culture, and the transformation of values. In
its objectives, the school aims to serve the needs of its various
sectors.
As a Catholic school, San Beda College undertakes the mission of
education as its share in the task of spreading the gospel, witnessing
to Christ's presence in the world, and building the Kingdom of God
here on earth by promoting justice, unity and peace. As a
Benedictine school, San Beda College lays special emphasis on prayer,
work, study, and community life. As a Filipino school, it aims
to serve the needs of Philippine society, particularly the need for
development and for political, economic and social reform in the light
of the Gospel.
San Beda College shares the convictions that all persons, regardless
of their status in life, are endowed with a dignity founded on what
they are, and not on what they have, and hence, all personal and
communal resources are harnessed to promote this dignity.
Furthermore, San Beda College shares the conviction that a truly just
and humane society can emerge through peaceful means and that
education can contribute to this process.
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