ESPAÑA, Manila welcomed back the Queen of Spain last July 6 to cap a successful five-day royal visit, renewing historic ties between the University and the Spanish crown.
Students lined up the streets of the campus to greet Queen Sofia on her second visit to the Pontifical and Royal University, while the UST Museum and Archives brought out the University’s priceless heirlooms.
Queen Sofia, who was welcomed by Rector Fr. Herminio Dagohoy, O.P., Vice Rector Fr. Richard Ang, O.P., and Secretary General Fr. Winston Cabading, O.P, laid a wreath at the statue of Msgr. Miguel de Benavides, O.P., the native of Carrión de los Condes in Palencia, Spain who founded UST. A marker was unveiled at the Museum of Arts and Sciences to commemorate the visit.
Queen Sofia’s visit spurred calls for the return of Spanish in the country’s classrooms given the Philippines’ Spanish heritage. The Queen got a glimpse of that from the archival collection of UST.
She was shown the oldest book in the collection, the 1492 Spanish translation of The Jewish War by Josephus Flavius, the ancient Jewish historian who chronicled the failed Jewish rebellion against Rome. The book was dedicated to one of her predecessors, Queen Isabella, on the year of the discovery of America.
She was also shown the rare copy of Copernicus’ On Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres, and documents in Baybayin, the ancient Filipino script.
Also put on exhibit for the Queen were the Libro de Matriculas of secondary schools during the Spanish colonial era and two Greek grammar books printed for the UST seminary in the 1890s. The Queen is from the Greek royal family.
Fr. Angel Aparicio, O.P., prefect of libraries, said the Queen praised the Miguel de Benavides Library for promoting Spanish language and culture.
“She has been to the University before, but not to the library. The King (Juan Carlos de Borbon), however, has come to the library before,” Aparicio said.
University archivist and historian Regalado Trota-Jose said the Queen was overwhelmed with UST’s archival collection. Historic documents such as the Foundation Act of 1611 and the 1624 and 1785 Royal Decrees were also shown to the Queen, he said.
UST was under the patronage of the Spanish monarchy during Spanish colonial rule, having obtained “royal” status in 1785. UST is no longer under royal patronage but still uses the title “Royal” as a reference to history.
Father Cabading said the queen’s visit was proof of the historical and cultural ties between the University and Spain. “[The purpose of the visit is] to renew ties with the University, understanding that the University had been part of the patronage of the Spanish crown,” Cabading said.
The Rector presented a proposal to the Queen for the support of the UST Heritage Museum and the Archives, he said.
Identification card
The University also gave the Queen a UST ID with her picture and the library’s Quadricentennial commemorative volume, Lumina Pandit.
Queen Sofia, in turn, recognized the University’s use of Spanish as a living language.
“Opening up the Thomasian community especially the Filipinos to a foreign language would be a plus for us. After all this century is a century of the international Filipino,” Cabading said.
Philippine Ambassador to Spain Carlos Salinas, Spanish Ambassador Jorge Domecq, Spain’s Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Jesus Gracia Aldaz, Social Welfare and Development Secretary Dinky Soliman, Chief of Secretariat of the Royal Household Gen. Juan Cabrera Garcia, and Spanish Assistant Secretary for Development Cooperation for Asia Alberto Virella were also present during the visit.
Before her visit to UST, Queen Sofia went to Escuela Taller in Intramuros, the National Library of the Philippines, Camalig North Central School and evacuation center in Albay, and Fort Pilar Museum in Zamboanga.
This was the second visit of Queen Sofia to UST, after her visit in 1974 when she was still the Princess of Asturias, with her husband the future King Juan Carlos who was conferred an honorary doctorate degree in law. The King visited UST in 1995. With reports from Nikka Lavinia G. Valenzuela
