THE UNIVERSITY honored its founder, Msgr. Miguel De Benavides, O.P., with solemn wreath-laying rites and a Eucharistic celebration at the Benavides Garden for its 415th founding anniversary on April 28.
During his homily, Fr. Angel Aparicio, O.P., prefect of the Miguel Benavides Library, said Benavides’ monument serves as a “silent figure” that encourages Thomasians to continue persevering towards a “higher reality.”
“As I contemplate the monument…I ponder at a silent figure pointing upwards with his finger as a continuous and invincible reminder of a higher reality, of which what we see is only a mere announcement or image,” Aparicio said.
Benavides’ monument on the UST Sampaloc campus, a bronze statue atop a pedestal flanked by four seated lion figures, is located in Plaza Benavides in front of the Main Building.
Aparicio said Benavides was a “poor man,” but was a “real missionary and evangelizer.”
“[He] had embraced Jesus’ instruction to his disciples almost literally. And [he] trusted Jesus’ words in the parable of the seed that no matter its apparent insignificance, when properly taken care of, it may grow into a mighty tree,” he stated.
The library prefect said the “secret” to sustaining operations for over four centuries lies not only in financial investment but also in a strong “spiritual” foundation.
“Miguel de Benavides and his Dominican brothers, following the footsteps of Saint Dominic, the founder of the Dominican Order, were men of faith and had a profound commitment to the work of evangelization through education,” he said.
Benavides, the third archbishop of Manila, laid the groundwork for the University’s foundation in 1605 by donating his books and the sum of P1,500.
UST Vice Rector Fr. Isaias Tiongco, O.P., presided over the Mass. Rector Fr. Richard Ang, O.P., Secretary General Fr. Louie Coronel, O.P. and Benavides Cancer Institute Director Teresa Sy Ortin, along with other University officials, were present at the ceremony.
In her speech, Ortin said Benavides’ teachings “carry a very profound meaning” to the Benavides Cancer Institute, which bears his name, as they guide the institute’s “healing mission.”
“The Benavides Cancer Institute has been guided by a single vision that is to deliver integrated, compassionate care to every cancer patient who enters its door,” Ortin said.
The Benavides Cancer Institute was inaugurated in 2006 and is the country’s first one-stop cancer center.
The 2026 anniversary rites bear the theme, “UST@415: Keep Us in Truth.”
