UST to hold 3-day exhibit in Paris, France

The University of Santo Tomas (UST) will take its 400-year-old tradition of "lumina pandit" (spreading the light) 10, 758 kilometers away from its España campus in Manila to Paris, France. The UST will hold a three-day exhibit in Paris — titled "University of Santo Tomas: Four Centuries of Promoting Understanding, Peace, and Culture"— together with the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) House. Part of the university's quadricentennial celebrations, the exhibit will open at the Salle des Pas-Perdus of the UNESCO Headquarters on September 21 at 6:00 p.m. The exhibit will also show the future development programs of the the oldest university in Asia. A concert by the world-renowned UST Singers will follow at 7:30 p.m. The UST Singers has dominated many choir competitions around the world, and it is the first one to win the Choir of the World title at the Llangollen International Musical Eistedfood twice—in 1995 and 2010, respectively. "Royal and Pontifical" UST was established in 1611 as the Colegio de Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario in Intramuros, using the library and seed property left by Msgr. Miguel de Benavides, O.P., the third Archbishop of Manila. It was later transferred to Sulucan Hills in Sampaloc, Manila -- the campus that saw two Papal visits and the biggest World Youth Day celebration to date. The institution carries a number of titles in its name: “Royal" by King Charles III of Spain in 1785, “Pontifical" by Pope Leo XIII in 1902, and “The Catholic University of the Philippines" by Pope Pius XII in 1947. Dubbed "classic, timeless, and forever timely" by former Papal Nuncio to the Philippines Edward Joseph Adams, the university has been a long-time witness to Philippine and Catholic history, one that has survived many natural calamities and even the Second World War. Among the long list of alumni that passed through its portals are national heroes Jose Rizal and Apolinario Mabini, former presidents Manuel Quezon and Diosdado Macapagal, several National Artists, 11 saints and six martyrs, and tens of thousands of professionals and artists who are said to have become the university's gifts to the Philippines and to the world. - Rose-An Jessica Dioquino, GMA News