The University of Santo Tomas and the 19th Century Revival of Thomism

Abstract

The paper tells of the circumstances surrounding the University of Santo Tomas during the 19th century Philippines that positioned the University to adequately respond to the call of Pope Leo XIII in Aeterni Patris for the restoration in Catholic schools and Universities of Christian philosophy according to the mind of Thomas Aquinas. It argues that the times, the thought, and the thinkers were all favorably prepared so that Thomism could take deep roots in the University of Santo Tomas even if most of the Catholic Universities in Europe suffered from the attacks against the Church brought by the political and intellectual upheavals that occasioned the 19th century rationalist humanism. It was not then difficult to pursue in the University of Santo Tomas the aims of Aeterni Patris because Thomism was already a dominant paradigm in its academic activities.