Note 14 — THE COLLEGE OF SAN JOSÉ

In a letter to the Jesuit general, June 11, 1611, Father Gregorio Lopez writes of the flourishing condition of the college and seminary of San José. He says: “In the seminary of San Joseph, our pupils are reared with the virtue of which advice was given in former years. Some are inclined to our rule, and others to that of the other orders. Three have embraced that of the Order of St Augustine. The seminary has been improved this year with a fine new refectory built of stone, with a very large hall for the lodging of the collegiates, and the work which will be one of the best in the city, is progressing.” Diego Vázquez de Mercado, archbishop of Manila, insists on the idea of the foundation of the university, which was undervalued by Felipe III, after the unfavorable report of Benavides, and in a letter of June 24, 1612, to the king, praises the work of the college and asks that graduates therefrom in arts and theology be granted degrees. Archbishop Garcia Serrano writes to Felipe IV, July 25, 1621, regarding the colleges of San José and Santo Tomás: “There are two colleges for students in the city, one founded by Captain Estevan Rodriguez de Figueroa, which is in charge of the fathers of the Society of Jesus, whence the collegiates go to the college of the same Society, which is near by, to hear lectures in grammar, philosophy, and scholastic and moral theology. It has twenty collegiates with the beca at present, some of whom pay for their tuition, while others are aided by charity, as the income derived from the founder serves now to support but few because it was spent in building said college. The other college is called Santo Tomas de Aquino and is in charge of the Order of St. Dominic, and is very near their convent. It is not more than two years since collegiates entered it. It was founded with alms of deceased persons and others given by the living which the fathers have procured. It also has some income, and it is making progress. It has also twenty collegiates with the beca, some of whom also pay for their tuition, while others are supported by charity and by other persons. They study grammar, philosophy, and theology in the said college, where they have a rector and masters of the Order of St. Dominic. These two colleges greatly ennoble the city, and the sons of the inhabitants of these islands are being reared therein in civilization, virtue, and good letters. It will be of the highest importance for their progress for your Majesty to honor them by giving them license to grant degrees in the courses taught in them.” Another letter from Serrano, July 30 of the same year, notes that the secular priests have increased so greatly in his archbishopric because of the number that have graduated from the college and seminary of the Jesuits that he has not places for them and they suffer great poverty. The same is true of those who have studied in the college of Santo Tomás. In a letter of August 15, 1624, he notes that the college of San José has obtained the right to grant university degrees, by a papal brief, without the necessity of the graduates going to other universities, and petitions that the rector be allowed to grant the degrees in person. In 1627, Pedro Chirino was dean of the law faculty of the university.14