2009: 150 Years Since the Return of the Jesuits to the Philippines
In 1768, Carlos III of Spain’s decree of expulsion forced into exile the 148 Jesuits of the Philippine Province. It would be 91 years before the Society returned. On 14 June 1859, six priests and four brothers of the Aragon Province landed in Manila to begin again apostolic ministry in the Archipelago.
Written instructions from the Spanish Provincial to Fr. Jose Fernandez Cuevas, Superior of the little group, were clear: “Since the Society has been re-established in the Philippines primarily for the missions of Mindanao and Jolo […], it would seem more proper for us to make this the principal object of our labors, because there are not at present sufficient men to attend to both school and mission work […]”. Added, though, was a concession: should the Governor insist on delaying mission work “in favor of opening a school, it should be made clear to him that the members of the Society are prompt to obey”.
Schools got the preference; in fact, two colleges in Manila: Ateneo Municipal de Manila (1859) and the Escuela Normal Superior de Maestros (1865). The Ateneo became the alma mater of many Philippine heroes and national leaders. The Escuela Normal trained secondary school teachers throughout the Islands. The first mission in Mindanao was that of Tamontaca (1862). It developed from an orphanage and school for children ransomed from slavery under the Muslims and became a flourishing reduction patterned after those in Paraguay. By the end of the 19th century, the Jesuits had taken over all the missions of Mindanao and Sulu. (from the 2009 Catalogue of the Philippine Province)
