It was 1859. Something mysteriously compelling must have led the Jesuit Fathers to stay in Manila when they could have gone on to Mindanao where there was a greater need. On the contrary, in the accounts of the Jesuit historian, Fr. Jose Arcilla, the Jesuits were "detained" in the ever-loyal city when the Intramuros elite "prevailed upon the government" to provide "a good primary school for their sons." The year 1859 marked the beginning of the new chapter the sons of Ignacio de Loyola, having been absent for a long time because of the worldwide suppression of the Jesuits by the Catholic Church a century before. But the event, as it unfolded, proved to be a great blessing in disguise. For quite indeed, the Jesuit detention (which on hindsight, might have reminded the friars of their prior suppression) had led to the founding of one of the most respected Philippine educational institutions today, the Ateneo de Manila University.
Arcilla, author of the newly launched coffee table book, 150: The Ateneo Way (Muse Books, 2009) has provided a well-written and circumspect account of the Ateneo’s history and heritage. From the beginnings of the Escuela Pia, to the establishment of the Ateneo de Municipal, the precursor of the present-day Ateneo, the narrative has sustained the telling of the highlights of the history of the university.
Accompanying the text are rare photographs from the Jesuit Archives, culled and enhanced by the production team of this commemorative coffee table book. What actually brings the story and images together is the magnificent design concept that was well thought-out and wonderfully executed. The book not only contains astounding keepsakes from the old days but also captured moments from the recent success of the Blue Eagles at the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP).
"The remarkable collection of black-and-white and sepia images alone serves as a scintillating reminder of how a distinctive timeline is etched in our memory, from the very beginning, when 10 Jesuit missionaries—six priests and four coadjutor brothers—arrived in Manila aboard the frigate Luisita on June 13, 1859, after close to a century of the religious order’s expulsion from the Philippines in 1768," writes Philippine Star columnist and Palanca Hall of Fame honoree Alfred Yuson.
Balikbayan Magazine reviewers agree. "The book is beautifully designed, making photographs speak for themselves, in an image-as-history narrative. The well thought-out structure of the images and the history according to Fr. Arcilla gives the coffee table book a classic feel, a worthy remembrance of the long academic tradition of the Ateneo way of life and style," they wrote in its newly released July issue.
The Ateneo Way is also set to reach American shores with the partnership of Muse Books, the publisher of the coffee table book and the Asian Journal Publications. Weeks after the release of the book to kick off the university’s sesquicentennial, Asian Journal publisher and CEO Roger Oriel paid a courtesy call with Fr. Arcilla at the Jesuit Residence inside the Ateneo de Manila University Campus in Loyola Heights, Quezon City. Joining him was Muse Books publisher Ramoncito Ocampo Cruz.
"We are happy to bring this book to the Ateneans in the United States," says Oriel, after receiving a copy of the book from Cruz and Fr. Arcilla.
The book will soon be launched in major cities in the US through Asian Journal Publications. For information, call at (213) 250-9797 or Media Wise Communications, Inc. at (632) 922-7583 / (632) 435-5725 or The Ateneo Sesquicentennial Secretariat at (632) 426-6001 loc. 4083.
( Published on June 26, 2009 in Asian Journal New York p. 1 )
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