History of The Ateneo de Manila - Early 20th Century

Early 20th Century

American Jesuits took over Ateneo administration in 1912. Fr. Richard O’Brien, the third American rector, led the relocation to the grounds the San Jose Major Seminary in Padre Faura, Ermita after a fire destroyed the Intramuros campus in 1932.

The Ateneo campus was devastated again during World War II. Only one structure remained standing – the statue of St. Joseph and the Child Jesus which now stands in front of the Jesuit Residence in the Loyola Heights campus. Salvaged ironwork and statues from the ruins have since been incorporated into various existing Ateneo buildings such as the Ateneo monograms on the gates of the Loyola Heights campus, the iron grillwork on the ground floor of Xavier Hall, and the statue of the Immaculate Conception displayed at the University Archives.

But even if the Ateneo campus had been destroyed, the university survived. Following the American liberation, the Ateneo de Manila reopened temporarily in Plaza Guipit in Sampaloc, Manila. The Padre Faura campus reopened in 1946 with Quonset huts serving as buildings among the campus ruins.

In 1952, Fr. William F. Masterson S.J., moved most of the Ateneo units to its present Loyola Heights campus. This decision faced some opposition, with Ateneo Jesuit supposedly saying that only the "children of Tarzan" would study in the new campus. But over the years, the Ateneo in Loyola Heights has become the center of a dynamic community. The Padre Faura campus continued to house the professional schools until 1976.

Fr. Francisco Araneta, S.J. was appointed as the Ateneo de Manila's first Filipino Rector in 1958. In 1959, its centennial year, the Ateneo became a university.