Vatican’s Dicastery grants RST Canonical Recognition and Renewal of Affiliation with UST

QUEZON CITY—Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education granted Recoletos School of Theology (RST) canonical recognition as an Ecclesiastical Institution of Higher Studies and confirmed the renewal of its affiliation with the Royal and Pontifical University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila for another five years.

Dated August 25, 2025, and signed by Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, Prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, the two documents were presented to the RST community during a thanksgiving Mass last October 2, 2025, presided by Rev. Fr. Ian Anthony Espartero, OAR, School Director, with Rev. Fr. Lounal Jarumay, OAR, Executive Secretary, reading the decrees at the Bulwagang Recoletos Audio-Visual Room.

The first decree formally establishes and confers the School of Theology under the name “Recoletos” in Quezon City, a public canonical juridical personality, in accordance with Article 10 §2 of the Instruction on the Affiliation of Institutes of Higher Studies, promulgated by the then Congregation for Catholic Education on December 8, 2020.

The second decree confirms the renewal of RST’s academic affiliation with the University of Santo Tomas, now under its new name, Recoletos School of Theology, succeeding its former name, Recoletos Formation Center, which it carried since its first affiliation in 1995.

Both Vatican decrees affirm that the Recoletos School of Theology continues to uphold the Holy See’s standards for ecclesiastical studies and renews its commitment “to foster deeper communion in the Church’s educational mission, to maintain the highest academic, pastoral, and spiritual standards expected of ecclesiastical institutions, and to adapt theological formation to the evolving context of global higher education.”

Call to Humility in Studies; New Student Leaders Inducted
During the Mass, Fr. Espartero reflected on the Gospel for the Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels, emphasizing humility as a cornerstone of true theological study. “Jesus reminds us that a true scholar is childlike: one who listens, remains teachable, and studies not for self-exaltation but in service to the Kingdom of God,” he said, cautioning that academic pursuit can easily slip into arrogance when separated from humility.

The celebration also included the induction of the Recoletos Student Forum (RSF) officers for Academic Year 2025–2026. The oath of office was led by Fray Mhelcar Anierdes, OAR, newly elected RSF President, and formally received by the School Director.

Fr. Espartero emphasized that the rite of induction reflects the Christian understanding of leadership as service. “Authority, in the Christian sense, is not domination but diakonia, an office exercised with generosity, patience, and openness,” he said.

The newly inducted RSF officers are:
President: Fray Mhelcar Anierdes, OAR
Vice President: Br. Philip Paul Deogracias, SAC