User:KingTiger1611/University of Santo Tomas seals and emblems

The UST seal is the official school insignia of the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines. The present UST seal is a square shield quartered by the Dominican Cross superimposed with the sun of Saint Thomas Aquinas, patron of Catholic schools. The sun is actually patterned to the Sun of May. On the upper left of the shield is the papal tiara. The upper right features the lion rampant. A sea lion occupies the lower left and a rose flower occupies the lower right. It was adopted on 1983.

Symbolism
Encircling the Dominican cross are:
 * The papal tiara represents UST being a pontifical university.
 * The lion is derived from the Seal of Spain. It symbolizes the royal patronage the University had throughout the greater part of the university's centuries-old existence.
 * The sea lion is taken from the seal of the City of Manila, the national capital, symbolizing the Republic of the Philippines.
 * The rose flower symbolizes Blessed Virgin Mary under whose patronage the university was placed from its very beginnings.
 * The symbols are rendered in gold (except for the Dominican cross which is black and white), and are set on a field of light blue. It represents the Marian color.

Evolution of seals
The official seal used by the University in 1868 to 1935 was a cardioid shield. On top of the seal was the world, the emblem of the university. A figure of a dog which symbolized fidelity was also seen together with the world. Below it was the sun of Aquinas. Just below the sun were three ovals. The left oval contained the Pontifical arms symbolizing the Apostolic concession by which the the College of Santo Tomas was raised to be a university. The center oval contained the Dominican cross. It was also surrounded by white lilies and crowned by a star. The right oval contained the national arms of Spain (coat of arms of the Spanish East Indies) to indicate the protection which Philip IV vouchsafed to the University. On the topmost portion of the three ovals was a the world, the emblem of the University. The shield was surrounded by the Golden Fleece.

The succeeding three seals (1935–1938 seal, 1937–1946 seal, and 1957–1983 seal) had changes depending on the government/regime the Philippines had. The 1935–1938 seal contained the coat of arms of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. The coat of arms of the Spanish East Indies was retained in the 1937–1946 seal. The 1957–1983 seal replaced the coat of arms of the Commonwealth of the Philippines with the coat of arms of the Philippines.

College insignias
The coat of arms of the older faculties and colleges of the University were designed by Cenon M. Rivera, former director of the Fine Arts department of UST. Each college also has a patron saint. Each one was chosen, based on the field or profession of the college. The selection is administered by the Council of Regents of the University.

External Link

 * University of Santo Tomas Seals and Emblems