History of the Ateneo de Manila
The Ateneo de Manila University (Filipino: "Pamantasang Ateneo de Manila") is a private research university in Quezon City, Philippines. Founded in 1859 by the Society of Jesus, the Ateneo is the third-oldest university in the Philippines.
The founding of the Ateneo de Manila University has its roots in the history of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) as a teaching order. The first Spanish Jesuits in the Philippines, Alonzo Sánchez and Antonio Sedeño, arrived in 1581 as missionaries. They were custodians of the "ratio studiorum", the Jesuit system of education developed around 1559. Within a decade of their arrival, Sedeño and the Jesuits had founded the Colegio de Manila ("Colegio Seminario de San Ignacio") in the historic core of Manila, Intramuros, in 1590. The Colegio formally opened in 1595, the first school in the Philippines.
Ateneo de Manila University
The Ateneo library system comprises several libraries housed in the Loyola Heights campus and the Professional Schools campus. The university's main library is the Rizal Library located in Loyola Heights. The Ateneo Professional Schools Library is housed in the Professional Schools building. Also included in the library system are the libraries of the Ateneo grade school, high school, and those of the East Asian Pastoral Institute and the Loyola School of Theology. Libraries of other Jesuit universities in Naga, Zamboanga, Davao, and Cagayan de Oro are linked to the Ateneo de Manila Libraries.