H I S T O R I C A L
G L I M P S E

In 1904, October 29, the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres established its first Foundation in the Philippines in Dumaguete, Negros Oriental, upon the invitation of the Most Reverend Frederick Zadok Rooker of the Diocese of Iloilo, to which Dumaguete then belonged. Seven SPC Sisters landed on the shores of Dumaguete knowing neither language nor culture, except the one supreme language of the heart, “Caritas Christi Urget Nos.”

The Lord had wonderfully blessed their poor and humble beginnings with a succession of Foundations opened after Dumaguete. More invitations followed and so more Sisters continued to bear fruit through Education, Health and Pastoral Ministry. One hundred years later, the seven Sisters became 567 Filipino Sisters still serving with the same charism and energy.

As it was in the beginning of our story in Levesville, the Sisters in the small cradle in Dumaguete grew in strength and in number, through trials and challenges. Like the falling of the grain of wheat into the ground, the premier school brought forth several schools, hospitals, health and pastoral care centers, and communities of Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres throughout the country.

St. Paul University Dumaguete, now more than 100 years of service to humanity, is truly blessed with momentous events. It started as the Instituto de San Pablo, an exclusive school for girls - the first Catholic school in the province. Indeed, the school has gone a long way--ever responsive to the needs of the Dumagueteños, in particular and the Filipinos in general. It has grown and expanded producing holistic, integral graduates who have become authentic and responsible leaders in society and in their respective workplace.