Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Colombo (Agenzia Fides) - According to provincial, Father Edmund C. Nantes, O.P., the Dominican Province of the Philippines in cooperation with the archdiocese of Colombo and its Archbishop Oswald Thomas Colman Gomis is working towards establishing a Catholic university to be run by the Dominicans from the Philippines. The negotiation for the said project between the Philippine Dominicans and Archbishop Gomes is underway. This university would offer quality education to students from all religions in Sri Lanka, according to sources. The setting up of the proposed university in Colombo is to be headed by the 396-old University of Santo Tomas (UST), a Dominican institution of learning in Manila. The pontifical royal and Catholic UST is one of the Asia’s oldest universities. The UST will celebrate its 400 years of existence in 2011. Since the end of the 16th century, Dominicans are present in Sri Lanka, a predominantly Buddhist country. The territorial jurisdiction of the Dominican Province of the Philippines encompasses the whole of the Philippines, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. In Asia, Dominican missionaries are also working in Iraq, Pakistan, India, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Thailand and Mainland China.
Founded by St. Dominic de Guzaman in 1215, Dominicans, popularly known as the Order of Preachers, are present in 92 countries today. (K.P.) (Agenzia Fides 2/7/2007; righe 13, parole 172)
