St. Thomas Aquinas, known as the Angelic Doctor, is one of the Doctors of the Church. He is recognized for his work, the Summa Theologiae. While the University of Santo Tomas was founded in 1611, the house was founded only in 1617. It became a convent in 1969, and came to be under the jurisdiction of the Dominican Province of the Philippines in 1996. St. Thomas Aquinas is also the patron saint of the house in Surabaya, Indonesia (2013).
St. Bartholomew, one of the twelve Apostles of Christ, serves as the patron of the mission station in Calayan Island. St. Vincent Ferrer, a Dominican priest and known as the Angel of the Apocalypse, serves as the patron of the mission station in Camiguin Norte of the Babuyan Group of Islands. The Dominicans have set foot on these islands as early as 1619 and pursued the evangelistic mission there.
The Colegio de San Juan de Letran was founded in 1620. Its house was established in 1652, and eventually became a convent in 1969. A notable saint to have graced the halls of the Colegio was St. Vicente Liem de la Paz, a Tonkingese (now Vietnam)
Dominican friar and martyr who pursued the mission of evangelization in his country
The House of the Most Holy Rosary in Jaro, Iloilo was founded in 1962, while the Convent of St. Raymond of Peñafort was founded in 1965 as a house and elevated to a convent in 1969.
St. Raymond of Peñafort is a Dominican priest who became the third Master of the Order. He is the patron saint of canon lawyers.
St. Albert the Great is the patron saint of the house located in Calamba, Laguna. It was founded in 1977 and became a convent in 1994. St. Albert is a German Dominican friar and bishop, recognized as one of the Doctors of the Church, the Universal Doctor. He was a professor of St. Thomas Aquinas.
St. Lorenzo Ruiz, the protomartyr of the Philippines, serves as the patron of the house in Navotas, founded in 2005, where the San Lorenzo Ruiz and Companions Parish is also located. St. Lorenzo Ruiz was a Filipino of Chinese descent and was educated by the Dominican friars. He faced martyrdom at the hands of the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1637, together with three Dominican priests and a lay leper.
St. Antoninus, a Dominican friar and Archbishop of Florence, is the patron of the house in General Santos City, founded in 2011.
St. Mary Magdalene is also known as the Apostle to the Apostles, being the first preacher of the Resurrection of Christ. The Order of Preachers recognizes her as their heavenly patroness. St. Mary Magdalene is the patroness of the house in Nasugbu, Batangas where the Caleruega Retreat Center is located. It was founded in 1995, and the house was built in 2012.
St. Dominic de Guzman, father and founder of the Order of Preachers, is the patron of the houses in Quezon City (Bahay Dominiko - 1993), Sri Lanka (2001) and Pontianak, Indonesia (2006). St. Martin de Porres, a Peruvian, was born to a Spanish father and a black mother. He was a cooperator-brother, and is the patron saint of the Dominican Cooperator-Brothers.
After the Santo Domingo Convent was established in 1588, the Priory of Our Lady of the Rosary in Manaoag, Pangasinan followed in 1608. It was elevated to a convent in 1969. In 2014, the title of Minor Basilica was granted by Pope Francis to the Shrine, and it was solemnly proclaimed in 2015. St. Martin de Porres, a Peruvian, was born to a Spanish father and a black mother. He was a cooperator-brother, and is the patron saint of the Dominican Cooperator-Brothers.
In 1587, the first Spanish Dominicans were immediately sent to Bataan and Pangasinan. A year after, they established the Sto. Domingo Convent in Intramuros (1588). Years later, the invasion of the Dutch Protestants saw the Spanish fleet seek the intercession of Our Lady of La Naval, and credited her for the miraculous victory in the naval battle of Manila in 1646, similar to that of the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. The Dominicans, from then on, have shepherded the people and nourished this devotion to Our Lady of La Naval to this day.
From its roots in Intramuros, the Sto. Domingo Church eventually moved to its present location in Quezon City, following the ravages of World War II. The brothers of the Province “commit to become an authentic community of preachers in the service of the Church, strive to incarnate in themselves and in the communities Jesus Christ, the Preacher, whom they announce to the world especially to the poor through an inter-cultural Dominican way of witnessing and proclamation.” (from the Fundamental Statute of the Dominican Province of the Philippines, no. 3)
Address:
San Pio V Bldg. Sto. Domingo Church Compound
Biak-na-Bato corner Quezon Avenue, Quezon City
Operating Hours:
Daily: 7:00AM – 10:00PM
Open on Catholic and Public holidays