Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (The Angelicum)

The Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (PUST), also known as the Angelicum in honor of its patron the Doctor Angelicus Thomas Aquinas,[3] is located in the historic center of Rome, Italy. It is directly dependent on the Pope for its status as a pontifical university as outlined in the apostolic constitution Sapientia Christiana, which also clarifies the parameters of Church authority and academic freedom.[4] The Angelicum is administered by the Catholic Order of Preachers, also known as the Dominican Order, and is a central locus of traditional Dominican Thomist theology and philosophy. The Angelicum is coeducational and offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees in theology, philosophy, canon law, and social sciences, as well as certificates and diplomas in related areas. Courses are offered in Italian and for some programs in English. The Angelicum is staffed by clergy and laity and serves both religious and lay students from around the world. Contents 1 History 2 Academics 3 The Angelicum Campus 4 General information 5 Publications and media 6 Notables 7 See also 8 Notes 9 External links History[edit] The Angelicum has its roots in the Dominican mission to study and to teach truth, as reflected in the Order's motto, "Veritas". The distinctively pedagogical character of the Dominican apostolate as intended by Saint Dominic de Guzman in 1214 at the birth of the Order, "the first order instituted by the Church with an academic mission,"[5] is succinctly expressed by another of the Order's mottos, contemplare et contemplata aliis tradere, (to contemplate and to bear the fruits of contemplation to others).[6] Pope Honorius III approved the Order of Preachers in December 1216 and January 1217.[7] On 21 January 1217 the papal bull Gratiarum omnium[8] confirmed the Order's pedagogical mission by granting its members the right to preach universally, a power formerly dependent on local episcopal authorization.[9]