Mr. Jamel P.

Mateo Section: 1B
MST - Filipino

PAULINIAN ETHICS
SPC HISTORY
St. Paul University Philippines (SPUP) was founded on May 10, 1907, as Colegio de San Pablo,
by the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres, (Mother Ephrem Marie Fieu, Sr. Suzanne du Sacre Coeur
Cran, Sr. Agnes de Sainte Anne Couplan, and Sr. Jeanne de St. Louis Bourrelly, Sr. Marie
Angeline Acau and Postulant Sr. Ste. Foy de Sacre Coeur Sacramento) who came to Cagayan
Valley upon the invitation of Bishop Dennis Dougherty. The school’s name was changed to
Colegio del Sagrado Corazon de Jesus in 1909, then to Sacred Heart of Jesus Institution (SHOJI)
in 1925. The school started in a Spanish Convento, adjoining the Cathedral, but due to increase
of enrollment and curricular expansion, the community moved to the Colegio de San Jacinto and
its grounds in 1934 (where the University stands today) which the SPC Sisters acquired from the
Dominican Order.
The school served as military garrison and hospital of the Japanese forces in 1941. The
entire complex was razed to the ground during the Liberation. In 1948, the school undertook the
initiative of being the first Teacher-Training Institution in Cagayan Valley, as it assumed the
name St. Paul College of Tuguegarao (SPCT). With the opening of college degrees, the school
became the first accredited institution in the region by the Philippine Accrediting Association of
Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAASCU) in 1961. However, the entire complex was
reduced into ashes on January 18, 1965. Despite the challenges and like a gold tested in fire,
SPUP became the first University and Catholic University in Cagayan Valley in 1982.
In its efforts towards global and international education, SPUP gained the distinction of
being the First Private Catholic University in Asia and the First Private University in the
Philippines to be granted ISO 9001 Certification by TUV Rheinland in 2000 and the only
University accredited by the Asian Association of Schools of Business International (AASBI) in
2014. SPUP has also been selected, as one of only 11 Universities in the Philippines, by World
Bank as Knowledge for Development Center (KDC). Moreover the Commission on Higher
Education (CHED) has designated SPUP as one of the 12 participating schools in the entire
country for the ASEAN International Mobility for Students (AIMS) programme. In July 2014,
SPUP was conferred a full accredited status by the International Accreditation Organization
(IAO) in recognition of its outstanding organizational management, business management and
business performance through its commitment to quality and continuous improvement. SPUP has
also been sought as a partner University of international schools in Asia, Europe and Australia.
These accolades advanced the stature of SPUP as an International University. Currently, the
international community in SPUP, comprising of international and exchange students and
professors, is continuously growing; while, its international linkages and partnerships are
extensively expanding. Subsequently the pioneering Internationalization initiatives of SPUP have
fostered opportunities for SPUP students and teachers for their academic exposure and exchange,
work and travel, and cultural immersions in various countries across the world. As a result,
SPUP has been recognized as an affiliate of the UNESCO Associated Schools Project Network,
or ASPNet for its support to international understanding, peace, intercultural dialogue,
sustainable development and quality education in practice.
In the evangelization of faith and promotion of arts and culture, the Catholic Bishops’
Conference of the Philippines through the Episcopal Commission on Culture (CBCP-ECC)
identified SPUP as a Catholic Center for Culture in 2012. Through this designation, SPUP is
tasked to collaborate in the conservation of the patrimony of the Church and to promote greater
awareness of the Church’s heritage through education, worship and the Sacraments. SPUP has
also instituted a proactive ecumenical approach towards intercultural and interfaith differences
due to the increasing population of international students. The creative approach “to where faith
and culture meet” responds to the challenges of internationalization where the academic
community is strongly rooted in the Catholic beliefs, respectful of others’ creed and culture. In
2014, the National Historical Commission (NHCP) of the Philippines bestowed SPUP a
Historical Marker in recognition of its contribution in the historical development of Cagayan
Valley in the fields of education and public service. The recognition endeavored SPUP one of the
government-recognized historical landmarks in the region and in the country.
HISTORY - St. Paul University Philippines (spup.edu.ph)

HISTORY OF THE SPC

The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres (SPC) was born in the 17 th
century in France, in a small village called Levesville-la-Chenard, a distance of sixty miles
southeast of Paris. The Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres, at first known as the School Sisters, were
founded in 1696. The 17th century was a time of great change and unrest for France and the rest
of the world that went through the Hundred Years War. Levesville was a countryside laid in ruin;
the people, burdened with both material and spiritual needs. The ignorance, apathy, and illiteracy
of the poor grew at an alarming rate.
Father Chauvet, a parish priest of Levesville-la-Chenard, was touched by the poor
conditions of his parishioners. Inspired by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, he worked with Marie
Anne de Tilly our founder. They gathered a few country girls filled with the desire to seek God
and to serve others by instructing those in need of education and caring for the sick of the small
village. These two works of charity have marked our Congregation and have been for over 300
years the mission for which our hearts burn and to which the love of Christ impels us and sends
us.
The country girls who responded to the request of Fr. Chauvet and Marie Anne de Tilly
lived in one of the village houses at the center of the village belonging to Father Chauvet. Their
first chapel was the parish church. Marie Anne de Tilly prepared her young companions for their
mission of educating the daughters of the farm laborers and fostering their growth into genuine
Christian women, visiting the poor and sick in homes, and serving in the hospices in small
communities of two or Three Sisters.
Despite the early deaths of the first superior Marie Michau in 1702, Marie Anne de Tilly
our founder in 1703, and Father Chauvet our spiritual director in 1710, our humble beginnings
flourished. Their deaths, imitating the Paschal Mystery of the Lord Jesus and St. Paul, gave great
impetus to the further growth and development of our Congregation, for “unless a wheat grain
falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest”
(Jn. 12:24).
In 1708, the Sisters were entrusted to the Bishop of Chartres, Monsignor Paul Godet de
Marets, who provided them with a house in the St. Maurice suburbs and the name of the Apostle
Paul who was to be their patron and their model. Like Paul, the Sisters were to “work zealously
to make a living from the work of their own hands” and thus be able to serve others gratuitously.
The Virgin Mother became their model giving them a renewed incentive to work earnestly to
acquire the virtues Mary practiced.
The congregation grew quickly and spread to many towns and villages on the fertile soil
of France. In 1727, the Sisters were invited by Louis XV to the foreign missions of Cayenne in
French Guiana, to serve in the school and the hospital. Without hesitation, four Sisters
volunteered. It took them four months to get to French  Guiana by boat. They staffed a hospital
and school for French nationals and later they nursed the political deportees of the French
Revolution of 1789. Starting in 1852, they nursed the criminals who were sent there to relieve
the crowding of the French prisons.
The Congregation was dissolved in France in 1792 due to the French Revolution
although we continued to exist in Cayenne in French Guiana. Eleven years later by the decree of
Napoleon, they were reinstituted in France and a house and land were given to them. This gift of
Napoleon remains to this day their Motherhouse. The Congregation resumed its activities of
educating and caring for the sick and underprivileged in France and continued in Cayenne, on the
Islands of Martinique in 1818 and Guadeloupe in 1820. The year 1848 saw the first foundation in
Hong Kong and China. From then to 1930, the foundations spread out into South-East Asia.
Then the hour came in 1950 for foundations in Africa and Madagascar, Brazil and Borneo in
Indonesia. At the same time, the Congregation extended its frontiers in Europe and North
America (Canada and United States). Rome was chosen as the seat of the General Council in
1962.
For centuries this same spirit of Mary Anne de Tilly, which was the love of Christ has
impelled the Sisters to leave the world and to give themselves to God for the good of the Church
and the service of her neighbor. The Sisters have grown beyond Levesville and Chartres in
France, actualizing the vision of Father Chauvet. They now serve the people of all nations caring
for the youth, the sick, the shut-ins, and the elderly – throughout six continents of the globe.
Today the Congregation has almost 4000 members of 28 nationalities and is serving 35 countries
in a variety of ways. It’s a long history of Love, written mysteriously and hidden in the hearts of
thousands of women.
Origins – Sisters of St. Paul (sistersofstpaulus.org)

Vision-Mission of SPUP
UNIVERSITY VISION-MISSION STATEMENT
VISION
ST. PAUL UNIVERSITY PHILIPPINES is an internationally recognized institution dedicated to
the formation of competent leaders and responsible citizens of their communities, country, and
the world.
MISSION
Animated by the gospel and guided by the teachings of the Church, it helps to uplift the quality
of life and to effect social transformation through:
1. Quality, Catholic, Paulinian formation, academic excellence, research, and community
service.
2. Optimum access to Paulinian education and service in an atmosphere of compassionate
caring; and
3. Responsive and innovative management processes.

5 Core Values of Paulinians

The SPUP Vision and Mission are reflected in the Paulinian Core Values Framework and the
SPUP Learning Framework which have been adopted by the university.
The core of the Curricula of Studies is embedded in the Paulinian Core Values (the 5 Cs)
namely: Charism, Charity, Commission, Community, and with CHRIST as the CENTER of
Paulinian life.

1. CHRIST (CONSCIOUS) – Christ is the CENTER of Paulinian life. The

Paulinian follows and imitates Christ, doing everything about Him.
2. COMMISSION (COMPETENT) – The Paulinian has a mission – a LIFE
PURPOSE to spread the Good News. Like Christ, he/she actively works “to save”
this world, to make it a better place to live in.
3. COMMUNITY (COLLABORATIVE) – The Paulinian is a RESPONSIBLE
FAMILY MEMBER and CITIZEN, concerned with building communities,
promotion of peoples, justice and peace, and the protection of the environment.
4. CHARISM (CREATIVE) – The Paulinian develops his/her GIFT/TALENTS to
be put in the service of the community, he/she strives to grow and improve daily,
always seeking the better and finer things and the Final Good.
5. CHARITY (COMPASSIONATE) – urged on by the LOVE OF CHRIST, the
 Paulinian is warm, loving, hospitable and “all to all”, especially to the
underprivileged.

Question:
What is the significance of knowing the humble beginnings of our beloved University?
- When the Levesville Parish Church was abandoned for many years, and presbytery
has no repairs done for fifty years, Fr. Louis Chauvet had both fixed, repaired, and
rebuilt at his own expense to exercise his ministry. For me, God made Fr. Chauvet an
instrument in building the ministry again and bringing back the glory to God. Without
his dedication and love for his ministry, everything will turn into pieces. But his faith
and determination pushed him to rebuild the Church and continue his ministry. He is
truly a divine inspiration because of his good heart and desire to help the people back
in the early time. He offered to rent a piece of land once donated to the parish, use the
rental money for a schoolmistress, and undertake the building of a schoolhouse at his
own expense. He dedicated his life to serving the poor and needy. He is a symbol of
mercy and compassion. People witnessed him shining an example of all the Christian
virtues. His selfless service to the needy pushed me to follow his path in helping
others. Until today, his works and legacy never fade as he founded sisters of st. paul
of Chartres (SPC) Philippines. Without him, we are not here today. We are not called
Paulinian without him.