Membership Profile

Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan was founded in 1933 by Fr James TG Hayes SJ, Superior of the Philippine Jesuit mission and first Bishop and Archbishop of Cagayan de Oro. In March 1958, two years after Fr Francisco Araneta SJ became Rector, Ateneo de Cagayan was granted the university status. At its inauguration on August 27, 1958, Ateneo de Cagayan was called “Xavier University,” in honor of St Francis Xavier, a Jesuit missionary to the Indies and companion of St Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus. Fr Francisco Araneta SJ further explains that the change of name “merely crystallized an old spirit that always had been the soul of all Ateneo schools, the spirit of learning and service, the spirit of purposeful scholarship. Responding to the demands of a rapidly developing Northern Mindanao, Xavier University opened more and more courses, becoming the leading educational institution in the Mindanao (and its neighboring regions in the Visayas) and the principal training ground for professionals and leaders. Xavier University also continues to further its thrusts of better administration, stronger formation, and greater societal engagement. The units and departments have been clustered into (1) Academic, (2) Mission and Ministry, (3) Administration, (4) Social Development, and (5) Research to address the growing scale and complexity of the operations of the University.

Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan was founded in 1933 by Fr James TG Hayes SJ, Superior of the Philippine Jesuit mission and first Bishop and Archbishop of Cagayan de Oro. In March 1958, two years after Fr Francisco Araneta SJ became Rector, Ateneo de Cagayan was granted the university status. At its inauguration on August 27, 1958, Ateneo de Cagayan was called “Xavier University,” in honor of St Francis Xavier, a Jesuit missionary to the Indies and companion of St Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus. Fr Francisco Araneta SJ further explains that the change of name “merely crystallized an old spirit that always had been the soul of all Ateneo schools, the spirit of learning and service, the spirit of purposeful scholarship. Responding to the demands of a rapidly developing Northern Mindanao, Xavier University opened more and more courses, becoming the leading educational institution in the Mindanao (and its neighboring regions in the Visayas) and the principal training ground for professionals and leaders. Xavier University also continues to further its thrusts of better administration, stronger formation, and greater societal engagement. The units and departments have been clustered into (1) Academic, (2) Mission and Ministry, (3) Administration, (4) Social Development, and (5) Research to address the growing scale and complexity of the operations of the University.