Loyola Papers Vol. 5 No. 2 (2024)

This year, Loyola School of Theology marks an important milestone as it celebrates its 25th anniversary as an Ecclesiastical Faculty of Theology. Prior to this, LST has been affiliated since 1985 and aggregated since 1989 to the Fu Jen Faculty of Theology of St. Robert Bellarmine in Taiwan, through which it had been granting the canonical baccalaureate and licentiate degrees in Theology. During the Pontificate of Pope John Paul II, LST was formally erected by the Congregatio Pro Institutione Catholica, then in charge of seminaries and other academic institutions of the Church, as an Ecclesiastical Faculty of Theology on August 13, 1999. This empowered LST to bestow, not only the canonical baccalaureate but the licentiate and doctorate degrees in theology as well. Aside from this, LST, in turn, is now able to affiliate, aggregate and incorporate other ecclesiastical institutions of higher learning, through which it is able to offer the canonical degrees.