SEALS OF PILAR COLLEGE AND ATENEO

Hello to all! 12 years in Pilar College and I never even bothered to go into the details of the meaning of our seal. But it's never too late....Hope the Pilarists who, like me, are so oblivious of the essence of our seal, will be freed from the lack of knowledge of the latter through this insert. Thanks to Edcel Acuna for tickling my curiosity on this matter

The Pilar College Seal

The monogram AM stands for Ave Maria or "Hail Mary," the angelic salutation which is an ejaculatory praise to Mary, the Mother of God, Mother and Patroness of the Congregation. The twelve stars refer to the stars in the vision of St. John, in which "a great sign appeared in Heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars." These stars represent the twelve extraordinary graces or privileges which God has bestowed on Mary.
The rays radiating from the monogram signify the outpouring of graces which come to us through the hands of Mary from Jesus. This again is a symbolization of the Congregation's motto, To Jesus through Mary.
Etched below the monogram is a very significant figure of an open book upon which is inscribed the revealed word of God: Initium sapientiae timor Domini, the English translation of which is: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."
This is the real essence of the education the Congregation is intent on imparting — a filial fear of the Lord, a knowledge of the Lord, Who in truth is the beginning of wisdom, for wisdom here means the knowledge, the grasping, the understanding of truth. And, if because of human frailty one fails to grasp the full meaning of such tremendous truth, at least, the study of the science of God, the study of Religion aside from all others sciences, is the beginning of wisdom.
Immediately below the book is the white sampaguita flower, the national flower of the Philippines. It stands for the Congregation of the Religious of the Virgin Mary, the first Filipino congregation founded by a Filipina,
Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo.

The Ateneo de Zamboanga University Seal

The Ateneo de Zamboanga University seal reflects the mission of the school

Surrounding the upper half of the seal is the school motto:
"PRO DEO ET PATRIA" -- IN THE SERVICE OF GOD AND COUNTRY. The school's mission is to produce men and women for others, men and women for the service of God and country.

And on the bottom, surrounding the seal, is the name of the school, the ATENEO DE ZAMBOANGA which was founded in 1912.

In the circular field is the shield. The red and yellow stripes are derived from the coat of arms of the family of Oñaz, the maternal line of St. Ignatius. In the center are two wolves and a food pot. These are of the medallion of the family of Loyola, the Paternal Line of St. Ignatius of Loyola. This medallion stands for the generosity for which the house of Loyola was well known. The cross on the upper right portion of the shield symbolizes the Christian character of the Ateneo. While the vinta indicates the various cultural communities of the South Western Philippines where the school is located

On th bottom left are the book and torch, traditional symbols of education.

Above the shield is the glorious sunburst, the monogram of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) -- IHS surmounted by the cross and below are three nails. The "IHS" are the first letters of the name of Jesus in Greek. Emanating from the name of Jesus are the Blue and white rays that signify his gifts and grace for all.

COMPILED BY LYNN DE VERA