26/03/2026
A Legacy Carved in Stone, a Future Fueled by Faith
We are deeply honored to be featured by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines! This recognition reminds us that San Sebastian College - Recoletos Manila is more than just a school—it is a living landmark of Filipino heritage.
Our logo, rooted in Carmelite and Augustinian traditions, tells the story of our journey since 1941. From the heraldic shield and mountain symbolizing our Marian origins to the flaming heart representing our restless search for God, every symbol in our seal is a testament to our commitment to Caritas et Scientia (Love and Knowledge).
Let’s carry this badge with pride, Sebastinians! We aren't just part of a school; we are part of history.
𝗦𝗔𝗡 𝗦𝗘𝗕𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗔𝗡 𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗚𝗘 – 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗘𝗧𝗢𝗦 𝗗𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗟𝗔
𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘻𝘰𝘯: 𝘎𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦-𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘦 𝘈𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 “𝘚” 𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘻𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦, 𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘪𝘭 𝘈𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘻𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 “𝘊.”
𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘈𝘶𝘨𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘎𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘚𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘈𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵.
𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘰: 𝘊𝘈𝘙𝘐𝘛𝘈𝘚 𝘌𝘛 𝘚𝘊𝘐𝘌𝘕𝘛𝘐𝘈 (“𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘒𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦”)
In 1621, the Franciscan Order, who were at that time in charge of the parishes of Sampaloc and Quiapo northeast of the city of Manila, sought permission from the Archbishop, Miguel Garcia Serrano, to annex the encomienda of Calumpang nestled between the two towns, and build a visita (chapel-of-ease) therein to minister to its resident population of an estimated thirty households.
However, the encomendero in charge of the property, Don Bernardino del Castillo Rivera y Maldonado (the maestre de campo of Fort Santiago and a regidor of the city council), had previously made a commitment to will the estate, including his own personal rest house therein, for the construction of a convent and retreat house of the Augustinian Recollects, to which he was patron and benefactor ever since their arrival in 1606, having previously brokered on their behalf the acquisition of a small plot of land within the city’s walls and financed the construction of their church and convent at the site, which they (the Recollects) dedicated to the wonderworker Saint Nicholas of Tolentino.
The Archbishop acquiesced to the Maestre de campo’s wishes, but requested in return that he immediately execute his donation (which was originally intended to only gain effectivity upon his and his wife’s passing) so that the Recollects may as soon as possible begin to undertake the pastoral duties to the local community initially requested by the Franciscans.
Being a career military officer, Castillo requested the Recollects to dedicate the church and convent they are going to build to Saint Sebastian, patron of soldiers, to which the order consented. However, the Recollects did not have with them any image of Saint Sebastian, and at that time had no means of commissioning one, hence the prior-provincial, Fr. Rodrigo de San Miguel OAR, decided to enshrine in the new church an icon of Our Lady of Mount Carmel which was personally given to him by the Discalced Carmelite nuns from Mexico. While an icon of Saint Sebastian was eventually enshrined in the altar, the devotion to the Virgin and her miraculous brown scapular became much more widely popular compared to that towards the youthful saint pierced by arrows, hence the church was known amongst many as “Iglesia de la Virgen del Carmen” despite being situated in a place called “San Sebastian de Calumpang.”
Hence, when the Augustinian Recollects decided to establish a school in 1941 adjoining the convent of the Basilica of San Sebastian, the emblem they adopted for the school did not bear any symbol referencing its saintly namesake: rather, it directly adopted the coat of arms of the Carmelite Order: a brown shield mantled in white like a cape (“chape-ploye”), with a six-pointed star counterchanged in each of the three sections created by the mantling. While intended to serve as a visual representation of the Carmelite habit of a brown tunic covered by a white cloak, the triangular shape that the brown field creates also symbolizes Mount Carmel itself, the biblical mountain upon which the Prophet Elijah miraculously proved before the idolatrous King Ahab and his subjects the power of Yahweh, the God of Israel.
In San Sebastian College’s adaptation of the Carmelite emblem, the brown is replaced with red, the color of martyrdom (the only direct reference to its namesake, Saint Sebastian), and the stars were replaced with the letters “S-S-C,” the initials of the institution, with the “C” enclosed in a trefoil, a traditional symbol for the Holy Trinity. Surmounting the emblem as a crest is the flaming heart of Saint Augustine of Hippo pierced by an arrow, resting over an open book, symbolizing the oversight the Augustinian Recollects exercise over the institution, with a banderole bearing the Augustinian Recollect motto of “Charity and Knowledge” on either side.
[DISCLAIMER: The featured emblem is the intellectual property of San Sebastian College - Recoletos, used under “Fair Use” terms as provided for in Section 185 of RA 8293 (Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines). Unauthorized use of this emblem beyond the limits set forth in the aforementioned Section 185 of RA 8293 constitutes copyright infringement and is prohibited by law.]
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