Walking The Extra Mile

Very Rev. Fr. Richard G. Ang, O.P., is formally installed as 97th UST Rector

Coinciding with the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima com-memorated on May 13, 2021, the Very Rev. Fr. Richard Gaw Ang, O.P., Ph.D., was formally installed as the 97th rector of the University of Santo Tomas at the Santísimo Rosario Parish Church (UST Chapel). The Solemn Investiture, live-streamed through the UST Facebook page, was presided over by the prior provincial of the Dominican Province of the Philippines and UST vice-grand chancellor Very Rev. Fr. Filemon I. Dela Cruz, Jr., O.P.

The master of the Order of Preachers and UST grand chancellor Very Rev. Fr. Gerard Francisco P. Timoner, III, O.P., first confirmed Father Ang’s appointment as UST’s eighth Filipino Rector a year ago on May 7, 2020. Due to the pandemic, however, the traditional Installation Rites usually held at the start of the academic year had to be postponed to 2021.

Prior to the installation, the Res Ceremoniales (Latin for “and all other things needed for the ceremony”) were brought into the Chapel from the Sacristy area led by the university registrar Cesar Velasco, Jr., carried by seminarians of the UST Central Seminary. The Res Ceremoniales were part of the installation traditions. The Rector’s Maces, which symbolize the weight of the authority and responsibility of the Office of the Rector, were entrusted at the onset of the rites. They were positioned to the left side of the kneeler, where the rector-tobe-installed would have to kneel for a good part of the ceremony.