Manila Cathedral School

Manila Cathedral School
Location
Tondo, Manila , Metro Manila Philippines
Coordinates	14°37′04″N 120°58′30″E Fatal error: The format of the coordinate could not be determined. Parsing failed.
Information
Type	Private, Diocesan
Motto	Initium Sapientiae Timor Domini (The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom)
Established	1949
Founded	June 1949
Founder	Archbishop Michael James O'Doherty
Director	Nicanor Celiano Jr. (2025- present)
Elementary Principal	Elizabeth V. Pastor
Highschool Principal	Lucile Ariette A. Bautista
Number of students	approx. 4,800 enrollees (S.Y. 2025 - 2026)
Language	English and Tagalog
Color(s)	Blue, Gold, White and Red
Affiliations	PAASCU
Website	www.mcstayuman.edu.ph

Manila Cathedral School is a private Catholic school located in Tondo, Manila. Rebuilt in 1949, after World War II, Manila Cathedral School was transferred from its original location, Intramuros, to Tondo, Manila, where it still stands today.

Manila Cathedral School is a PAASCU Level II accredited school offering basic education.

History

During the pre-war years, the Manila Cathedral School of Intramuros had a famous "Tiples" all-boys choir trained in sacred music. These boys came from different provinces and enjoyed free board and scholarship at the Colegio de Tiples.

After the 1945 liberation, the Manila Cathedral and the school for the Tiples were left in ruins, but the Archbishop of Manila, Michael J. O'Doherty, was not disheartened. Foremost in his mind was the education of these young boys. The school was transferred to the present site of Manila Cathedral School in Tayuman, Tondo, known before as the "Instituto de Mujeres" co-owned by Doña Rosa Sevilla's family and the Archdiocese of Manila. When the Instituto de Mujeres decided to transfer to Governor Forbes St., Manila, the Archdiocese of Manila purchased the entire lot, thus becoming the sole owner. For the time, this area served to house different religious congregations.

In 1949, the archbishop called all the diocesan priests with education degrees. They agreed to establish the school for Tiples and for boys who have a vocation to the priesthood and to commence classes in June 1949; to name the institution as Manila Cathedral School; and to offer slots for kindergarten up to 4th year high school.

Thus, Manila Cathedral School (MCS) was born with about 400 students paying only minimal tuition fees, exclusively for the poor boys of Tondo. In the 1950s, Manila Cathedral School opened its doors to female students.

In 1978, Cardinal Jaime Sin, Archbishop of Manila, invited the Congregation of the Religious Missionaries of St. Dominic (Order of Preachers) to run the school.

In 1997, the 10th MCS Directress & Principal, Maria Esperanza H. Seguban, started the tertiary level, thus making MCS as Manila Cathedral College. However, in 2001, the School Board instead decided to concentrate on Basic Education.

After 21 years of administration, the Dominican Sisters returned MCS administration to the archdiocese under the supervision of the School Board Chair Teodoro Bacani Jr., Auxiliary Bishop of Manila. In 2001, The Manila Cathedral College again became Manila Cathedral School.

In 2002, Claro Matt Garcia became the 12th School Director, Principal and Chaplain of MCS. Under his tenure, he renovated and modernized the Offices and Facilities of the school, such as the introduction of air-conditioned classrooms. He also expanded the scholarship program for poor children. To give full attention to the development of the school, he invited Jesusa Bulotano to be the school principal – the first time since 1978 for the school to have a separate director and principal. The tenure of Claro Matt Garcia saw the construction of several buildings; some of the buildings include a better gymnasium, canteen and improved computer and science laboratories.

In 2014, Manila Cathedral School became a member of the RCAMES North Manila Cluster School together with Espiritu Santo Parochial School, Holy Child Catholic School, St. Joseph School, San Rafael Parochial School, and San Pablo Apostol Learning Center. Nolan A. Que, the head of Curriculum and Instruction System of RCAMES, was appointed as the cluster school Director and Nicanor A. Celiano Jr. as the cluster school Assistant Director. It was in his tenure that the school was granted the PAASCU Level 1 Accreditation.

Directors and principals

Directors and principals of Manila Cathedral School

Year	Director	Principal
1949-1950	Jose Sunga (as rector)	Arsenio Pineda (as vice-rector)
1950-1953	Justino Ortiz	Arsenio Pineda
1953-1978	Arsenio Pineda	Justino Ortiz (1951-1954) Dalisay Alejandro (1954-1978)
1978-1981	Rogelia Peres
1981-1986	Bernadette Monilla
1986-1988	Rosalinda Calong
1988-1990	Dolores Ruiz
1990-1994	Goretti Vega
1994-1997	Flordeliza Villabona
1997-1999	Ma. Esperanza H. Seguban
1999-2002	Enrique Y. Santos
2002-2014	Claro "Matt" Garcia	Jesusa Bulotano
2014–2020	Nolan A. Que	Jesusa Bulotano
2021-2024	Nolan A. Que	Elizabeth V. Pastor

Revised School Administration.

Year	Director	Elementary Principal	Highschool Principal
2024-2025	Nolan A. Que	Elizabeth V. Pastor	Nolan A. Que
2025-Present	Nicanor Celiano Jr.	Elizabeth V. Pastor	Lucile Ariette A. Bautista

The Manila Cathedral School revised its administration due to the increasing population of students. MCS halved the original responsibility of the principal to better manage the students.

References

• Clusters 5 & 6 Student Handbook, Manila: 2018
• Manila Cathedral School Revised Student Handbook, Manila: 2017
• "Manila Cathedral School". Edukasyon.ph.

External links

• Media related to [[commons:|]] at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website
• MCS Hymn "Cathedral Beloved"

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