International Council of Universities of Saint Thomas Aquinas

The International Council of Universities of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Consejo Internacional de Universidades Santo Tomás de Aquino, in Spanish) is a world-wide network of universities inspired by the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...

. Generally known as ICUSTA, it promotes academic exchange between students, professors and researchers. ICUSTA unites some 23 universities, with over 200,000 students on the five continents.

Mission

ICUSTA has as its main mission, to unite all the Catholic universities based on the intellectual, pedagogical and methodologic principles of Thomism

Thomism

Thomism is the philosophical school that arose as a legacy of the work and thought of St. Thomas Aquinas, philosopher, theologian, and Doctor of the Church. In philosophy, his commentaries on Aristotle are his most lasting contribution...

, the thought of Saint Thomas Aquinas, in order to create and to integrate university policies. This takes the form of increasing the interchange between students and professors, the development of joint plans between the various institutions and the sharing of information and programs.

History

ICUSTA grew out of a meeting in 1993 between representatives of the University of St. Thomas (Houston)

University of St. Thomas (Houston)

The University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas, United States is a comprehensive Catholic university, grounded in the liberal arts...

and Universidad Santo Tomás, Chile. They were soon joined by the Pontificia Università degli Studi San Tommaso d'Aquino (Rome) and the Universidad Santo Tomás, Colombia

Saint Thomas Aquinas University

Saint Thomas University is a Roman Catholic university located in Bogotá, Colombia. It is the oldest Colombian university, founded in 1580 by the Dominican Order....

. In 1995 in Rome, a second conference was held which was attended by 12 universities. There a permanent international organization was established with bylaws and protocols for the accomplishment of the ICUSTA mission.

In the successive conferences additional members were added. The later meetings were in Manila

Manila

Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...

, in 1997; in Fredericton, New Brunswick

Fredericton, New Brunswick

Fredericton is the capital of the Canadian province of New Brunswick, by virtue of the provincial parliament which sits there. An important cultural, artistic, and educational centre for the province, Fredericton is home to two universities and cultural institutions such as the Beaverbrook Art...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, in 1999; in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, in 2001; in Mar del Plata

Mar del Plata

Mar del Plata is an Argentine city located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, south of Buenos Aires. Mar del Plata is the second largest city of Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" had apparently the sense of "sea of the Río de la Plata region" or "adjoining sea to the Río de la Plata"...

, Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

, in 2003; and in Barcelona

Barcelona

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, in 2005, Australian Catholic University in Melbourne, Australia (2007), and Mary Immaculate College in Limerick, Ireland (2009).

ICUSTA will return to the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomás

University of Santo Tomas

The Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines , is a private Roman Catholic university run by the Order of Preachers in Manila. Founded on April 28, 1611 by archbishop of Manila Miguel de Benavides, it has the oldest extant university charter in the...

in the Philippines in 2011 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the founding of this great university in 1611. In 2013, the conference will be held in France at the Catholic Institute of Higher Studies - ICES

Catholic Institute of Higher Studies - ICES

The Catholic Institute of Higher Studies is a small private university located in Vendée region of western France, just 25 minutes from the Atlantic coast....

. In 2015, ICUSTA hold its biennial meeting for the first time in Africa at the University of St. Thomas of Mozambique for the 12th Biennial.

Members

Location	University	Website
Luanda Luanda Luanda, formerly named São Paulo da Assunção de Loanda, is the capital and largest city of Angola. Located on Angola's coast with the Atlantic Ocean, Luanda is both Angola's chief seaport and its administrative center. It has a population of at least 5 million... , Angola	Universidade Católica de Angola Catholic University of Angola The Catholic University of Angola is a catholic institution and located in Angola's capital of Luanda. On 7 August 1992, the government of Angola allowed the Angolan Catholic Church to establish its own university. Through approval by the Episcopal Conference it started teaching on 22 February 1999...	www.ucan.edu
Mar del Plata Mar del Plata Mar del Plata is an Argentine city located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, south of Buenos Aires. Mar del Plata is the second largest city of Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" had apparently the sense of "sea of the Río de la Plata region" or "adjoining sea to the Río de la Plata"... , Argentina	Universidad Fraternidad de Agrupaciones Santo Tomás de Aquino (FASTA)	www.ufasta.edu.ar
Tucumán, Argentina	Universidad del Norte Santo Tomás de Aquino	www.unsta.edu.ar
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent... , Argentina	Universidad Católica Argentina	www.uca.edu.ar
Sydney Sydney Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people... , Australia	Australian Catholic University Australian Catholic University Australian Catholic University is a national public university. It has six campuses and offers programs in five faculties throughout Australia.-History:...	www.acu.edu.au
New Brunswick New Brunswick New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area... , Canada	Saint Thomas University St. Thomas University (New Brunswick) St. Thomas University is jointly a public and Roman Catholic liberal arts university located in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. It offers degrees exclusively at the undergraduate level for approximately 3,000 students in the liberal arts, humanities, journalism, education, and social work....	www.stu.ca
Santiago Santiago, Chile Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level... , Chile	Universidad Santo Tomás	www.ust.cl
Bogota, Colombia	Universidad Santo Tomás Saint Thomas Aquinas University Saint Thomas University is a Roman Catholic university located in Bogotá, Colombia. It is the oldest Colombian university, founded in 1580 by the Dominican Order....	www.usantotomas.edu.co
Santiago de los Caballeros Santiago de los Caballeros Santiago de los Caballeros is a city in the Dominican Republic. Founded in 1495 during the first wave of European colonization of the New World, today Santiago is the second largest metropolis in the Dominican Republic, located in the north-central region of the Republic known as Cibao valley... , Dominican Republic	Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra The Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra —or Mother and Teacher Pontifical Catholic University is the first private, Roman Catholic, coeducational, university located in the Dominican Republic. The university grants undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, and professional degrees through...	www.pucmmsti.edu.do
Addis Ababa Addis Ababa Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia... , Ethiopia	Ethiopian Catholic University of St. Thomas Aquinas	http://www.ecustaedu.org
La Roche-sur-Yon La Roche-sur-Yon La Roche-sur-Yon is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France.It is the capital of the department. Its inhabitants are called Yonnais.-History:... , France	Catholic Institute of Higher Studies - ICES Catholic Institute of Higher Studies - ICES The Catholic Institute of Higher Studies is a small private university located in Vendée region of western France, just 25 minutes from the Atlantic coast....	www.ices.fr
Tegucigalpa Tegucigalpa Tegucigalpa , and commonly referred as Tegus , is the capital of Honduras and seat of government of the Republic, along with its twin sister Comayagüela. Founded on September 29, 1578 by the Spanish, it became the country's capital on October 30, 1880 under President Marco Aurelio Soto... , Honduras	Universidad Santo Tomás	N/A
Sumatra Sumatra Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538... , Indonesia	Universitas Katolik St. Thomas Sumatera Utara	N/A
Limerick Limerick Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the... , Ireland	Mary Immaculate College Mary Immaculate College, Limerick Mary Immaculate College , also known as Mary I or MIC, is a College of Education and Liberal Arts, founded in 1898. It became academically linked to the University of Limerick in 1991. The college has approximately 3,500 students and 300 staff...	www.mic.ul.ie
Rome Rome Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half... , Italy	Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum)	www.angelicum.org
Ehime, Japan	Sei Katarina Daigaku	www.catherine.ac.jp
Osaka Osaka is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe... , Japan	Sei Tomasu Daigaku St. Thomas University, Japan , formerly known as , is a private university in Amagasaki, Hyogo, Japan. The school was founded in 1962 as a junior college and became a four-year college in the following year. The present name of the school was adopted in 2007.-Sister Schools:...	www.st.thomas.ac.jp
Maputo Maputo Maputo, also known as Lourenço Marques, is the capital and largest city of Mozambique. It is known as the City of Acacias in reference to acacia trees commonly found along its avenues and the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. It was famous for the inscription "This is Portugal" on the walkway of its... , Mozambique	Universidade São Tomás de Moçambique	www.ustm.ac.mz
Imo State Imo State Imo State is one of the 36 states of Nigeria and lies to the south of Nigeria with Owerri as its capital and largest city.-History:Imo State came into existence in 1976 along with other new states created under the leadership of the late military ruler of Nigeria, Murtala Muhammad, having been... , Nigeria	Catholic University of Nigeria Catholic University of Nigeria The Catholic University of Nigeria is a Roman Catholic university planned for Abuja, the capital of Nigeria....	N/A
Lima Lima Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima... , Peru	Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú	www.pucp.edu.pe
Albay Albay Albay is a province of the Philippines located in the Bicol Region in Luzon. Its capital is Legazpi City and the province borders Camarines Sur to the north and Sorsogon to the south. Also to the northeast is Lagonoy Gulf.... , Philippines	Aquinas University of Legazpi	www.aq.edu.ph
Manila Manila Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,... , Philippines	Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomás University of Santo Tomas The Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines , is a private Roman Catholic university run by the Order of Preachers in Manila. Founded on April 28, 1611 by archbishop of Manila Miguel de Benavides, it has the oldest extant university charter in the...	www.ust.edu.ph
Madrid Madrid Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan... , Spain	Universidad CEU San Pablo	www.ceu.es
Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of... , Spain	Universidad CEU Abat Oliba	www.uao.es
Valencia, Spain	Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera	www.uch.ceu.es
Lugano Lugano Lugano is a city of inhabitants in the city proper and a total of over 145,000 people in the agglomeration/city region, in the south of Switzerland, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, which borders Italy... , Switzerland	Facultà di Teología di Lugano	www.teologialugano.ch
California California California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area... , USA	Thomas Aquinas College Thomas Aquinas College Thomas Aquinas College is a Roman Catholic liberal arts college offering a single integrated academic program. It is located in Santa Paula, California north of Los Angeles. It offers a unique education with courses based on the Great Books and seminar method...	www.thomasaquinas.edu
Ohio Ohio Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus... , USA	Ohio Dominican University Ohio Dominican University Ohio Dominican University is a private four-year liberal arts institution, founded in 1911 in the Catholic and Dominican traditions. The main campus spans over in the North Central neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio, United States. The university has just over 3,100 students and offers undergraduate...	www.ohiodominican.edu
Texas Texas Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in... , USA	University of Saint Thomas University of St. Thomas (Houston) The University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas, United States is a comprehensive Catholic university, grounded in the liberal arts...	www.stthom.edu
Minnesota Minnesota Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state... , USA	University of Saint Thomas University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) The University of St. Thomas is a private, Catholic, liberal arts, and archdiocesan university located in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States...	www.stthomas.edu