Ateneo de Naga University has new president

The first of July 2011 marked the installation of Rev. Fr. Primitivo "Jun" Viray Jr., S.J. as the new President of the Ateneo de Naga University.

A thanksgiving mass was held at three o'clock in the afternoon at the Christ the King Church and was followed by a simple gathering at the Xavier Hall where the President delivered his inaugural speech.

"Indeed, the wealth of the University lies not in its finances but in its people", he said, acknowledging the two great pillars of the Ateneo de Naga University, Fr. Rolly Bonoan and Fr. Joel Tabora.

On the feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, he ended his remarkable speech thus: "It is only through the love of the Heart of Jesus that we can begin to comprehend all that we have done and what we can hope to do. Unlike the institutional memory that fades away or the power ring that needs to be re-charged every 24 hours to the Green Lantern, the Sacred Heart of Jesus provides an infinite and renewable source of grace, mercy and power to whoever wishes to draw from it."

The said thanksgiving mass for the investiture was celebrated by Very Rev. Fr. Cecilio Magadia, S.J., Provincial Supervisor of the Society of Jesus in the Philippines, with guest priests. The ceremonious occasion was attended by the Jesuit community, the Ateneo community and prominent people of Naga City. (Natalie Hazel P. Quimlat)