It started during the meeting of the Catholic Hierarchy of the Philippines on 26-31 January 1959 when the late Archbishop of Manila, Rufino Cardinal Santos, proposed a resolution to the Philippine bishops: the establishment of the Pontifical Philippine College in Rome.
    The approved resolution was sent to the Vatican. The prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Seminaries and Universities, Cardinal Giuseppe Pizzardo, gave the subsequent nihil obstat:

     We are indeed glad to recall that there are many Filipino students who, chosen with care by their Most Reverend Ordinaries, desirous of fulfilling the wishes of the Supreme Pastor, under the protection of the Supreme Pontiff, study under the light of the vestiges of Christian antiquity, so that having been formed as true soldiers of Christ, they may serve the faith among their people in the most fruitful way.

     With the gracious consent of the Vatican authorities, a site was chosen: a 23,893.44-square meter lot situated at Via Aurelia, between the Collegio Pio Brasiliano and the Villa Pacelli, just beyond Piazza Irnerio. Located in a beautiful suburb below the Vatican City, the lot belonged to the Brothers of the Christian