Our school

HISTORY

The year 2016 was a year of celebration for the Dominicans and, in particular, for our school. It was the foundation's 800th anniversary (1216) of the Order of Preachers and the school’s 75th anniversary.

The school began as a project of Fr. Luis Urbano Lanaspa, a man of great talent, entrepreneurial spirit and creative ideas; taking advantage of the existing site on the Gran Via Marques del Turia, which was proposed to create a Centre of Higher Studies for ecclesiastes and secular people. Our educational centre was approved by the Council of the Province of Aragon on 3 March 1926 and by the Vicar General of the Order.

It was on 27 June of the same year, when the first stone was laid in the place that would later be occupied by the school's auditorium. Attending the ceremony were General Primo de Rivera, the Archbishop of Valencia, Don Prudencio Melo, who blessed the stone. The godparents of the ceremony, Don Rafael Pastor, the then Rector of the University and Doña Mercedes Martínez, Widow of Dado, the Provincial of the Dominicans of the Province of Aragon, who is now the Blessed P. Luis Urbano, and authorities who graced the event with their presence.

Years later, after the death of Father Urbano in 1936, the University Centre became the "Spanish-French School", so its seizure would be avoided during the war. When the war ended in 1939, two months later, Father Vicente Montserrat, born in Burgos, was appointed Prior Provincial of the Province of Aragon. He took over from Fr. Urbano in his initial idea for the educational centre in Valencia. There were talks about the management of the "Colegio Hispano-Franco". On 2 July 1941, 75 years ago today, the management was returned to the Dominicans.

Fr. Montserrat carried out a similar task in Zaragoza, where he also founded an educational centre and a University College, "Cardenal Xaviera". Nowadays, this university is still in operation and they celebrated its 75th anniversary.

Concerning the "Colegio Hispano-Franco", this institution had been recognised by the Ministry of National Education on 21 September 1939. Two years after the Dominicans took over, the General Director of Secondary Education, on 17 July 1943, authorised the name change. From that day on, the centre was called "Colegio Hispano de San Vicente Ferrer", until 5 December 1945. It was under the rectorship of Father Manuel Fortea, when it was ultimately renamed to "Colegio San Vicente Ferrer’’.

From 1941 to 1976, the centre was known as the Gran Vía School. Then the name changed to "Colegio Nuevo". This new school was located on Isabel la Católica Street, and it is where we are currently located. This transfer took place when Fr. José Martínez Cuesta was the Rector.

At present, our school has been operating under a mixed leadership since 1984, when Fr. Javier Laveaga was the Rector. Throughout these years, many Dominicans have gone through the centre. We must remember the dozens of teachers, men and women, who, along with the rest of the staff of the institution, contributed and continue to do so in the development of approximately 1100 students.