Ateneo de Zamboanga University

The Ateneo de Zamboanga began in 1912 as Escuela Catolica, a parochial school run by Spanish Jesuits at the Immaculate Conception Church's old site, right across the Sunken Garden. Fr. Manuel M. Sauras, S.J., was the first director. In 1930, the American Jesuits took over from the Spanish Jesuits with Fr. Thomas Murray, S.J. as the first American director. Classes were also held in the Knights of Columbus (K of C) building, now the site City Theater. The first high school students graduated from Ateneo in 1932.
In 1938, a library was built on the first floor of the K of C Building. A facade, an auditorium, and an annex were also built. John Shinn was appointed headmaster of the Grade School, and Fr. Francis Clark, S.J. became the principal and dean of the High School discipline. The school was closed during World War II. The Japanese used it as a public elementary school until it was shelled and bombed by the American forces on March 8 and 9 in 1945, before the city's liberation.