MANILA, Philippines -- The University of Sto. Tomas plans to invite Pope Benedict XVI to the Dominican-run pontifical university’s 400th anniversary in 2011, the university’s top official said Saturday.

“We are hopeful that the Holy Father will visit the Philippines and UST in three years’ time from now,” Fr. Rolando dela Rosa, UST rector, said in an interview posted on the university’s website.

Last May, the president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, Iloilo Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, revealed that he and Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales had sent a formal letter to the Vatican inviting the Pope to visit the country this year. The invitation was declined due to the Pope's previous commitments.

Dela Rosa expressed optimism that the Pontiff will visit Manila to grace their celebrations, saying UST was a pontifical university under the authority of the Vatican. It is also one of the oldest and largest Catholic universities outside of Europe.

He noted that every time a Pope visited the Philippines, a tour of the UST was always on his itinerary.

The university, now in its 397th year of existence, holds three distinct titles: "Royal" granted by King Charles III of Spain in 1785, "Pontifical" bestowed by Pope Leo XIII on Septmber 17, 1902, and "The Catholic University of the Philippines"' conferred by Pope Pius XII in 1947.

The last Pope to visit the country was Pope John Paul II in 1995 for the World Youth Day. During his Manila sojourn, the Pope also visited the UST.