The Ateneo de Zamboanga University (Filipino: Pamantasang Ateneo de Zamboanga), also referred to by its acronym AdZU is a private Catholic coeducational basic and higher education institution run by the Philippine Province of the Society of Jesus in Zamboanga City, Philippines. AdZU began in 1912 as Escuela Catolica, a parochial school run by Spanish Jesuits. It is the second oldest Jesuit school in the Philippines and the second Jesuit school to be named Ateneo. It initially offered primary and secondary education for boys. It became a college in 1952 and a university in August 2001. It operates on three campuses. The main campus located in La Purisima Street, Zamboanga City is where the tertiary and senior high school departments are located and the annex campus in Barangay Tumaga, outsi