of the Knights of Malta, in Intramuros as Colegio de Niños Huerfanos de San Juan de Letran. The school was intended to educate and mold orphans to be good Christian citizens. Around the month of May in 1632, Fray Diego de Santa Maria, O.P. arrived at the Sto. Domingo convent from Spain via Mexico. He was officially assigned to this same convent on April 23, 1633, and was given the task of conventual porter. He founded the Colegio de Huerfanos de San Pedro y San Pablo. As Don Guerrero grew old, the two schools were fused together, and in 1630, it simply became known as Colegio de San Juan de Letran. 18th century In 1738, under the reign of King Philip V of Spain opened the Colegio de San Juan de Letran and University of Santo Tomas, and six scholarships were granted by the king for Chinese, Japanese, and Tonkinese students. Vicente Liem de la Paz, Letran's foremost alumnus, was among the students who enjoyed this scholarship taking up trivium and quadrivium along with four Tonkinese namely: Jose de Santo Tomas, Juan de Santo Domingo, Pedro Martir and Pedro de San Jacinto. 19th century In May 1865, Letran was graded as a College of the First Class by royal decree ordered by Queen Isabella II and, as a result, the school population rose considerably. In 1886, rector Fr. Bernardino Nozaleda re-organized the school's curriculum into the Lower, Middle, and Superior grades (Infima, Media y Superior) to conform to modern European and American teaching patterns. 20th century Further expansion took place in 1894 and adjustments were made with the arrival of the Americans in 1900. After celebrating its tricentennial, Letran was headed by the Rev. Fr. Martin Guillet O.P., who was tasked with replacing Letran's old infrastructure and constructing a new and modern building. The new facilities were inaugurated and blessed by Rev. Fr. Martin Guillet O.P.. The new St. John the Baptist Building became the Colegio's main building and facade. These events were followed by the construction of the Elementary, High School and College buildings replacing the old structures respectively. The buildings were named after the Dominican founder and saints. World War II The growth of the Colegio was temporarily halted when the building was bombed in 1941 and turned into a garrison by the Japanese army in 1944. The Colegio was temporarily housed in the Dominican church and convent