In April 2020, the late Joseph “Manoy Ajo” Reburiano and I collaborated to correct the attribution on the sheet music of Regnum Dei, Ateneo de Naga’s marching song. While I conducted the (remote) archival work, he arranged the music and restored its attribution to the rightful composer.
For decades, the song was incorrectly attributed to John Philip Sousa, the American composer and conductor of US military marches, creating the impression that he had written both its music and lyrics. Reproduced in Ateneo de Naga school handbooks, the attribution was repeated so often that it passed as historical fact.
My research eventually revealed that Regnum Dei was adapted from Semper Paratus (“Always Ready”), whose words and music were written by Capt. Francis Saltus Van Boskerck in 1927. In 1941, Richard McSorley, then a Jesuit scholastic assigned to Naga, adapted the melody and rewrote the lyrics to create the “Regnum Dei.” This is corroborated by Honesto General (HS ’47), Atty. Luis Ruben General’s uncle, in his contributed essay “Looking Back” from the book Bikol Magis, an anthology of stories written by Ateneo alumni (Greg S. Castilla and Raul F. Borjal, editors, Ateneo de Naga University Press, 2014, Naga City).
The connection between the two songs is unmistakable, with several familiar lines drawn directly from Semper Paratus:
Our flag is carried flying high in victory or defeat
We'll cheer our men unto the end, we'll cheer them as they fight
Here's Ateneo's (is the Coast Guard) Marching Song
High Shall our Purpose Be,
Our fame and glory too
We'll fight and win, or fight and die.
On Ateneo de Naga’s 86th founding anniversary, I am pleased to share the fruit of that collaboration: a revised music sheet of Regnum Dei, correctly attributing the music to Van Boskerck. This also stands as a testament to Manoy Ajo’s meticulous work and generosity. He entrusted this copy to me in April 2020 and asked me to share it as I see fit. Today, I do so in grateful remembrance of him and in honor of the Ateneo de Naga.
Enot sa gabos, kahadean kan Dyos. Primum Regnum Dei.
The header features Ateneo de Naga’s Bravo Company during the Peñafrancia parade in 1965 (photo: Blue and Gold). This piece first appeared in the author’s FB page on June 5, 2026. Click to listen to “Semper Paratus,” the US Coast Guard Marching Song.
About Joseph B. Reburiano
JOSEPH BRAZAL REBURIANO was born in Oas, Albay, and lived in Naga City and Magarao, Camarines Sur. He was the conductor and choirmaster of the Ateneo de Naga University Choir. He studied at the College of Music at UP Diliman. A composer, arranger, and musician, he performed in two record albums of the Ateneo de Naga University Choir. He created works for choir, stage, and film. His music compositions and arrangements earned several music awards.
His composition “Ina kan Kabikolan” was the official hymn of the Tricentennial Anniversary of the Devotion to Our Lady of Peñafrancia in 2010. He was the trainor and conductor of the Chorus Sedes Sapientiae, an award-winning diocesan choir in the Diocese of Masbate. He arranged vocal pieces for Jesuit music, working closely with prominent Himig Heswita figures like Fr. Fruto Ramirez, SJ, Fr. Manoling Francisco, SJ, and Fr. Albert Alejo, SJ.
About Fr. Richard McSorley, SJ
FR. RICHARD T. MCSORLEY, SJ (b. October 2, 1914 – d. October 17, 2002) was a Jesuit priest, theologian, author, activist, teacher and legendary figure in the Catholic peace movement. He was born into a devout Catholic family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Seven of his fourteen brothers and sisters entered religious life. In 1932, young Richard entered the Society of Jesus at Wernersville, Pennsylvania. Seven years later, after finishing a degree in philosophy, he was sent the Philippines to teach at the new Ateneo de Naga high school. On December 13, 1941, a few days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he was captured and imprisoned by the Japanese along with hundreds of other Jesuits and seminarians. He was held for over three years, until February 23, 1945. During that time, he was tortured, nearly starved to death, and under the constant threat of execution.
Those three years of starvation, torture, and mock executions became the spiritual turning point of his vocation. Emerging from the war convinced that violence can never serve the Kingdom of God, he returned to the United States, completed his theology at Woodstock College, and was ordained in 1946. His early ministry in Maryland placed him at the frontlines of racial injustice, where he confronted segregation with the same moral clarity that would later define his public witness.
As a professor and later founder of the Center for Peace Studies at Georgetown University, McSorley became one of the most influential Jesuit voices for peace in the postwar era. He marched with Martin Luther King Jr., counseled conscientious objectors, and wrote widely on the New Testament foundations of peacemaking. His prophetic stance—summed up in his famous declaration that “it’s a sin to build a nuclear weapon”—made him a moral compass for generations of students, activists, and public figures. Whether advising Jacqueline Kennedy, praying with a young Bill Clinton, or welcoming the homeless at the Catholic Worker house he helped establish, McSorley lived the Jesuit mission with disarming simplicity. His legacy endures as a reminder that faith, when taken seriously, demands courage, compassion, and a stubborn hope for peace. (reference: Remembering Richard McSorley, SJ, from Fr. John Dear’s website, The Beatitudes Center for the Nonviolent Jesus)
About the author
JAVIER LEONARDO V. RUGERIA is an Assistant professor at the Department of History, University of the Philippines Diliman. He specializes in Philippine intellectual history, and the history of the Bicol Region in the Philippines. He completed his bachelor’s degree in Philosophy cum laude from Ateneo de Naga University and his master’s degree in history from Ateneo de Manila University. He is a co-founder of Saysay Bikol and serves as its research director.