Via et veritas et vita ([ˈwi.a ˈweːritaːs ˈwiːta], [ˈvi.a ˈveritas ˈvita]) is a Latin phrase meaning "the way and the truth and the life". The words are taken from John 14:6, and are said to have been spoken by Jesus Christ in reference to himself.
These words, and sometimes the asyndetic variant via veritas vita, have been used as the motto of various educational institutions and governments.
The phrase is found in verse 6 of chapter 14 of the Gospel of John, as part of Jesus' Farewell Discourse during the Last Supper:
"5 Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’ 6 Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.’"(New Revised Standard Version)
In the Latin Vulgate, verse 6 states 'dicit ei Iesus ego sum via et veritas et vita nemo venit ad Patrem nisi per me.
The phrase "The Way" is also found in Acts 9:2 and 19:23 as a term to describe the early church.
Arad, the capital of Arad County, Romania.The variation Veritas, Via, Vitae, appears on the seal of the Province of Negros Oriental, the Philippines.University of Glasgow in Glasgow, Scotland founded 1451Saint Xavier University in Chicago, Illinois, United States, founded 1846Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, Anglican theological college, Permanent Private Hall of University of Oxford, founded 1877Kings University College at The University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada, founded 1878Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy, Massachusetts, founded 1900Japan Women's University in Tokyo, Japan, founded 1901Silliman University in Dumaguete City, Philippines, founded 1901Providence University College and Theological Seminary in Otterburne, Manitoba, Canada founded 1925Tamil Nadu Theological Seminary in Madurai, India, founded 1969Regis College in Weston, Massachusetts, founded 1927Our Lady of Mercy High School in Brighton, Monroe County, New York, founded 1928Bishop Garcia Diego High School in Santa Barbara, California, founded 1959St. Thomas High School in Pointe-Claire, Quebec, Canada, founded 1960St. Francis Xavier College in Beaconsfield, Berwick, Officer, Victoria, Australia, founded 1978St. Philip's Christian College in Waratah, New South Wales, Australia, founded 1982John Paul College in Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia, founded 1983Christ the King College in Newport, Isle of Wight, England, founded 2008St John Fisher Catholic College in Newcastle-under-Lyme, StaffordshireIt is also the motto of some Canossian schools:
Sacred Heart Canossian College in Hong KongSacred Heart Canossian College of Commerce in Hong KongSacred Heart Canossian Kindergarten in Hong KongSacred Heart Canossian School in Hong KongSacred Heart Canossian School Private Section in Hong KongSaint Anthony's Canossian Secondary School in Bedok, Singapore
