Fundación Universitaria CEU was created in 1933 in Madrid, by the Asociación Católica de Propagandistas (Catholic Association of Propagandists) on the initiative of its first President, the Servant of God Ángel Herrera Oria.
The original faculty consisted of prestigious teachers, many of whom, over time, became professors or ministers, and some have even reached the episcopate.
In 1945, the institution received official recognition by the Ministry of Education as a center affiliated to the University of Madrid.
The CEU Foundation then set up a teaching institute, under the name of St. Paul College, affiliated with the Complutense University of Madrid.
This was followed by the CEU Cardenal Herrera University, the first private school of law ever founded in Valencia.