Dominus illuminatio mea

Dominus illuminatio mea (Latin for 'The Lord is my light') is the incipit (opening words) of Psalm 27 and is used by the University of Oxford as its motto.

An article written in 2000 by the Roman Catholic priest and theologian Ivan Illich (1926–2002) may help to explain this ancient university motto, at a time when scientists were progressively replacing the concept of vision as a gaze radiating from the pupil by the concept of vision as the retinal perception of an image formed by reflected sunlight: To interpret De oculo morali, the relationship of things to God "who is light" must be understood.

[1] Dominus illuminatio mea is also the motto of Loyola High School (Kolkata) in India, founded in 1961.

[citation needed] It is also the motto of Finlandia University, founded as Suomi College in 1896.

[citation needed] It is found in the coat of arms of Montessori Professional College in Quezon City.

Arms of the University of Oxford , including the motto
At the University of Oxford's Faculty of History, the motto can be seen at left.