College Anthem

Alma Mater blest sanctum of learning
Where the mind is adorned with rich lore
And each tutored faculty's yearning
Is sated and taught to seek more.

Alma Mater found nurse of my childhood
So indulgent yet prudently firm
Thy affection and smile cheer my boyhood
And foster each heavenly germ.

THE ORIGIN OF ST. PATRICK'S COLLEGE JAFFNA, SRI LANKA

The beginnings of St. Patrick's College, Jaffna, Sri Lanka is closely linked with the First Vicar Apostolic of Jaffna, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Horace Bettachini.

For nearly three hundred years Ceylon had formed part of the Diocese of Cochin. In 1835 it was erected as an Apostolic Vicariate depending directly on the Sacred Congregation for the propagation of the Faith. During this period, the Catholics in Ceylon requested the Sacred Congregation for the propagation of Faith to send European missionaries to Ceylon. The first such missionary to arrive was the Italian priest Fr. Horace Bettachini. At first he did his pastoral work in Kandy and Colombo and he was specially charged with the spiritual care of the northern part of Ceylon. After his consecration as bishop in 1846, he arrived in Jaffna to fulfil his mission. Soon after his arrival, he established the "Jaffna catholic schools society." to provide English education to the Catholic youth.

Bishop Bettachini invited the oblates of Mary Immaculate from Europe to work in Jaffna. The first band of oblates reached Jaffna in l848. The leader of the oblates was Fr. John Stephen Semeria.

Bishop Bettachini had decided to establish two Catholic schools in Jaffna, one for boys and another for girls. One of the oblates who had recently arrived in Jaffna was an Irishman named Fr.L.M.Keating. Since the mission need was more demanding than the establishment of schools, Bishop Bettachini was on the lookout for a suitable Catholic layman to head an English school for boys. The Jaffna Boy's Catholic school was officially founded in 1850 with Mr.Patrick Foy, an Irish Catholic layman as its first Principal.

The Jaffna girl's Catholic school was also begun in 1850 with Mrs.Ann O'Flanagan as head Mistress. The teaching staff of the Jaffna Boy's school in 1850 consisted of two teachers including the principal and there were fifty students. One of these students was Master Patrick O'Flanagan, son of Mrs. Ann O'Flanagan. Later he became an oblate priest. Mr.Francis Xavier Saverimuthu became the first native secular priest of Jaffna and he appears to have been on the staff of St.Patrick`s in 1850.

As a result of repeated representation by the church authorities and the Catholics for government aid to the Jaffna catholic schools, they were given an annual grant of one hundred and fifty pounds. This annual grant did not go a long way to improve the quality of the catholic schools.

On the 26th of July 1857 Bishop Bettachini died at Bolawatte and Mgr. Semeria became the Vicar Apostolic of Jaffna. He found the state of the Jaffna catholic schools quite unsatisfactory Mr. Patrick Foy, the first principal of the Boy's school had left and Mr. Arthur Fletcher,a Protestant who later became a Catholic was appointed head of the Boy's Catholic school.

Bishop Semeria succeeded in getting two oblate Brothers from England to teach at the Boy's school. They died a few months after their arrival in Jaffna since their poor health could not cope up with the tropical climate. In 1861 the government school commission and the catholic mission agreed to name the Boy's school, the Jaffna Boy's seminary and the girl's school, the Jaffna female seminary.

Bishop Semeria visited England in 1861 and with the help of very Rev.Fr.Cooke, the oblate Provincial of England selected Brothers P. J. Conway and R. R. Dowling and brought their in with him to Jaffna in 1862. With the appointment of Brother Conway as principal of the Boy's seminary, a new era of progress began in the school with ten members of staff. In 1863 the school had 86 students and they reached a high standard of fluency in English and ability in mathematics.

In 1865 Fr. Mola who was the superintendent of catholic schools left the Jaffna Vicariate and succeeded by Fr. Christopher Bonjean. In the same year, the Jaffna Boy's seminary suffered another loss by the untimely death of Brother Downing after three years of excellent teaching service.

In 1866, Lopez Manvel, a student of the Jaffna Boy's seminary passed first in the under of merit at the local examination. In later years he became an inspector of schools. The school was recognised as one of the best in the Island.

In 1867 the denominational grant-in-aid school system was accepted by the Government as a result of many years of agitation by Fr. Bonjean and others Bishop Semeria died in 1868 and Fr. Bonjean succeeded him as Vicar Apostolic of Jaffna. He took great interest in developing the Jaffna Boy's seminary.

Brother Conway administered the school with remarkable efficiency until he died of paralysis in 1870, He was a great pioneer of the future St. Patrick's.

In 1878 an agitation was set on foot by the leading Catholics of Jaffna for higher education Rev.Fr. Murphy was the leader of this movement. Bishop Bonjrean left for France in 1879 for the General Chapter of the oblate congregation. On his return to Jaffna in 1880, he decided to amalgamate the preparatory ecclesiastical seminary and the Jaffna Boy's seminary under the title of St. Patrick's College and applied to the Department of Public Instruction for registration of the College as a complete High school under the Revised code. The registration was given without any difficulty because the school had the necessary qualified staff. Mr. William Blair, Inspector or school reported on the event as follows" I must not omit to give you a short account of the recent establishment of St. Patrick's College", an institution which promises to rival in efficiency, the Academy, St. Benedict`s, Wesley and St Thomas College in Colombo. The students will be prepared for the Cambridge local and other university Examination. The college will supply a long felt want in Jaffna. It will be, of course a Catholic Institution but open to Saivites and Protestants, if they will to avail themselves of the privileges it offers, and the, and the introduction of a conscience calves, by which none but Catholics are allowed to be present at the religion instruction except at the request of their parents, has made it quite unsectarian. So far as I know this is the only Institution of its kind in the Province that prepares pupils for the Cambridge Local Examination and I heartily wish it success". (Report for l880).

The college under present name was formally inaugurated on the 10th of January 1881 by Bishop Bonjean. Rev. Fr. J. R. Smythe who was previously a member of the Ceylon civil service was appointed the first principal of the college. New buildings were needed for the college. Bishop Bonjean laid the foundation stone for a new hall on the 4th of December l881. In l883 Bishop Bonjean left Jaffna to become the Vicar Apostolic of Colombo and three-year later he became the first Archbishop of Colombo.

St. Patrick's had a long lineage of foreign missionaries as Rector. The Matthew's Long era from 1905 to l954 was its golden era. In the nineteen twenties and nineteen thirties St. Patrick's had seventeen African students from Kenya, Uganda and South Africa. J. B. Kibuka was an outstanding athlete. In 1954 the missionary era came to an end and Rev.Fr. S.N. Aruluesan, a past student of the college became its first indigenous Rector.

This article was compiled by Mr. A. B. Andrew (UK) from the article titled "The Birth-pangs of St. Patrick's College," by the former Bishop of Jaffna, Rt. Rev. Dr. B. Deogupillai.