St. Mary’s College Trincomalee 150th Jubilee Celebrations
View(s):The 150th Jubilee Celebrations of St. Mary’s College in Trincomalee fell on April 4, this year. It was indeed a strange coincidence for a school to be set up when such a proposal was, perhaps, not even thought of at the time.
Strange as it may seem, the then Bishop of Jaffna Rt. Rev. Dr. Samaria, had a vision or a dream of establishing a school in Trincomalee. But God works in strange ways. The Bishop happened to meet by coincidence, an Irish couple, Mr. Flannagen, a warrant officer and his wife who happened to be there at the time and invited them to start a girls’ school in Jaffna, which they did in 1862. In the same vein, he requested the couple to construct another school, this time, in Trincomalee. The school was declared open on April 4, 1864.
The Flannagens constructed not one but two schools, one for the English and the other for the Tamil medium. These schools are today, living memorials to their generosity and are appropriately dedicated to Mother Mary, the Star of the Sea.
Marking 150 years: St. Mary's College in Trincomalee
Bishop Semaria, who was greatly moved by the spontaneity of the Flannagens, was now looking at the running of the schools, which job he entrusted to the sisters of the Holy Family, who were already running the school in Jaffna.
Accordingly, Sisters Dmelis Johnson, Stanislaus and Francis Maclumever, joined the teaching cadre of St. Mary’s in Trincomalee. There were the usual challenges but with the continuous support extended by the Bishop and the Navy and the people of Trincomalee, they were able to overcome the obstacles and sail smoothly, even producing good results, which were well appreciated and applauded by the authorities.
In 1886, three European Missionaries and three native Sisters conversant in both English and Tamil joined the staff. They prepared children for First Holy Communion and started other religious activities. However the Sisters, had to suddenly bid farewell in 1889. The then Bishop Lavinge, in a bid to save the school and the teaching process, made a quick visit to Pondicherry, to request the Mother Superior of the convent of St. Joseph of Cluny for teaching Sisters. The response was spontaneous and within a short time three Sisters, including Sister Mary Joseph, a native of Trincomalee arrived.
The school had grown beyond all expectations so much so children of other religions were seeking admission. All the while, the Cluny sisters worked tirelessly and devotedly, manning orphanages and training children in various domestic skills, etc. After a dedicated service the Sisters were recalled back to France, perhaps, due to a shortage of personnel there.
After the departure of the Cluny sisters, the new Bishop Rt. Rev. Dr. Robichez, S.J., approached Mother-General of the Apostolic Carmel Congregation, Mother Aloysia, in India, as a final bid for Ssisters to continue the work of education in Trincomalee.
Father Dupont, S.J. also approached the Mother-General, with headquarters in Mangalore on behalf of the Bishop. The A.C. Sisters headed by the Mother-General, Sr. Aloysia, accompanied by Mother Scholastica set out to the north-east of the island, on January 24, 1922. In February of the same year the chosen pioneers arrived in Trincomalee.
Incidentally, the A.C. congregation was confirmed by a pontifical Proclamation in 1926. Rev. Sister Lourdes was appointed Superior of the A.C. and its First Principal of St. Mary’s College.
The teaching of English took centre stage with children excelling in the language. With the introduction of Grade 10 the school was upgraded and classified as a Senior Secondary School, with Senior Cambridge classes being introduced in 1937. The children came out with flying colours; the results were 100 percent. This position was maintained for three consecutive years with multi-faceted activities including sports being introduced.
Rev. Sister Ludwina was responsible for starting clubs, musical groups and introducing elocution which considerably helped the students in their pursuit of the English language. Sister Therese Ranee, another Principal, was an able administrator and encouraged students to participate in educational projects and competitions.
Thanks to all of them a great tradition of excellence was established where spiritual and educational values shaped the lives of those who passed through the portals of this great Institution.
St. Mary’s College in Trincomalee, today, has over 2000 students.