Courtesy : Aloysian Centenary Souvenir 1895 - 1995

 

Formative Years by Rev. Fr. Thomas Kuriacose S.J.

 

The beginnings of the great school Aloysians are so legitimately proud of are shrouded in the mist of conflicting dates and names. We do know how ever, that as early as 1894 there was a Sinhalese school in Galle opened by Fr C.J.B. Fernando who, incidentally, was the first Ceylonese to pursue his ecclesiastical studies in the then very prestigious and coveted Propaganda College, Rome. Resting on top of the hill by the side of the Cathedral, the school was known as the Mount Calvary Sinhala School. Some would even trace its origin to the Portuguese period when Dominicans, Franciscans and Jesuits worked in Galle. The Dutch persecutions put an end to their presence. The hill on which the school stood became the place for public executions. When towards the close of the Dutch period some Catholics plucked up courage and were bold enough to claim back some of the properties they had lost, the Dutch "fathers of the city" who held the Catholics in utter contempt told them derisively they could have Calvary Hill if they would. Calvary Hill, despised and derided, as the haunt of the ghosts of dead crimi nals, was handed back to the Catholics. In fact the whole hill was theirs for the asking! Who could say what treasures the hill would have poured into Galle had all of it been taken. The opportunity was lost. Talk about the tide in the affairs of men! Only the top of the hill was taken and on that hill top was sown the "mustard seed" that sprouted into the small structure serving the double pur- pose of school room and Chapel. Like the little tree of the "mustard seed parable" this little plant too began to grow to a big tree spread ing its branches to accommodate those who sought its shelter. In 1864 the Mount Calvary Sinhala School became the Mount Calvary Anglo-Vernacular School (English and Sinhala). A Tamil School was also started the same year.

There are no available records to determine when the Anglo-Vernacular School became a fully English School. We know that in the 1870's it was referred to as Mount Calvary Boys' High School (English) which meant also that by that time the school had classes up to the Junior Form inclusively, else it could not have been called a High School.

Rt. Rev. Dr. Joseph Van Reeth 

When the great Pope Leo XIII reorganized the Hierarchy of Ceylon and carved out of the large dioceses of Colombo and Jaffna the modern dioceses of Galle and Trincomalee, new men were needed to man these dioceses. The flourishing Belgian Province of the Society of Jesus was rearing for missionary enterprises and Rome gladly gave them Galle with the Rt Rev Dr Joseph Van Reeth as its first Bishop. The intrepid Bishop, dreamer of great dreams, set out in 1895 with a band of eager missionaries to inaugurate in Ceylon's south a new era that was to see a tremendous development in the moral, cultural and educational life of its people.

The 9th of November, 1895 is the historic date Aloysians will remember. On that day Bishop Van Reeth took possession of the Diocese of Galle bringing along with him those pioneering giants in the field of religion and education: Frs Cooreman and Neut. The lay Brother Polydore Verbrugge had arrived in Galle a few days earlier to prepare the grand reception that would be afforded to the Bishop and his men. In the beginning, then was the dream and the dream was with a man sent from God whose name was Joseph Van Reeth. With his arrival in Ceylon, Bishop Van Reeth's dream of a Catholic College for Galle was at last beginning to come true.

The saintly priest and scholar, Fr Oliver Feron, (one of Bishop Van Reeth's 'recruits') paying his tribute to Bishop Van Reeth on his death, had no hesitation in acknowledging that but for Bishop Van Reeth's exertions, strong will and clear vision there might be today no St Aloysius' College!

Having dreamed of a Catholic College for his diocese ever since he knew he was going to be Bishop of Galle, from the very first day of his arrival in Galle he made known in clear and determined terms his intention of raising the status of the school on the hill and entrusting its destinies to a fully qualified and devoted staff of teachers. This became a priority in his pastoral vision and mission. Towards the realization of this he gave himself totally: his thoughts, the best of his time, and with a magnanimity and generosity hard to equal, he gave towards the erection of the school whatever church property was available at the time. He never relaxed in his efforts till he felt sure that he had placed the future of the school in safe hands.

The very first prospectus issued by the 'new' school announced that the school was erected under the high Patronage of His Lordship the Right Rev Dr Joseph Van Reeth, Bishop of Galle

Those of us who were privileged to be at SAC in its Golden Age enjoying the comfortable facilities of spacious class rooms, the luxury of the best school library in the country, a well equipped science laboratory that was the envy of all schools, and also an airy spacious boarding house both for Juniors and Seniors, would find it difficult to imagine the very hard times the Alma Mater had to struggle through in the early years.

While some of the first Fathers together with the first batch of boarders had to manage with whatever accommodation they could find in the small houses near the Cathedral (later on occupied by the Rosarios, Arendszes and Rodrigos) the others shifted as best they could in the "godowns" and "store rooms" of the Bishop's House. The old school hall had to house the 8 class rooms with hardly a screen to separate them one from another. It was on this spirit of sacrifice and self- less dedication that the great school was nurtured and nourished.

The College remained under the supervision of the Bishop till 1900. In fact it was even known as the Collegium Episcopale' although Fr J. Coorerman was appointed director (not yet called rector) of the Collegium Episcopale, in addition to his other duties of Vicar General and Parish Priest of Galle! Writing to the Father General of the Society of Jesus on 24th July, 1900, Fr Á Standaert, Superior of the Mission of Galle, says that Fr D' Herde teaches in the school of St Aloysius. Though this is the first time the name Aloysius is attached to the School, no less an authority than Fr Perniola wouldn't be surprised if the name Aloysius was given to the School from the time the Jesuits were given the management of the School. This is corroborated by Fr Gaspard. In a report to the OBA of January 9th, 1937, he traces the evolution of the name of St Aloysius' College.

From 1891-4 the school is referred to as Mount Calvary Boys' English High School, from 1894-5 as Mount Calvary Mixed English High School. In 1897-two years after the arrival of the Jesuits- the School is referred to as St Aloysius Mixed English High School.

There is certainly some confusion about the name of the school in the document available.

Teachers' Certificates dated 21,11,1904 bear the name of St. Aloysius' College Galle

Also, as far back as the same year (1904) Fr Cooreman in his correspondence with the Department of Education refers to St Aloysius COLLEGE. But in 1905 we have another Teacher's Certificate referring still to St Aloysius' English Boys' School. Then again, the list of teachers for 1905-1906 is given on note paper bearing the inscription St Aloysius' COLLEGE, Galle. This bears the date 13 December, 1906: Public Instruction Department.

Finally, in 1912, we have a Certificate of Efficiency awarded to one D F.A. Wijesekera using the name St Aloysius' College, Galle: a genuine official document indeed!

Among the unofficial documents we have the Ceylon Catholic Mes senger Almanac for 1906 referring to St Aloysius College, Galle as one of the educational institutions of the Galle Diocese.

The Sisters of Charity of Ghent (Belgium) arrived in Galle a year after the Jesuit Fathers and they laid the foundations of Sacred Heart Convent, our sister school. With their arrival, St Aloysius' College ceased to be a 'mixed school."

In the meantime the numbers on the roll kept increasing and with the introduction of the Cambridge Classes the need to expand the College became imperative. With a determination that astounded even those who were very close to him and knew him well, the Bishop explored all possible avenues, meeting Government officials, the Municipality and even private firms. Nowhere did he meet with any kind of encouraging response. In one instance two acres of promising land were even bought but had to be resold. It seemed to be the destiny of SAC to remain on Calvary.

The increasing number of students demanded not only more land but also more men qualified and competent to give to the students the kind of education Bishop Van Reeth had in mind.

Strange as it may sound, it was less difficult for him to find the kind of men he wanted than the land he needed for his school. The success was due however to the prophetic vision of this mighty dreamer of dreams that would come true. Already when he was Provincial Su- perior of the Jesuits in Belgium, long before his appointment to the Diocese of Galle, the grand missionary spirit in him had urged him to send young scholastics aspiring to the priesthood and who would one day show the desire of going to the "missions" to Stonyhurst in England to prepare themselves for working in English in mission territory. And so it was that the great stalwarts like D' Herde and Cooreman and Feron who would one day work in Ceylon prepared themselves to become the great educationists they proved to be in Galle. One of them, Cooreman, was even called to fill the vacancy created in the Board of Education in Ceylon on the death of the famous Oblate Educationist Collins, the first Rector of the leading Catholic College in Colombo St Joseph's. All this was to be some time in the future. For the moment, however, the need for a new site and for added staff was so urgent and pressing that the Bishop's friends and counsellors even contemplated the surrender of the school! The Bishop, however, would not hear of it. When all around him gave up hope his intrepid faith in his dream and in the One who put that dream in him remained unshakeable. So far he had appealed to higher authori ties for help and had received none. Official channels proved helpless. The Bishop resolved to seek other ways. If formalities were going to prevent him from reaching the likely men that would help to keep the Aloysian flag flying, if the structural machinery was reluctant to work or would even grind to a halt before some little obstacle, he decided to by-pass formalities and structures, and approach the likely men individually and directly.

Making use of the opportunity of his very first official visit as Bishop to Rome, (the ad limina visit) he presented the needs of the College to the Superior General of the Jesuits and then visited England and Ireland to meet the young Jesuits there and inspire them with the need to give of their gifts and talents to the mission field where the harvest was great but the labourers so few! His appeal did not fall on deaf ears. With Fr General's enthusiastic support and his recommendation that four fathers be given to the Bishop for at least four years, and the young Jesuits rearing to go to the Missions, the great founder of SAC experienced at last the sweet blessedness of knowing for certain that he was not going to return to his beloved Diocese without the men he needed for his School. And so it was that Bishop Van Reeth's return to Galle from his 'ad limina" visit to Rome was all pomp and triumph. When all around him were for surrender, his belief in his dream had remained unshaken. His faith and trust in the Lord was rewarded as only the Lord of promises knows how to reward those who put all their trust in Him. Bishop Van Reeth was now able to give to the school he founded, men of stature and of deep culture all having one single purpose: to help produce men of learning and character at SAC who would one day be at the service of the country in its growth and development towards freedom. From the Emerald Isle came Dennis Murphy whose name merits to be written in gold in the annals of Aloysian history. The Belgian Prov ince that had given generously in the past now added the gift of Francis De Herdt. The English Province offered the German Scholastic John Biezer. Two others Piler and Delaney still reading for their degrees in Dublin were to follow soon.

The little seed sown on Calvary Hill by the illustrious scion of Belgium did indeed begin to dig deep roots; soon it would grow into a tree spreading its green branches to shelter boys from far and near under its shade promising them the rich golden fruits that would be- come their daily delectable fare!

Thomas C. Kuriacose SJ SAC 1930-1931 Staff 1950-1951