St. Xavier's High School, Patna
Encyclopedia
St. Xavier's High School is the oldest Jesuit school in the city of Patna
, India
, established by missionaries from the American Chicago Province of the Society of Jesus.
. Loesch decided to open a Cambridge school to provide service to the people of Patna and Bihar. There were other such Jesuit schools in North India, in places like Calcutta and Darjeeling, and one of the oldest ventures in Patna- the Irish Christian Brothers' St Michael's High School
but most of these schools provided education to the children of Catholics, British expatriates and Anglo-Indians. But the new school in Patna was to be for Indians of all castes and creeds. St. Xavier's High School opened on 17 January 1940 with Fr. Moran as its first principal.
In 1949, the vice-chancellor of Patna University asked Fr Moran, who also served on the senate of the university, to supervise exams in Khathmandu, Nepal. In October 1949, Fr Moran crossed into Nepal to become the first Jesuit priest to enter the country in over 200 years. Later he was invited by the Nepalese Government to open a Jesuit school in Nepal. Fr Moran went on to establish St. Xavier's School, Godavari, Nepal in 1951.
After Fr Moran left for Nepal, Fr. Edward Niesen became the principal of St. Xavier's, Patna. In 1953, Fr. Niesen also moved to Nepal and the leadership of the school was passed on to Fr. Gordon E Murphy, who became its longest serving principal.
The school ceased to be a Cambridge school and changed to Bihar Board, when the Jesuit fathers took over St Michael's High School
from Irish Christian Brothers in 1968. Fr. Murphy left St. Xavier's to become principal of St Michael's High School
. Fr. Joe Paschal became principal of St. Xavier's. Many of the students and teachers also moved to St Michael's but many stayed behind, both teachers and students alike.
After being a school for boys for more than 50 years, St. Xavier's turned into a co-educational institution in 1999. In the same year, ICSE was introduced as an alternative curriculum for the students. Today Both ICSE (Indian Certificate for Secondary Education) and BSEB (Bihar School Examination Board) curriculum are run simultaneously.
Until the late 1960s, the school provided boarding facilities for its students.
The main campus has a swimming pool, a basketball court, a tennis court, table tennis rooms and handball courts. For sports such as athletics, cricket, football and hockey, the school uses Gandhi Maidan, which is across the main road in front of the school.
In the early 1980s, a small computer lab, comprising BBC Microcomputers, was set up under the supervision of Fr Tim Ribeiro. In 1995, Xavier's Centre for Computer Studies was established within the campus.
Patna
Paṭnā , is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar and the second largest city in Eastern India . Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, established by missionaries from the American Chicago Province of the Society of Jesus.
History
In late 1930s, the superior of the Jesuit Patna Mission, Fr. Frank Loesch, was approached to set up a school in the city of Patna. Loesch was to be assisted in this task by Fr. Marshall D. MoranMarshall D. Moran
Marshall D. Moran, SJ was born in Chicago on May 29, 1906 and died April 14, 1992 in Delhi, India. He was a missionary in Nepal and founded multiple schools there, amongst them the St. Xavier's High School, Patna....
. Loesch decided to open a Cambridge school to provide service to the people of Patna and Bihar. There were other such Jesuit schools in North India, in places like Calcutta and Darjeeling, and one of the oldest ventures in Patna- the Irish Christian Brothers' St Michael's High School
St Michael's High School
St. Michaels High School, Patna, India was established in 1858 by the Congregation of Irish Christian Brothers in the city of Patna. The school is amongst the oldest missionary schools in eastern India. It is situated on the banks of the river Ganges....
but most of these schools provided education to the children of Catholics, British expatriates and Anglo-Indians. But the new school in Patna was to be for Indians of all castes and creeds. St. Xavier's High School opened on 17 January 1940 with Fr. Moran as its first principal.
In 1949, the vice-chancellor of Patna University asked Fr Moran, who also served on the senate of the university, to supervise exams in Khathmandu, Nepal. In October 1949, Fr Moran crossed into Nepal to become the first Jesuit priest to enter the country in over 200 years. Later he was invited by the Nepalese Government to open a Jesuit school in Nepal. Fr Moran went on to establish St. Xavier's School, Godavari, Nepal in 1951.
After Fr Moran left for Nepal, Fr. Edward Niesen became the principal of St. Xavier's, Patna. In 1953, Fr. Niesen also moved to Nepal and the leadership of the school was passed on to Fr. Gordon E Murphy, who became its longest serving principal.
The school ceased to be a Cambridge school and changed to Bihar Board, when the Jesuit fathers took over St Michael's High School
St Michael's High School
St. Michaels High School, Patna, India was established in 1858 by the Congregation of Irish Christian Brothers in the city of Patna. The school is amongst the oldest missionary schools in eastern India. It is situated on the banks of the river Ganges....
from Irish Christian Brothers in 1968. Fr. Murphy left St. Xavier's to become principal of St Michael's High School
St Michael's High School
St. Michaels High School, Patna, India was established in 1858 by the Congregation of Irish Christian Brothers in the city of Patna. The school is amongst the oldest missionary schools in eastern India. It is situated on the banks of the river Ganges....
. Fr. Joe Paschal became principal of St. Xavier's. Many of the students and teachers also moved to St Michael's but many stayed behind, both teachers and students alike.
After being a school for boys for more than 50 years, St. Xavier's turned into a co-educational institution in 1999. In the same year, ICSE was introduced as an alternative curriculum for the students. Today Both ICSE (Indian Certificate for Secondary Education) and BSEB (Bihar School Examination Board) curriculum are run simultaneously.
Campus
The school began its operations in what is presently the residence for the Jesuit Fathers in early 1940s. Later in the decade and under the supervision of Fr. Frank Loesch, the main building which houses the school office and the classrooms came into existence. In the 1950s, the main building was extended. This part of the campus accommodates the school auditorium, the library, the science labs and the staff rooms. In the late 1990s, a new building along the southern boundary was constructed to add more classrooms.Until the late 1960s, the school provided boarding facilities for its students.
The main campus has a swimming pool, a basketball court, a tennis court, table tennis rooms and handball courts. For sports such as athletics, cricket, football and hockey, the school uses Gandhi Maidan, which is across the main road in front of the school.
In the early 1980s, a small computer lab, comprising BBC Microcomputers, was set up under the supervision of Fr Tim Ribeiro. In 1995, Xavier's Centre for Computer Studies was established within the campus.
Principals of St. Xavier's
- Fr. Marshall D. MoranMarshall D. MoranMarshall D. Moran, SJ was born in Chicago on May 29, 1906 and died April 14, 1992 in Delhi, India. He was a missionary in Nepal and founded multiple schools there, amongst them the St. Xavier's High School, Patna....
SJ [1940-1949] - Fr. Edward Niesen SJ [1949-1952]
- Fr. Gordon E Murphy SJ [1952-68]
- Fr. Joe Paschal SJ [1968-1972]
- Fr. Scaria Mamoothil SJ [1972-1978]
- Fr. George Thana SJ [1978-1985]
- Fr. George Manimala SJ [1985-1990]
- Fr. Lawrence Pascal SJ
- Fr. Peter B. Arockiyasamay SJ
- Fr. Victor L Osta SJ
- Fr. George Nedumattam SJ
Jesuit Teachers
| Fr. Harold P Watling SJ | Fr. Joseph P Wroblewski SJ | Fr. Jim Cox SJ |
| Fr. Austin L Reinboth SJ | Fr. George Ziebert SJ | Fr. Kevin Cleary SJ |
| Fr. Norbert Rai SJ | Fr. Thottuvelil SJ | Fr. Philip Poovatil SJ |
| Fr. Jerry Drinane SJ | Fr. Paul Faulstich SJ | Fr. Grace SJ |
| Fr. Mani Poovakott SJ | Fr. Chandy M SJ |
Non-Jesuit Teachers
| Samuel David [English] | Ira Sinha | Neelam Paschal | |
| SD Mishra [Sanskrit/Hindi] | KK Mishra [Hindi] | Dipti Mitra | |
| M Sahajwani | Geeta Jain | Margret Paul | |
| Uma Verma [English] | KN Pandey [Science] | PK Trivedi [Chemistry] | |
| Remi Osta [Social Sciences] | Bimla Mehrotra [Social Sciences] | Sudhir Sheraphim [Science/Maths] | |
| VK Pandey [Sanskrit] | MA Zahidi [Maths] | Teresa Gilbert | |
| Kamal Das [Music] | Shyama Prasad [Fine Arts] | AP Osta [Sports & Physical Education] | |
| Meena Singh [Biology] | Md. Sami [Urdu] | Sucheta Roy [English] | |
| Tavishi Singh | Mukul Remy | Gracy Martin | |
| Yogendra Dubey [Sports] | Ashok Kumar [Chemistry] | Jyoti Mehra [Hindi] | |
| Anil Kumar [Computers] | Nutan Joyce Haroon | Viju Suresh [Maths] | |
| Anjana Gupta [Hindi] | K.K Thakur [Physics] | Hemlata Masand [Maths] | |
| Madhumita Sengupta [English] | Shahla Kuser [Geography] | Christopher S. Magnum [Physics] | |
| J Benedict [Biology] | Ravindra Kumar [Computers] | Deepak Rodrick [Hindi] | |
| Asim Kumar Das [Chemistry] | Sweata Singh [English] | Sharqua Shaftain [Urdu] |
Notable alumni
- Nikhil KumarNikhil KumarNikhil Kumar is the currentGovernor of Nagaland. He was appointed Governor of Nagaland on 4 October 2009 by The President of India,Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil. He was a member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India, representing the Aurangabad constituency in Bihar as a member of the Indian National...
: Governor of NagalandGovernors of Nagaland-Governors of Nagaland:-See also:* Nagaland* Governors of India-External links:* http://nagaland.nic.in/functionaries/rajbhavan/list.htm...
.Former IPSIPS- Medicine and biology :* Induced pluripotent stem cell* Intermittent photic stimulation, a neuroimaging technique* Intraparietal sulcus, a region of the brain* Ips , a genus of bark beetle- Media and entertainment :...
officer and Member of Parliament - N. K. SinghN. K. SinghNand Kishore Singh is a former IAS officer and currently the Member Of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha. He belongs to the 1964 Bihar cadre.-Early life:...
: Member of Rajya SabhaRajya SabhaThe Rajya Sabha or Council of States is the upper house of the Parliament of India. Rajya means "state," and Sabha means "assembly hall" in Sanskrit. Membership is limited to 250 members, 12 of whom are chosen by the President of India for their expertise in specific fields of art, literature,...
. ex IAS and Former Principal Secretary to the PM - Shyam Sharan: former Foreign Secretary, Govt. of India
- Tajinder Khanna: Lt. Governor of Delhi
- Salman Khursheed: politician, Indian National Congress
- Sujoy K. GuhaSujoy K. GuhaSujoy Kumar Guha is an Indian biomedical engineer. He was born in Patna, India, in 1939.He did his undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from IIT Kharagpur, followed by a Master's Degree in electrical engineering at IIT, and another Master's degree from the University of Illinois,...
: Biomedical Engineer - Sanjaya LallSanjaya LallSanjaya Lall was a development economist, Professor of Economics and Fellow of Green College, Oxford University...
: Development Economist and Professor of Economics, Green College, Oxford University. - Abul K Abbas: Professor and Chair, Department of Pathology, University of California, San Francisco.
- Dr. Satikant Ghosh: sprinter, Inter-University record holder, member of the Indian 4 x 100m relay team in the 1954 Asian Games in Manilla, Philippines
- Saba KarimSaba KarimSaba Karim is an Indian cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a wicketkeeper.Karim has a long history with professional cricket, having started his career in 1982–83 immediately after finishing his schooling from St. Xavier's High School, Patna...
: cricketer, right-handed batsman and wicketkeeper - Kirti AzadKirti AzadKirtivardhan Bhagwat Jha Azad is a former Indian cricketer who played in seven Tests and 25 ODIs from 1980 to 1986. He attended Modern School in Delhi where he was part of the school cricket team. The highlight of his career was being part of the Indian team that won the 1983 Cricket World Cup...
: cricketer, all-rounder - Amikar DayalAmikar DayalAmikar Dayal is an Indian cricketer. He captained India's Under 19 Test team on 3 occasions and has played at first-class level for Jharkhand and Tripura.-Statistics:...
: cricketer, former Captain of India's Under-19 team - Vikram SethVikram SethVikram Seth is an Indian poet, novelist, travel writer, librettist, children's writer, biographer and memoirist.-Early life:Vikram Seth was born on 20 June 1952 to Leila and Prem Seth in Calcutta...
: poet - Roshan SethRoshan SethRoshan Seth is an Indian-born British actor, who appears mainly in British and American films. He is known for his critically acclaimed performances in the films Gandhi, Mississippi Masala, Not Without My Daughter, My Beautiful Laundrette, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Such a Long...
: actor - Shekhar SumanShekhar SumanShekhar Suman is an Indian film actor and a television personality. He has also been featured as a singer on a music album. Suman married Alka Kapur on May 4, 1984, and has a son, Adhyayan Suman a Bollywood film actor.-Career:...
: actor and comedian - Sandeep Das: Tabla payer
- AbhayanandAbhayanandKnown as an upright officer who has always called for making the state police a people friendly force, Abhayanand is also known for his contributions to the society. He conceptualized a social experiment called Super 30 to help poor students to crack IIT JEE, which is supposed to be the toughest...
: 1977 batch IPS officer