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Places An assortment of buildings
stands on top a hill in Mangalore, Karnataka, with a rich history of more
than one hundred years. It is called St. Aloysius’ College, run by the
Jesuits (Society of Jesus), a Roman Catholic Order with allegiance to Pope
in Vatican. This is the history and story of this elite school on the
hill, named after its patron saint, Aloysius Gonzaga. It is well reputed
for its fine teaching but the pinnacle of its fame is its glorious chapel
with its murals of intricate artwork.
Late in the 19th century the Catholic community in Mangalore in the coastal Karnataka invited the Jesuits from Italy to build a school in Mangalore and named it after saint Aloysius Gonzaga. This is the story of that school. History of the School St. Aloysius’ school first opened its doors in the year 1880. It started with one hundred and fifty students as an upper secondary school (high school), with two teachers, namely Fr. Jos Willy and Fr. Scholastic Postlewhite, who also served as administrators. Three years later a Second Grade College was started and five years later the middle School became a reality. The Primary School was added much later, twenty-eight years after the starting of school on January 12, 1880. More than a hundred years later, St. Aloysius’ College offers, First Grade College, Evening College and High School as well as College of Business Administration. These in addition to its Primary, Middle and High Schools form its seven proud institutions. There are close to 5000 students and nearly 150 teachers. It all began in the year 1858, when the Catholic community of Mangalore petitioned Pope Leo XIII to commission the Mangalore Mission to the Society of Jesus, similar to the successful missions in Bombay, Calcutta and Trichy. Catholics had migrated to Mangalore during the 17th century from Goa, mainly as farmers. During Tippu Sultan’s reign the community suffered enormously. Tippu distrusted them and suspected their loyalty and accused them of sedition, siding with the British. About 60,000 of them were interned in Srirangapatnam in 1784 and only after Tippu’s defeat and death in 1799, some of the survivors returned to Mangalore. Due to their entrepreneurship and veracity they soon became successful again in Mangalore. The community realized that it was time to instill western style education in Mangalore. That was how they came to petition the Pope. The Pope sanctioned it in 1878 and a delegation of nine Jesuits set sail to Mangalore from Venice. They reached Mangalore on December 31, 1878 to a warm welcome. They soon went to work and the indefatigable Fr. Willy took the helm as the first rector in 1879. A private bungalow belonging to a Mrs. Mary Magdalene Coelho was used as the first class room. The elder Fr. Willy and the younger Fr. Postlewhite works diligently for the noble cause of establishing an educational institution in Mangalore. The students affectionately called the duo, Abraham and Isaac.
Fr. Mutti was one of the first nine Jesuits, who played a pivotal role in the construction of the college buildings. Mr. Lawrence Lobo Prabhu had donated nine acre of land, on the top of Edyah Hill. Fr. Nicholas Pagani worked diligently in arranging for the transfer of the land and starting construction. The original budget earmarked for construction was Rs. 1,50,000, though much more was spent before the building was completed. It was completed (the present High School building) and commissioned for use in 1885. Unfortunately, Fr. Mutti never witnessed his dream realize, as he had to return to Italy due to illness in 1884, where he died the same year from complications of tuberculosis. Fr. Willy, a Swiss by birth, with a proven record from St. Mary’s and St. Xavier’s in Bombay had been transferred to Mangalore as the first rector. The school building opened its doors in 1885 with the classrooms on the ground floor and the “Father’s Quarters” on the second floor. The red building on the north side of the high school building was completed in 1900. The College section with two stories of classrooms was built in 1908. The same year the boarding and hostel buildings to the west were started. In 1928 the library and science building were added in front of the high school building. A building called the white building was built in 1939, where the III and IV form classes used to be held. In 1940 an extension to the college building was added for English and language classes. The college auditorium building was opened in 1964. Finally in 1976, a new building for primary and secondary education was opened. In its centenary year, 1979-1980, Centenary building for library, reading room and vocational courses was opened. In addition a separate post graduation course facility for business management and secretarial courses was opened in Ullal. The same year extensions to college and high school playground were also undertaken. The land around the high school was acquired in stages over many decades from different owners. Most were sold to the school by the Catholic landowners at benevolent prices. The land behind the high school, where the white building was built, was acquired from Mrs. Mary Magdalene Coelho. |
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Aloysius Gonzaga was born on March 9, 1568 in Lombardy, at the family
castle. He was the first son of Marquis Ferrante of Castiglione, who was
in the service of Philip II of Spain. When his father introduced him to
military service, as was the family tradition, Aloysius decided on a
religious path instead. He was sent to Florence for his early education in
1577. The Duke of Mantua appointed his father governor of Montserrat in
1579 and Aloysius joined the court in the service of the Duke. Here he
suffered kidney ailment that left him with kidney and digestive illness
for the rest of his short life. He started teaching catechism to the poor
youth of Castiglione and began to practice great austerities. He began to
request his father’s permission to join the “Society of Jesus” order but
was initially rebuffed. In 1584 his father caved in to his repeated plea
and allowed him to join the Jesuits of Rome in 1585. He was then sent to
Milan to finish his studies from where he was recalled to Rome because of
ill health. He took his vows as a Jesuit priest in 1587 and served in a
hospital operated by the Jesuits in Rome. During the plague epidemic of
1591 he diligently worked with the victims of plague and eventually
contracted the disease himself and died on June 21 of the same year. He
was twenty-three years old. Aloysius Gonzaga was canonized in 1726 and was
declared protector of young students by Pope Benedict XIII. Pope Pius XI
declared him patron of Catholic youth. 
