St. Joseph’s College, Colombo 10, which will be celebrating 125 years in March 2021, will document its history and heritage.
Neil Wijerathne, Attorney-at-Law, veteran writer and a distinguished old boy of the college has been called upon to author a book to capture the history of the college by the organising committee with the college authorities at the media briefing at the college last week.
St. Joseph’s College was inaugurated in 1896 by French missionaries with the vision of educating Catholic boys with Catholic values in a Catholic atmosphere. In this endeavour, Neil Wijerathne has been commissioned to delve into the archives of this hallowed grove of academia. It is envisaged that this endeavour will throw a shining light into the corridors of the past and convey a sense of pride to the present collegians and future scholars.
Currently the college has over 4,500 students with a staff of over 400. Its distinguished former students include Cardinal Thomas Cooray, the first Cardinal from Sri Lanka, Father Marcelline Jayakody, former President Ranasinghe Premadasa, G.G. Ponnambalam, a politician, Mohan Peiris, former Chief Justice and Attorney General, Priyasath Dep, former Chief Justice, Oswald Gomis, Archbishop of Colombo, Prof Cyril Ponnamperuma, Professor Carlo Fonseka and cricketers such as Chaminda Vaas, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera and Dimuth Karunaratne.
Ravindra Wijewardhane
From Left: Prethiraj Silva, Shehan Fernando, Anslem Perera, Father Ruwan Deshapriya (Vice Rector), Father Ranjith Andradi (Rector), Neil Wijerathne, Hector Perera and Priyanga Perera Photographed by Ajith Perera