Santhome Hr. Sec. School, Mylapore

This school had a glorious past; but in 1950s it was not doing well. Even the Government stopped giving grant. The strength as well as the academic results went down. There was also an orphanage attached to the school. The diocese met the financial expenses of the orphans. At this juncture Mgr. Louis Mathias, Archbishop of Madras-Mylapore, approached the Provincial Superior with a request to take over the management of the school. The Provincial accepted this challenging mission and appointed Bro. John of the cross as Superior and Headmaster. Bros. Eugene Mary, Camillus, Justin, and Denis joined the staff. The following year Bros. Anselm and Basil too joined the staff. With real hard work the standard of the school improved from year to year. In 1959, Bro. Augustinus replaced Bro. John of the Cross.

In June 1959, Bro. Augustinus was the director and HM. From 1960-62, Bro. Antony Francisco was the director. During 1960-61, Bro. Paceco was the HM. In June 1961, Bro. Anselm was appointed HM and from 1962-68, he was the director and headmaster. A two storey building was put up to house classrooms and offices. It was inaugurated by Mr. Annadurai, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and blessed by Archbishop Arulappa. In 1965, Montfort Preparatory School was started. In June 1967, the community consisted of Bros. Anselm, Joseph Louis, Irudaya Michael, Stanislaus Kostka, and Thomas Montfort.

From 1968-74, Bro. Stephen was the Superior and Headmaster. During Bro. Stephen’s six year tenure, the school improved academically, the basket ball court was concreted, and the lab facilities were improved. In 1974-78, Bro. Raphael was the Superior and Headmaster. With systematic and thorough work, he improved the school in many ways. In 1976, the school secured 100% at the SSLC examination. It came to have the best cricket team in the city. In Aug. 1976, Bro. Raphael suffered a very major heart attack. Yet after recovery, he carried on with his work. In 1978, Bro. Xavier Montfort was appointed Superior and Bro. Raphael continued to be the Headmaster. That year another floor was added to the main school building. During the year 1979-80, Bro. Octavian was Superior and Headmaster.

From 1980-86, Bro. Camillus was the Superior and Headmaster. As per bro. Raphael’s application, funds came from Aiding Agencies, and a wing perpendicular to the Preparatory School was put up. The Brothers’ Quarters were shifted to the old building where the Preparatory School functioned in the beginning. The Bainton Building was demolished. Funds were realized locally and a building was put up near and parallel to Sullivan’s road to house the higher secondary classes, labs and the office rooms. Construction work was supervised by Bro. Abraham Pralel. The school continued to do very well on all fronts.

From 1986-1991, Bro. Selvanathan was the Superior and Headmaster. In 1990, a building with 13 classrooms was put up. Then construction of an Auditorium started. From 1991-1997, Bro. George Kalangod was the Superior and Headmaster. During his six year tenure, Bro. George developed the schools well. He constructed a big auditorium. From 1997-2000, Bro. A.V. Thomas was the Superior and Headmaster. From 2000-2002, Bro. George Vazhayil was the Superior and Headmaster and in May 2002, the institution were handed over to the Province of Trichy.

In June 2002, this institution was transferred to Trichy Province. Bros. Jesuraj J as LS & HM, Michael as Bursar and Thomas Selvam, Johnson and Christyraj as members gave themselves at the service of youth and kept the name and glory of the institution intact. In 2007, Bro. Paciaraj replaced Bro. Jesuraj as Superior. The Grand Finale of the Centenary of Monfortian presence in India was held at Santhome on Dec. 30, 2003. Bro. Joseph Christuraj joined the community in June 2006. The Golden Jubilee on the Montfortian mission in Santhome (1954 -2004) was celebrated on March 11, 2006 and a Golden Jubilee Computer Block too was inaugurated. On 05-09-2008, Bro. J. Jesuraj received the National Award for the Best Teacher for the year 2007-08.

From 2007-10, Bro. Packiaraj was Superior. In June 2008, Bro. Soosairaj became the Headmaster of Santhome Hr. Sec. School, Mylapore. A new building called ‘Wisdom Block’ was inaugurated in September 2008. On 08-09-2009, St. Rita’s Chapel, an encompassed ancient monument, was renovated and rededicated. In September 2009, Bro. Soosairaj received the Best Teacher National Award. In June 2009, Bro. Selvaraj became the correspondent of Montfort Academy Matriculation School. Bros. George and David Raja joined the community.