The Convent of Jesus and Mary, Lahore, commonly referred to as Convent, is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

primary and secondary school for girls situated in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th List of largest cities, most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is th ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. It was founded on 17 November 1876 by

Religious of Jesus and Mary The Religious of Jesus and Mary (french: Religieuses de Jésus-Marie), abbreviated as R.J.M., form a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women dedicated to the education and service of the poor. It was founded at Lyon, France, in October 1818 ...

, a congregation founded by Saint Claudine Thevenet, that received official recognition in 1881. It educates over 2,300 girls aged between 4 and 18 years starting from preschool to Grade 11.

History

The Sisters of Jesus & Mary first went from Lyon (France) to the South Asian Subcontinent in 1842, and opened a school in

Agra Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra ...

. The Pakistani section of the congregation came into existence in 1955, eight years after Pakistan's independence on 14 August 1947. In 1856, the Congregation opened a school in Sialkot, which came within Pakistan at the time of partition, as also did the Convents of Lahore and Murree. Consequently, the history of the Religious of Jesus & Mary in Pakistan begins before the creation of Pakistan. At the start of the third millennium there were nine Convents in Pakistan; namely,

(1856),

Murree Murree (Punjabi, Urdu: مری) is a mountain resort city, located in the Galyat region of the Pir Panjal Range, within the Muree District of Punjab, Pakistan. It forms the outskirts of the Islamabad-Rawalpindi metropolitan area, and is about ...

(1876), Lahore Convent (1876), Mariakhel , Mianwali (1956),

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

(1957), Islamabad (1979), Lahore / Shadbagh (1986), and Toba Tek Singh (1999). Other foundations were made in Rawalpindi in 1881 and closed in 1893. Dalhousie (from Lahore) in 1897 and closed in 1900. Islamabad in 1975 and closed in 1992. Since its inception the principal work of the Congregation is carried on by means of education for children from all social milieux. The latest venture in the development of CJM Pakistan was to open a centre at the Lahore Convent in 1999 for children with special needs, named Thevenet Centre after the Foundress; Saint Claudine Thevenet. In 2011, the school celebrated its 135th year. Pakistan Post issued a commemorative on the occasion. On February 15, 2012, the President of Pakistan approved the conferment of Sitara Quaid-e-Azam on Sister John Berchmans Conway, a former teacher of the school, for her services towards education and promoting interfaith harmony in Pakistan.

Organisation

CJM is divided into four sections: * Nursery (parvulario to prep) * Kindergarten Section (grade 1 to Grade 3) * Junior Section (Grades 4 to 6) * Senior Section (Grades 7 to 11) Both the

GCE Ordinary Level The O-Level (Ordinary Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education. It was introduced in place of the School Certificate in 1951 as part of an educational reform alongside the more in-dept ...

and

Matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now ...

curricula are followed in the school.

Houses

CJM has the following four student houses and colours: *Unity (red) *Faith (green) *Discipline (yellow) *Service (blue)

Thevenet Centre

The Thevenet Centre for special children was opened on 3 February 2000. At the

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

Sister Marie Cecile Osborne RJM threw light on the reasons for opening the centre. She said:

''"In the summer of 1998, one of our parents, Mrs. Nari Suleiman who has a son with special needs expressed the desire to Sr.Pilar that her child attend our school somehow, somewhere. At that stage we had no provision as such for children with special needs, but it was her request that gave birth to the idea of starting Thevenet Centre and for this we thank her.'' ''The Sisters of Jesus and Mary are proud to say that they have been educating the girls of
Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th List of largest cities, most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is th ...
since 1876, 135 years now. It seemed only right then, that at the dawn of the new millennium they should venture forth into a new branch of education and provide for children, not with disabilities, but with different abilities."''

Fatima Urdu Medium School

In 1956 an

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

educating many needy people. Till class 1 boys are also educated in Urdu medium section.

Notable alumni

Shamim Ahmed Rana Shamim Ahmed Khan (; born 6 July 1942) is a Pakistani politician who has been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan, since August 2018. Previously he was member of the National Assembly from June 2013 to May 2018 and a member of the ...

Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto ( ur, بینظیر بُھٹو; sd, بينظير ڀُٽو; Urdu ; 21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th and 13th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 t ...

* Mehreen Faruqi *

Syeda Abida Hussain Syeda Abida Hussain–Imam ( b. 1948) is a Pakistani conservative politician, diplomat, and socialite on the platform of the Pakistan Muslim League (N). Born into a feudal family in Pakistan, she served as the Pakistan Ambassador to the ...

Asma Jahangir Asma Jilani Jahangir ( ur, , ''ʿĀṣimah Jahāṉgīr''; 27 January 1952 – 11 February 2018) was a Pakistani human rights lawyer and social activist who co-founded and chaired the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. Jahangir was known ...

Hina Jilani Hina Jilani ( ur, حنا جیلانی ؛ born 19 December 1953) is an advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and a human-rights activist from Lahore in Punjab. She is the founder of Pakistan’s first all-women law firm, Pakistan’s fi ...

Tahira Naqvi Tahira Naqvi (Punjabi, ur, طاہرہ نقوی; 20 August 1956 – 2 June 1982) was a Pakistani actress who began her career in 70s and worked until her death at the age of 25. She became popular by appearing in several television series an ...

Afia Nathaniel Afia Serena Nathaniel (born 1974) is an independent Pakistani filmmaker who works primarily as a writer, director, producer and editor. She is a graduate of the Film Division at the Columbia University School of the Arts (2006). Early life A ...

Maryam Nawaz Maryam Nawaz Sharif ( Punjabi and ; born 28 October 1973), also known as Maryam Safdar, is a Pakistani politician and the daughter of former Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif. She was initially involved in the family's philanthropic orga ...

Rubab Raza Rubab Raza ( ur, ; born January 15, 1991) is an Olympic and national-record-holding swimmer from Pakistan. She became Pakistan's first female Olympic swimmer when she swam at the 2004 Olympics. At the 2004 Summer Olympics, she swam the 50m F ...

References

External links

CJM Lahore blog

{{DEFAULTSORT:Convent Of Jesus And Mary Lahore Catholic elementary and primary schools in Pakistan Girls' schools in Pakistan Schools in Lahore 1876 establishments in India Educational institutions established in 1876 Catholic secondary schools in Pakistan