, motto_translation = ''Show us the way'' , type = Private

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 ...

Boys School , established = , religious_affiliation =

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

, principal = Sunanda Alwis , alumni = Maristonians , address = Negombo Road , city =

Negombo Negombo (, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the west coast and at the mouth of the Negombo Lagoon, in Western Province, from Colombo via Colombo - Katunayake Expressway. Negombo is one of the major commercial hubs in the country an ...

, country = Sri Lanka , coordinates = , lower_age = 5 , upper_age = 19 , students = 1,657 (2017-2018) , language =

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

, Sinhala , colors = Red and blue
, website = , logo = Maris Stella Crest.png , logo_size = 150px , logo_alt = College Crest Maris Stella College is a Catholic College in

, Sri Lanka, which was founded by the

Marist Brothers The Marist Brothers of the Schools, commonly known as simply the Marist Brothers, is an international community of Catholic religious institute of brothers. In 1817, St. Marcellin Champagnat, a Marist priest from France, founded the Marist Brothe ...

in 1922.

History

In 1918 four Marist Brothers came to Negombo, Sri Lanka, and took over the management of St Mary's College. In 1922, the school moved to its present site and assumed the new name of Maris Stella College. The history of the Primary School goes back to 1921 when Bro. Lewis was in charge of the elementary school, Standard Two E.S.L.C (Elementary School Leaving Certificate) Class. There were three long cadjan sheds which housed eight primary classes. The school's broadcasting services were inaugurated in 1930. Maris Stella installed a wireless set in the library, and the boys followed lessons, such as nature talks to children. Electricity came to the whole of Negombo in 1931. The same year the first Corpus Christi procession took place. It went around the quadrangle. The cadets presented a Royal Guard of Honour. In August 1939,

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

broke out. The following year the school was requisitioned in part by the Royal Artillery for their headquarters. The Primary School shifted to Tammita Church grounds into temporary cadjan sheds. Then Royal Artillery moved out in November, but the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

occupied the buildings in March the following year. The College was put under protection of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. There were frequent practices of Air Raid Precautions in schools. Trenches were dug for shelter, and every child knew what to do in case of an air raid warning. The school was in Easter holidays when the Japanese Air Raid took place in 1942 but their invasion fleet was turned back. In the meantime, a three-quarter acre block of land behind Maris Stella was purchased and 12 classrooms, a staff room, and a principal's office were built; the primary school moved back from Tammita. When Bro. Nazier went to Europe in 1950, for a year's study leave, Mr. Leonard Obris acted as principal of the Primary Department. For many years the Primary Department was in temporary cadjan sheds. So a building project was launched. Funds were raised through carnivals and other means. Bro. Xavier was the architect and the builder of the primary school. In June 1959, Bro. Gerard Peiris became the next principal of Maris Stella Primary School. Maris Stella Primary School had been going on for years as a separate third-grade aided school recognised by the Government with separate tutorial staff and annual returns. When all the third-grade schools were taken over by the Government. Maris Stella Primary School together with the primary schools of many leading Christian schools came under this category. This position was contested and the Government gave back the primary schools after some time, now to be recognised only as a section of the upper school under a principal and to be continued as a non-fee levying school. It was during the time of Bro. Gerard Peiris as principal of the primary school where the change took place. After serving the College from 1959–65, he was transferred to Christ King College at Tudella, another Maris Institution. Bro. Joseph Fonseka, Bro. Ephrem Obris, Bro. Joseph Fonseka, Brother Shanthi Liyanage, Brother Dela Soysa, and Brother Remigius Fernando succeeded Bro. Gerard Peiris. On 18 June 2022, Maris Stella College proudly celebrated its 100th anniversary with the presence of Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith.

Principals

Notable alumni

References

External links

*http://marisstellacollege.lk/maris/ {{Marist Schools 1922 establishments in Ceylon Catholic schools in Sri Lanka Educational institutions established in 1921 Marist Brothers schools Private schools in Sri Lanka Schools in Negombo