, motto_translation = In Knowledge and Virtue , location = T. B. Jayah Mawatha, Colombo 10 , country =

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, coordinates = , caption = School Facade , pushpin_map = Sri Lanka Colombo Central , pushpin_image = , pushpin_mapsize = , pushpin_map_alt = , pushpin_map_caption = Location in central Colombo , type = Government-aided private school , religion =

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

, denomination =

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 lette ...

, established = , grades = 1 – 13 , gender = Male , rector = Ranjith Andradi , staff = 450 , lower_age = 5 , upper_age = 19 , area = , houses = Bonjean
Marque
Melizan
Courdet , colors = Blue and white
, free = St. Peter's College, Colombo , free_label = Brother School(s) , free_1 = St. Bridget's Convent, Colombo , free_label_1 = Sister School , alumni = List of Saint Joseph's College, Colombo alumni , alumni_name = Josephian , website = St. Joseph's College is a selective entry

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 ...

school located in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

. It was established in 1896 by European Oblate missionaries led by Dr. Christopher Ernest Bonjean

O.M.I. The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) is a missionary religious congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded on January 25, 1816, by Eugène de Mazenod, a French priest born in Aix-en-Provence in the south of France on August 1, ...

The college enrolls over 3,500 students with a staff of over 400. Former students include Cardinal Thomas Cooray, the first Cardinal from Sri Lanka and President

Ranasinghe Premadasa Sri Lankabhimanya Ranasinghe Premadasa ( si, රණසිංහ ප්‍රේමදාස ''Raṇasiṃha Premadāsa'', ta, ரணசிங்க பிரேமதாசா ''Raṇaciṅka Pirēmatācā''; 23 June 1924 – 1 May 1993) was t ...

. The (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

) motto of the college is ''In Scientia et Virtute'', meaning "In Knowledge and Virtue". The school is a non-fee levying school, whereby it receives some state funding, relying mostly on funds from an extensive network of alumni worldwide. School buildings cover and include a sports complex, and an Olympic standard swimming pool which was built in 1952, incidentally it is the oldest swimming pool in a school in Sri Lanka.

Sports

Cricket has been played at the school since its founding. At that time it was the only Catholic school in a group of elite, mainly secular or Protestant Christian, private boys' schools which often played against one another. Many alumnae played on the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exam ...

. St. Joseph's oldest cricket rival is

St. Anthony's College, Kandy St. Anthony's College, Kandy is a Catholic School, Roman Catholic School in Kandy, Sri Lanka. The college was established in 1854 by the Franciscan missionary, Felice Zoppi. The college is under the management of the Sylvestrines, Syl ...

. They compete for the Murali-Vaas Trophy, which was inaugurated in 2007 and named after St. Anthony's alumnus

Muttiah Muralitharan Deshabandu Muttiah Muralitharan ( si, මුත්තයියා මුරලිදරන්, ta, முத்தையா முரளிதரன், also spelt Muralidaran; born 1972) is a Sri Lankan cricket coach, former professional c ...

and St. Joseph's alumnus

Chaminda Vaas Warnakulasuriya Patabendige Ushantha Joseph Chaminda Vaas (born 27 January 1974) is a former Sri Lankan international cricketer, who played all forms of the game, and a former ODI captain who is often described as the greatest fast medium bowl ...

. In 2012 the two schools celebrated their historic 100th encounter. The most high-profile rivalry is with St. Peter's College, a brother school founded as its satellite campus and also known as the St.Joseph's College South. Its annual match-up is known locally as the " Battle of the Saints" or "Joe–Pete".

Rectors

Rectors of the College

College anthem

The College anthem was composed by Edgar Neydorff. The words are by Fr. John M. Lanigan

Notable alumni

References

External links

Official website

Official Old Boys Union Website

Official SJC News / SJC Sports Website
Senewiratne, A.M., Till The Mountains Disappear: The Story of St.Joseph's College, 2020, p. 246 (+XIV)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Joseph's College, Colombo 1896 establishments in Ceylon Catholic schools in Sri Lanka Catholic secondary schools in Sri Lanka Educational institutions established in 1896 Private schools in Sri Lanka Schools in Colombo Schools in Sri Lanka founded by missionaries