St. Francis Xavier College, Puerto Montt
St. Francis Xavier College, in Puerto Montt, Chile, is a Catholic school founded by the Society of Jesus in 1859. It is part of the Ignatian Educational Network of Chile and of the Latin American Federation of Jesuit Colleges (FLACSI). One of the oldest schools in Chile, it originally served the immigrant German colony in southern Chile. It is a coeducational institution with an enrollment of over 1,000 students from kindergarten through secondary school.
| St. Francis Xavier College Puerto Montt Colegio San Francisco Javier | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
| |
| Information | |
| Type | Jesuit, Catholic |
| Established | 1859 |
| Grades | K through secondary |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Enrollment | 1,000 |
| Affiliation | FLACSI |
| Teachers | 113 |
| Website | St. Francis Xavier College |
History
The history of the establishment begins in 1859, with the arrival of the founders, Jesuits Teodoro Bernardo Engbert Schwerter and Joseph Schörber, at the city of Puerto Montt. They came at the request the bishop of the Diocese of San Carlos de Ancud, Francisco de Paula Solar, made to Pieter Beckx, then general of Society of Jesus. The mission of the Jesuits, who arrived in Puerto Montt on March 22 of that year, was to provide educational and religious services to Catholic settlers in the area.
In 1872 the Jesuit Church was built in Puerto Montt and ten years later in 1882 a new school opened with its present name, San Francisco Javier. In 1893 the school moved to Guillermo Gallardo Street next to the church and remained there for a century.
In 1890, a bell tower was built within the school property. In 1905 a clock was added, and is still operative. The four bells were made in Austria. The largest, called San Jose, weighs 1750 kilos and was installed in 1894.[1]
References
- "La torre campanario de Puerto Montt fue visitada masivamente en el Día del Patrimonio | soypuertomontt.cl". soychile.cl (in Spanish). Retrieved 2017-09-23.