St. Louis School, Hong Kong

St. Louis School (Chinese: 聖類斯中學), located in Sai Ying Pun (historically West Point, Hong Kong) is a privately run, Catholic primary and (government-subsidized) secondary English grammar school. There are currently about 800 secondary students and 350 primary school students.

This article is about the Catholic school in Hong Kong. For the Catholic school with the same name in Hawaii, see Saint Louis School.

St. Louis School, Hong Kong
Chinese: 聖類斯中學
East Wing of St. Louis School at the corner of Third Street and Kwong Fung Lane.
Address
179 Third Street

Sai Ying Pun

Hong Kong
Information
School typeGrant-in-aid, Secondary school
MottoScientia et Pietas
("Knowledge and Piety")
Chinese: 學問與虔敬並重
Religious affiliation(s)Roman Catholic
Patron saint(s)St Aloysius
Established1864 (as West Point Reformatory)
FounderFathers of the Catholic Mission
AuthoritySalesians of Don Bosco
Chinese: 鮑思高慈幼會
PresidentRev. Fr. Dr. Matthew Chan Hung Kee (Supervisor)
PrincipalMr. Yu Lap Fun Peter
Teaching staff55
GradesS.1 - S.6
GenderMale
Enrolment850
LanguageEnglish
Campus size10,000 m²
HousesRose, Tulip, Thistle, Shamrock, Lily
Colour(s)Red, blue, white
Song"All Hail, All Hail"
PublicationAloysians
Chinese: 博藝
Feeder schoolsSt Louis School (Primary Section)
AlumniSLOBA, St Louis Old Boys’ Association
Scout Group16th Hong Kong Group
Websitehttp://www.stlouis.edu.hk
Vase of Champion and entrance along Third Street.
Facade along Kwong Fung Lane.

History

Early history

During the 1840s, the present location of St. Louis School was the site of a small battery, called the West Point Battery or Elliot's Battery.[1]

St. Louis School was founded in 1864 by the Fathers of the Catholic Mission; St Aloysius was chosen as the Patron of the school.[2] The school was initially known as the West Point Reformatory.[3] The Brothers of the Christian Schools (commonly known as the La Salle Brothers) succeeded the Fathers in the management of the school in 1875 and managed the school until 1893.

In 1921, Bishop Pozzoni, the Ordinary of Hong Kong, requested the Maryknoll Fathers to take over. Some of the boys were orphans while the rest were remanded by the Hong Kong government, the government giving a small monthly grant for each student. The Maryknoll Fathers renamed the school 'St Louis Industrial School' and equipped it with a printing press. The students became expert in this line and seven years later when the Paris Foreign Missions Society started their celebrated polyglot press at Nazareth in Pokfulam, they took into their employ many of these boys. When Brother Albert Staubli arrived, he added manual training to its curriculum in the way of carpentry. The American Maryknoller, Fr James Edward Walsh, who was one of the first four American missioners to arrive in China and the last Western missioner to be released by the Communist China in 1970, spent some time at the school too.[3]

Early in 1926, Maryknoll's Father Superior and one of the co-founders, Fr James Anthony Walsh, made a visitation of his fledgling mission fields in South China and spent some weeks in Hong Kong before visiting Kongmoon (now called Jiangmen) and Kaying (in Meixian). In the course of his stay, the position of the industrial school was reviewed and it was eventually handed back to the Diocese.[3]

Salesian Fathers

In 1927 the school was given to the Salesian Fathers and has been run by them since then.[4] The year 1927 is now regarded as the founding year of today's school.[2] The school was transformed from a vocational school to an English grammar school in 1948.[4]

The primary section of St Louis School was particularly famous in the 1970s and the 1980s, for it won almost all the inter-school quiz competitions organized by Radio Television Hong Kong.

Facilities

The school consists of four wings: East, North, Central and West. The oldest one is the East Wing (Block A), which was built in 1936. The North Wing was damaged by a typhoon in 1936, and a new building was subsequently erected.[4] The Central and West Wings were constructed and opened in 1951 and 1969 respectively.[2]

The school's sports facilities include a football playground (with a stand for about 1,300 people), a basketball court and a covered playground. The football playground is the largest among those of all the schools in West Point.

School badge, motto, song

The badge of St Louis School embodies a profound philosophy through the simplicity of its design.[5]

  • The white background symbolizes the purity and innocence of the students.
  • The central red cross reminds the students to adopt Jesus Christ as their mentor, and to possess love and compassion, a sense of self-sacrifice and universal service.
  • The letters 'S' and 'L' are the initials of Saint Louis.
  • The two Greek letters Α (Alpha) and Ω (Omega) in the book on the cross exhort the students to pursue the truth consistently.
  • The Latin phrase ' SCIENTIA ET PIETAS' at the bottom of the badge is the school motto, it means 'knowledge and piety'. It instructs the students to place equal emphases on both knowledge and piety.

The school song 'All Hail, All Hail' was written by Rev Fr Janssen in 1957.

Principals and Rectors
  • 1927-1934: Fr Vincenzo Bernardini; 1st Rector and Principal
  • 1934-1937: Fr Teodor Wieczorek; 2nd Rector and Principal
  • 1937-1946: Fr John Guarona; 3rd Rector and Principal
  • 1946-1949: Fr Pietro Pomat; 4th Rector and Principal
  • 1949-1955: Fr John Clifford; 5th Rector and Principal
  • 1955-1958: Fr Bernard Tohill; 6th Rector and Principal
  • 1958-1964: Fr Lam Yum-ching; 7th Rector and Principal
  • 1964-1970: Fr John Foster; 8th Rector and Principal
  • 1970-1976: Fr Alexander Smith; 9th Rector and Principal
  • 1976-1982: Fr Julian Carpella; 10th Rector and Principal
  • 1982-1988: Fr Aloysius Rubini; 1st Supervisor
  • 1982-1986: Fr Patrick Deane; 11th Rector and Principal
  • 1988-1994: Fr Clement Wong; 2nd Supervisor
  • 1986-2001: Fr Simon Lam; 12th Principal; 3rd Supervisor 1994–present
  • 2001-2002: Fr Joseph So; 13th Principal
  • 2002-2012: Fr Peter Ng; 14th Principal
  • 2012–2016: Dr Yip Wai Ming; 15th Principal
  • 2016-: Mr Yu Lap Fun, Peter; 16th Principal (Incumbent)

Fathers
  • Fr Patrick Deane (田惠民 神父) 1926-2007
  • Fr Bruno Gelosa (伊思高 神父) 1914-2005
  • Fr William Joyce (曹文植 神父) 1918-2005
  • Fr Julian Carpella (家思齊 神父) 1923-2006
  • Fr Clement Wong (黃光照 神父)
  • Rev Fr Peter Ng (吳多祿 神父)
  • Fr Simon Lam (林仲偉 神父)
  • Fr A. Riemslag (林兆良 神父)
  • Fr Anthony Bogadek (鮑嘉天 神父)
  • Fr Michael McKenna (麥謹行 神父)
  • Br Edward Kowala (高懷黎 修士)
  • Fr Timmermans (田永民神父)
  • Fr Gallo (勞明德神父)
  • Fr Nicosia (胡子義神父)
  • Fr Cheng Hoi Hong (鄭海康神父)
  • Fr Cheung Kam Hung (張錦鴻神父)
  • Fr Lee Hoi Lung (李海龍神父)
  • Fr Smith
  • Fr Peter Pomati (武幼安神父)
  • Br Thomas Cheung (張恩洪修士)
  • Br Yau Chi Tak (邱志德修士)
  • Fr Luk Tat Boon (陸達本神父)
  • Fr Mathias Ling (林蔭清神父)
  • Fr Pio Scilligo (石理覺神父)
  • Fr Ho Ka Fai (何家輝神父)
  • Fr Tohill (杜希賢神父)
  • Fr Suppo (蘇冠明神父)

Conservation

The East Wing of St. Louis School, built in 1936, is listed as a Grade II historic building, "Buildings of special merit; efforts should be made to selectively preserve".[6] St. Louis School is part of the Central and Western Heritage Trail, Western District and the Peak Route.[2]

References
  1. Lau, Alfred Y.K. (1995). "An Outline of the Urban Development of Sai Ying Pun in the Ninetenth Century" (PDF). Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch. 35: 64. ISSN 1991-7295.
  2. Antiquities and Monuments Office. Central and Western Heritage Trail. St. Louis School
  3. Smith, Jim; Downs, William (1978), Maryknoll Hong Kong Chronicle 1918 – 1975 (Chronicle), Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America
  4. Antiquities Advisory Board. Historic Building Appraisal. East Wing, St. Louis School, No. 179 Third Street, Sai Ying Pun
  5. St Louis School (2007). "School Badge". St Louis School Official Website. St Louis School.
  6. Antiquities Advisory Board. List of the 1,444 Historic Buildings with Assessment Results

Further reading

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