We were founded in 1838 more than two centuries after the death of St. Francis de Sales. Our founder, Father Peter Mermier, was born in 1790 and as a child experienced the terrorism let loose by some extremists of the French Revolution. His parents were farmers, and his mother was a wonderful woman from whom he learnt to have faith in God, to face troubles with courage, and to help those made to suffer by the terrorists.
As a young man Peter Mermier decided to dedicate his life to the service of God and others as a priest. For some time he was put in charge of teaching and discipline in a residential school for boys. But he soon realized that his mission was to go from place to place helping young and old to live the ideals taught by Jesus and which St. Francis de Sales had practised so well. Everyone should have faith in God who loves us and please Him by trying to live a life of gentleness, cheerfulness, kindness, patience, forgiveness, readiness to help people in any kind of need whether material or spiritual. It was to spread these ideals that the Fransalians were founded.
In reply to an appeal made by the Pope, six Fransalians, four Priests and two Brothers, landed in India in 1845, only seven years after the foundation of the society. Over the years other dedicated and courageous men joined them.
In reply to an appeal made by the Pope six Fransalians, four priests and two brothers landed in India in 1845 only 7 years after the foundation of the society. Over the years the dedicated and courageous men joined them.
The Fransalians were asked to work eastern and Central India. Beginning at Visakhapatnam they open centers in places as far away as Cuttack, Aurangabad and Nagpur. They had to travel long distances on horseback or by bullock cart. They took care of people affected by famine or suffering from various diseases. They started social centers dispensaries and orphanages. They gave special attention to the education of youth and to teaching people to trust in God and to live together in peace and joy. At present the Fransalians are you working in different parts of India conducting social centers and school including technical school in urban and rural areas helping people to live happy lives founded on “Faith in God” and “Concern for the Welfare of others”. While respecting all religions and cultures we make it our mission to hold aloft the ideals stop by Jesus, which were an inspiration to Gandhiji, and main especially attractive by St Francis de Sales leading Father Peter Mermier to found the Fransalian society.
It was due to the constant reminder of the Jalna people, His Lordship. Rt. Rev. Joseph Rosario, msfs, with the consent of his councillors, handed over the R.C. Church property to the Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales (MSFS) to start a school in 1973. Rev. Fr. Vadacherrykunnel Kuriakose, msfs was appointed as the manager and the parish priest of the mission. Bro. M.J. John joined him as the treasurer and the helper both in the school and in the church. The Sisters of the Cross of Chavonod (known as the Holy Cross Sisters) came to Jalna to collaborate in pastoral and educational mission. Rev. Sr. Bertha was appointed as the Headmistress and Rev. Sr. Susan was appointed as a teacher of St. Mary's School, on 5 February, 1973. Thus St. Mary's School was started on 11 June, 1973 to meet the crying needs of the people of Jalna, in an igloo type building with simple yet well designed rooms, in the about 35 students in each class. In the first phase there were only church premise, for 3 classes, the nursery, kindergarten and class 1 and the strength of the school was 104 students with three teachers. First Independence Day celebration was held on 15 August, 1973. Dr. Rakh (MLA) was the Chief Guest and he hoisted the National Flag.
St. Mary’s High School is located on Devalgaonraja Road, Kanhaiya Nagar, Jalna, Maharashtra. The school is situated on an eight acre campus near Nagpur-Pune state highway. The school is about 66 km away from the Bishop House, Aurangabad. Jalna is not only the district head quarter but also the commercial hub of many business activities. The city is well connected with state high way and railway line for people to travel to different destinations. The boundaries of Jalna district are adjacent to Parbhani and Buldhana on east, Aurangabad on west, Jalgaon on north and Beed on south.
He was born at Kidangoor, Kerala and later having completed his schooling he joined the Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales to work in the vineyard of the Lord. As a pastor and educationist he was very simple in lifestyle but very dedicated and hardworking. He was entrusted with the taks of starting an English medium school in Jalna. He worked tirelessly to secure a plot of land form the government for this purpose. He was the Parish Priest and Manager of the school from 1974 to 1978.3 He is very fondly remebered in Jalna as the founder of St. Mary’s High School.
He was born at Punnatthura, Kerala in 1927. As a young aspirant he joined the Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales and opted for brotherhood to serve the Lord and His people. He rendered his valuable service in the province in various capacities. He worked in Jalna from 1974 -2006. He was a very committeed religious, service minded, and a man with a green finger. He took care of the materail wealth of the communities he lived in.4 The Present preiest residence and the massive stone school building was built by him. He will always be remembered as a builder.
The government of Maharashtra published in the gazette on 17 October, 1974 its decision to give about 8 acres of land to St. Mary's School "a part of the government land bearing site no 80 reserved for the extension to Gram Sevak Training Centre. So the present plot admeasuring about 8 acres on which the school is constructed was part of the reserved land under the government of Maharashstra. As per the proposal the government gave this particular plot to St. Mary's Education Society to start the proposed English Medium School. The allotted plot of land is situated on Devalgaon Raja Road, Jalna.
The opening ceremony of the new site (S.No. 207-Devalgaon Raja Road) took place on 15 February, 1975 in the presence of Dr. Rakh M LA. On 26 February, 1975 the allotted 8 acres land was handed over to St. Mary's School by Tahsildar Mr. Jadhav. Municipal permission was given to start construction work of the school on 27 February, 1975. The construction of the new school building started in the month of March 1975 under the able supervision of Rev. Bro E.T. Joseph, in the open plot S.No. 207. Bro. E.T. Joseph proved himself as a good engineer and supervisor and within two months he completed fencing 8 acres of land, digging a new open well, planting about 200 trees and building the first wing of the proposed school.
This is how St. Mary's High School came into existence in Jalna as a tiny plant which has now grown as a huge tree.6
Just as a tree is known by its fruit so also an educational institution is known by the type of students that come out of it. It is in this respect that St. Mary's stands out as one of the best schools in Jalna and in the Marathwada region. From its very inception the school has been giving quality education to the people of Jalna with the motto "knowledge for service." The school has produced a number of doctors, engineers, lawyers, scholars, entrepreneurs, etc, and above all good and responsible citizens for this country. This institution is well recognized and appreciated for its academic and non-academic excellence, discipline and value based education. No wonder St. Mary's High School, Jalna, stands as a premier school, a beacon in the field of education. Over the past few years the school has gone through many ups and downs, challenges and difficulties; yet it has stood the test of time and remained focused on its objectives and mission to impart quality education.
In order to accommodate the increasing number of students in all class it was decided to increase the class divisions. Hence the 2nd floor construction work of additional class rooms started in November 2016 and was completed in June 2017. The facelift work of the entrance and office started in August 2017 and was completed in February 2018. Mother Mary's Statue (patroness of the school) was installed in front of the school. Bust of St. Francis de Sales, Fr. Peter Mermier and Rev. Fr. Vadacherrykunnel Kuiakose were installed at the main entrance of the school.
St. Mary’s High School, Jalna is a private unaided Catholic minority school. Form its very inception in 1973 to 2019 the school followed state board syllabus of the state of Maharashtra. The school has produced so many meritorious students in the past. However there was constant demand from parents to make the school a CBSE school. Hence the process of obtaining CBSE affiliation started since 2005-06 onwards. Due to some hurdles and setbacks the affiliation process was stalled for many years. However when Fr. Shijumon M.E. took over as the principal of the school he took all the pains to rectify and regularize the needed documents. It was a herculean task but because of his sheer dedication commitment for this cause he managed to prepare the needed files for the affiliation. He applied for CBSE affiliation in 2017 under switch over category and on 13th September 2019 the school was affiliated to Central Board of Secondary Education, Delhi. In 2020 the last batch of class X students appeared for the Maharashtra State Board Examination. In 2021 the first batch of class X students for the first time appeared for the examination conducted by CBSE, Delhi.
Since 1973 St. Mary’s High School Jalna is one of the premier educational institutions in the city. Last few decades few more English medium schools have mushroomed in the city; however St. Mary’ High School is still the first choice of parents who wish to give their children value based education. True to the expectations of the parents and its motto knowledge for service, St. Mary’s High School has produced many professionals, business tycoons, industrialists, doctors, engineers, lawyers and many more world class citizens. St. Mary’s still continues to strive for excellence in all aspects of education and human formation. The school has about 120 staff to shoulder different responsibilities. The pre-primary school has four divisions each for LKG and UKG where as class 1 to 10 has five divisions each. The high demand and pressure for admission speak volumes about the quality education being imparted in our school. The school will complete 50 years of its existence in 2023. It’s important to have a better and more comprehensive plan for the school to take it to the next level of education as it may be needed in the coming years. What has been done in the past should not make us complacent but motivate us to explore more possibilities and avenues to sustain the past glory and take the school to a greater height of excellence.