St. Patrick's College (SPC) ( Punitha Pattiriciyār Kallūri) is a private boys' school in Gurunagar, Jaffna, Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1850 by Roman Catholic missionaries.

History The Jaffna Catholic English School was established in 1850 by Monsignor Orazio Bettacchini, an Italian Roman Catholic missionary. It was later renamed The Jaffna Boys' Seminary, before being registered as a high school and renamed as St. Patrick's College on 10 January 1881. Rev. John Smythe, formerly of the Ceylon Civil Services, became the school's first rector.

Rev. Charles Matthews, a graduate of the University of Ottawa, served as rector from 1906 to 1936 (with brief interruptions). He implemented formal rules for academics and sports in the school.

While many private schools in Ceylon were nationalised in 1960, St. Patrick's College remained a private, non-fee levying institution.

In 2025, St. Patrick's College commemorated its 175th anniversary.

Sports St. Patrick’s College regularly plays against Jaffna College in an annual cricket match known as the Battle of the Golds. The first match took place in 1917.

List of rectors

1850–1858 Patrick Foy 1859–1861 Rev. Bro. John Joseph Brown 1862–1870 Rev. Bro. Patrick Joseph Conway 1870 Rev. Bro. Michael A. Murphy 1870–1874 Rev. Bro. (Fr.) Patrick O Flanagan 1874–1875 T. W. McMahan 1875–1880 Rev. Bro. (Fr.) Patrick O Flanagan 1880–1883 Rev. Bro. (Fr.) J. A. R. Smythe 1883–1885 Rev. Fr. Charles H. Lytton 1885–1888 Rev. Fr. Jules Collin 1888–1889 Rev. Fr. M. Dubreuil 1889-1901 Rev. Fr. Patrick Dunne 1901–1902 Rev. Fr. Jules Collin 1902–1905 Rev. Fr. Charles A. Beaud 1905–1921 Rev. Fr. Charles S. Matthews 1921–1924 Rev. Fr. John A. Guyomar 1924–1936 Rev. Fr. Charles S. Matthews 1936–1954 Rev. Fr. Timothy M. F. Long 1954–1960 Rev. Fr. S. N. Arulnesan 1960–1966 Rev. Fr. P. J. Jeevaratnam 1966–1976 Rev. Fr. T. A. J. Mathuranayagam 1976–1979 Rev. Fr. John A. Francis 1979–1992 Rev. Fr. G. A. Michael (Francis) Joseph 1992–2002 Rev. Fr. A. I. Bernard 2002–2007 Rev. Fr. Dr. Justin Gnanapragasam 2008–2017 Rev. Fr. Jero Selvanayagam 2017–present Rev. Fr. A. P. Thirumahan

Notable alumni

S. C. C. Anthony Pillai – Trade unionist and Member of Parliament. Leo Rajendram Antony – Roman Catholic Bishop of Trincomalee–Batticaloa. Anton Arulanandam – Secretary of the Amateur Athletic Association of Ceylon. Tissa Balasuriya – Roman Catholic priest and theologian. Bertram Bastiampillai – Professor of political science and history, Ombudsman/Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration. S. F. Chellapah – Director of Medical and Sanitary Services. H. S. David – Priest, scholar and linguist. Bastiampillai Deogupillai – Roman Catholic Bishop of Jaffna. H. Luxman David – Major General. V. Dharmalingam – Member of Parliament for Uduvil. Jerome Emilianuspillai – Roman Catholic Bishop of Jaffna. Justin Gnanapragasam – Roman Catholic Bishop of Jaffna. E. L. B. Hurulle – Cabinet Minister, Member of Parliament, Governor of the North Central Province. W. L. Jeyasingham – Dean of the Faculty of Arts, University of Jaffna. Rayappu Joseph – Roman Catholic Bishop of Mannar. Valentine Joseph – Professor of mathematics. A. Kanagasabapathy – Mudaliyar of Mullaitivu District. W. M. T. B. Menikdiwela – Secretary to the President, Divisional Revenue Officer. N. Nadarajah – Judge, Supreme Court of Ceylon. V. Navaratnam – Member of Parliament for Kayts. Paul Perera – Roman Catholic Bishop of Kandy. Jaya Pathirana – Member of Parliament for Kurunegala, Judge, Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. G. G. Ponnambalam – Leader of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress, Member of Parliament. Kumar Ponnambalam – Leader of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress. T. J. Rajaratnam – High court judge. A. B. Rajendra – Member of the Senate. T. M. Sabaratnam – Member of the Legislative Council of Ceylon. R. Sampanthan – Leader of the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi/Tamil National Alliance, Member of Parliament. Harry Sandrasagra – Member of the Legislative Council of Ceylon. Thomas Savundaranayagam – Roman Catholic Bishop of Jaffna. Antony Selvanayagam – Roman Catholic Bishop of Penang. S. Sivapalan – Member of Parliament for Trincomalee. Kingsley Swampillai – Roman Catholic Bishop of Trincomalee. Alfred Thambiayah – Member of Parliament for Kayts. T. T. Thambyahpillai – Astrophysicist. Xavier Thaninayagam – Tamil scholar. Kanthiah Vaithianathan – Cabinet Minister, Member of the Senate, Permanent Secretary. Susaipillai P. Vanderkoon – Mudaliyar of Kalpitiya District. Dominic Vendargon – Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur. V. Yogeswaran – Member of Parliament for Jaffna. Yogaswami – Spiritual master.

See also List of schools in Northern Province, Sri Lanka

Further reading M. Jude Dinesh LL.M, M.HRD(Col) Attorney-at-law General Secretary, SPC, Alumni Association, [https://ceylontoday.lk/2025/03/17/175-years-of-academic-brilliance-rich-legacy-of-st-patricks-college-jaffna/ Colombo 175 Years of Academic Brilliance: Rich Legacy of St. Patrick’s College, Jaffna

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