OR H ST
RY
1852-1977
( 1840-1866 )
The history of St . Joseph ' s Institution , Singapore dates right back to 1852 - the first missionary establishment of the De La Salle Brothers in the Far East . St Joseph ' s Institution owes its foundation to the resourcefulness and determination of Reverend J . M . Beurel , a dynamic French priest who was serving under the Vicar Apostalic of Malaya , Reverend J . B . Boucho in Penang .
Reverend J . M . Beurel had originally wished to be admitted into the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools , but was refused admission as he was already a priest . However , the memory of the splendid work of the De La Salle Brothers in France was a constant source of inspiration for Rev . Beurel to fulfill his dream - that of obtaining the services of the Brothers for educational purposes in Singapore .
In 1841 , Rev . Beurel wrote to Bishop J . B . Boucho of Penang to consult him on the subject , but he was told of the difficulties which appeared insurmountable in his day . Firstly , he was told that the building of the -school would incur tremendous outlay of money more than he had at his disposal . Moreover , it was not likely that the Superior General in Paris would send his subjects to the East where the Brothers would have to bear the harsh climate .
In spite of these initial setbacks , Rev . Beurel still longed for the day when a group of Brothers , dedicated to the instruction of youths in Singapore would arrive . This would relieve him considerably of an important duty as far as their educational , religious and moral training was concerned . Furthermore , the vast commercial potentialities of Si I "! - apore were giving added importance to the needs for men who had been trained to teach the youths the rudiments of a secular education . Just as Thomas Stamford Raffles had envisaged thirty years earlier , Rev . Beurel also envisaged the growth of Singapore as an important port of call and the focal point of the region . To quote Rev . Beurel
himself , ' We must have schools in Malaya and it
would be best to establish them at one central point . Singapore is at the meeting point of the China Sea , the Gulf of Siam and the Indian Ocean . In its beautiful harbour are found vessels leaving for Macao , Hong Kong , Shanghai , Bangkok , Hue , Calcutta , Bombay , Rangoon , Colombo , Batavia " Rev . Beurel ' s ambition of establishing a school in Singapore was brought a step nearer in Feb . 1846 when the Colonial Government in in Si ngapore gave the land for new church - the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd to be built . Rev .
17