A message from the Manager
I would first like to acknowledge the vision, dedication, hard work and sacrifice of the Columban Fathers and the Montfort Brothers, who have created an institution that we have all come to love and cherish and be proud of-Xavier College, where our hearts lie.
Last year, 2023,the College celebrated its Platinum Jubilee, 70 years since its founders, the Columban Fathers, conducted the 1st class of secondary education for the 24 boys enrolled. For 34 years, under Columban Fathers’ tutelage, the school expanded with new classrooms and saw the introduction of new subjects to cater not only for more students but also for the demand in the work force.
In 1987, Management of the school was handed over to the Montfort Brothers of St. Gabriel, who had been invited by the late Prime Minister of Fiji, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, to come to Fiji. Xavier College by now was well known in soccer and academics, however, the arrival of the Montfort Brothers further catapulted the school to greater heights, breaking records in all external examinations (100% pass in FJC, FSLC and FSFE), extra- curricular activities which included sports while providing students with a modern conducive learning environment. The pinnacle of this Golden Era was the completion of the $2.2m Xavier Auditorium, an impressive self-help project of the XCPTFA, which was spearheaded by Bro. P.J. George, who also coined the now infamous saying “Do your best and leave the rest to God’.
Since 1953, Xavier College had always been led and managed by Religious educators. This sadly came to an end when the first lay Principal was posted by the Ministry of Education to take over from the last serving Religious Principal, Bro. Sabu Thottakara, in 2018. Consequently, this led the Montfort Brothers to relinquish management of the school, forcing the Archdiocese of Suva to assume Management on 1st January 2021 ushering a new era in the management of Xavier College.
I accepted the Manager’s position with a lot of apprehension knowing full well the huge shoes I had to fill and the thought was really overwhelming. It was only the love for the school that I courageously decided to accept the invitation from the then titular Manager, Fr. Pat Colgan (last Columban priest to serve the Ba Community) under the Archdiocese of Suva. All my efforts since assuming the Manager’s role is geared towards upholding the culture of excellence instilled by the Montfort Brothers. In this respect, I hope that this new website will be a tool that will allow for better and convenient interactions between teachers, parents, students and stakeholders. The benefits of the website are boundless in the everchanging world of technology. The creation of this website is the first step towards connecting the school to the rest of the world and I would urge everyone to utilize this platform with absolute responsibility and wisdom, to gain as much mileage as they possibly can from the site.
I would like to appreciate and thank our ex-student, Aayush Deo (Class Of 2017) for volunteering to design our school website for free and for providing the technical support that is required for the upkeep of the website.