St Patrick’s High School celebrates 150 years

KARACHI: St. Patrick’s High School inaugurated one-year-long celebrations to mark the school’s one hundred and fiftieth birthday.

More than 1,500 people, including alumni, former principals and teachers, attended the ceremony which was followed by fireworks and dinner. The Boys Scouts and the school’s band gave a guard of honour to the chief guest, Archbishop of Karachi Evarist Pinto, who cut the cake along with the school’s principal Reverend Father Joseph Paul and vice-principal Reverend Father Norbert Mendonca.

In his opening remarks, Father Paul praised the vision and foresight of the founding fathers and all the subsequent priests and teachers who served the institution. “St. Patrick’s has produced many distinguished personalities of all ranks and stature,” he said. “It is a large school catering to all strata of society with more than 5,500 students on its rolls and a staff of 350 dedicated teachers and office managers.” Bishop Evarist congratulated the school and hoped that it would continue to follow in the footsteps of the motto ‘service to God and Country’.

A musical group comprising former students performed English and Urdu favorites joined in by the audience. Two former students, Shahid Feroz and Kadir Shajani, the latter, president of the Old Patricians also spoke on the occasion and paid rich tributes to the school, teachers and the good times they had on campus. The evening ended with the singing of the school song.