St. Columban's College

On AUGUST 21, 1939, upon the request of BISHOP MARIANO MADRIAGA, three Columban: SISTER MARY VIANNEY, SISTER MARY BERNADETTE AND SISTER FRANCES DE SALES, came to Lingayen for the catechetical apostolate in the public school. Although the Columban sisters were founded specially for China, the sisters realized the great need in the Philippines for the catechetical apostolate, and they willingly gave their services to the Filipino people. The three sisters who came, began work immediately in the Public Elementary and High Schools and in the barrios under the guidance of the Columban Father.
Immaculate Hall, the home of the Sisters, become a venue for the students where they could study, read magazines, play games or just chitchat. In so-many ways, students received with joy a deeper understanding of the Christian faith. The year 1939-1941 were years of getting to know the people, their work, the students, their culture and their needs, aside from visiting the school in the town and in the barrios. Then just as things were going nicely, war struck with automatic suddenness on December 8, 1941. Schools were closed and students dispersed to their homes. Since, Lingayen was of strategic military importance, the Sisters too, at the insistence of the Bishop, had to evacuate to Malasiqui, which was a comparatively safer places. Their home in Lingayen, Immaculate Hall, was leveled to the ground durig the war.
When the war was over, the Sisters returned to Lingayen, and again took up their work in the schools and among the students.
The Collegio Santissimo Rosario, a school for girls was left vacant when the Dominican Sisters decided to move to Dagupan. Bishop Madriaga then asked the Columban sisters to take on the work of giving the youth in the Lingayen area, a Christian education using the Collegio. In 1947, the Columban sisters moved into the vacant Collegio and applied with the Department of Education for a permit to open an Elementary and High School. As Guarantors were needed before a Permit would be given, Mr. Juan Ventanilla, Mr. Jose Crisostomo and Rosa Lesaca kindly offered their services for this. Some reconstruction work was done and in June that the same year, St. Columban’s Academy was opened. The first year enrollment was only 47 but the following year, the number jumped to 240. The first graduation was in 1951, with 11 graduates from High School and 30 from the Elementary Department.
As the Collegio was only rented from the Dominican Sisters, and they were pressing the Columban’s to buy, Bishop Madriaga in 1954, offered the site of his former Palacio near the town for the Saint Columban’s Academy. The Palacio was in ruins from the bombing at the time of Liberation, so the first task was to clear away the debris and then construct classrooms. By June 1954, all was ready to accommodate the 500 students who enrolled for that year. The Elementary classes were held in temporary rooms constructed of sawali, near the priest’s convento. In the years that followed, enrollment increased and year-by-year, additional classrooms were constructed.
In 1961, the College department was opened with Sister Mary Anselmo Bernad as the first Dean of the College. The enrollment was 57 students divided as follows: Secretarial 36; Liberal Arts 3; and commerce 18. As a temporary arrangement, classes were held in the High School building, then in 1967 the first floor of the present College building was constructed, and in 1980 the second floor was added.
In May 1966, the name Saint Columban’s Academy was changed to the present “SAINT COLUMBAN’S COLLEGE.”
In 1978, on the initiative of Sister Catherine Courtney, the pastoral center was opened offering BSE major in religious Education, preparing and developing lay leadership for the local church, and training “Multipliers” for the continuing task of evangelization.
From the meager 47 enrollment in 1947, the school population has grown steadily.