In 2002/2003 St. Joseph School celebrated the 40th anniversary of its refoundation in 1963 as a trilingual school. S.J.S. had the right to celebrate! What it has accomplished during the last forty years was a story of great success:

Its constant growth and development to become one of the major catholic schools in Lebanon…
Its quality education that made its alumni well appreciated and respected in the most prestigious universities around the world,…
Its personalistic and spiritual touch that produced highly positive and entrepreneur members of society and in church,…
Its educational trilingual system which was followed by a number of schools and proved itself to be pioneering in today’s globalization and world unification,…

This great success story was due to the vision of late Bishop Elias Farah who took the initiative to re-found St. Joseph School and did not allow any pressure or opposition to slow or cause the failure of the project.

He set a tradition by sending priests of the Diocese to prepare their Ph.D. in the U.S.A. and return to be rectors at S.J.S.: Late Bishop Roland Abou Jaoudeh, Bishop Paul Sayyah, Bishop Camille Zaidan, Bishop Simon Faddoul, Fr. Richard Abou Moussa, and currently, Fr. Chady Bou Habib. He sought the help of the Jesus and Mary Sisters, of the Marianists and the Marists brothers whose input in the first years of the school was a major factor in SJS’s success. A special tribute should be given to the Sisters of J.M. who spent the longest period and left a profound mark on our school.

With the succession of Bishop Youssef Bechara to Bishop Farah, in May 1986, S.J.S. enjoyed the remarkable leadership of an educationist who had the charisma of helping the school to grow and develop even during the darkest days of the war.

But this recent success story should not make us forget a first one. The old building (the offices of the Rector and central administration…) is an eloquent witness of the glorious past.

By opening its doors to students in September 1884, Saint Joseph Lebanese School in Cornet Chahwan was about to start a new glorious era. Some documents mention the existence of a previous school, but the new school, thanks to the vision and determination of Bishop Youssef Geagea and his successor Bishop Youssef Zoghbi, did make a difference. By its prestigious building, by its multilingual program, by the selection of its teachers, by its wide and strong relations with other centers of learning, the new school gave the Lebanese society philosophers, writers and statesmen, and the Maronite Church a highly educated clergy.

Rich by the legacy of its past, full of life and dynamism in its daily operation, looking towards the future with hope, confidence and determination.