St. Joseph's College was formerly St. Saviour’s College, founded in Hong Kong in the 1860s by Father Timoleone Raimondi of Roman Catholic Church. At that time, many of the students were Portuguese. From the mid-nineteenth century on, large number of Portuguese moved to Hong Kong after commercial activity in Macao declined. Most Portuguese are Catholic, so the Portuguese community from Macao became important members of the Catholic Church in Hong Kong. The church provided Catholic education and contributed to the founding of Catholic schools like St. Saviour’s College. The college also accepted Chinese students and offered education in practical commerce. When the students finished school, many put their knowledge to good use in the Mainland. As early as the 1870s, several dozens St. Saviour’s College graduates were working in Shanghai and Guangzhou.

In 1875, De La Salle Brothers came to Hong Kong and took over the Portuguese and Chinese students of St. Saviour’s College. In the following year, the school was renamed St. Joseph's College and was relocated to a new campus on Caine Road. Subsequently, the Chinese classes were also transferred to De La Salle Brothers, but owing to limited space on the Caine Road campus, the Chinese students remained at the St. Saviour’s College campus until 1881. In the same year, St. Joseph's College was moved to a new campus in Glenealy. In 1918, the campus was severely damaged in an earthquake, so the school was relocated to its present site on Kennedy Road.

The North and West Blocks of the current campus of St. Joseph's College were inaugurated in the 1920s. The Old Hall in the West Block, Li Shek Pang Hall, is named after Li Shek-pang, a native of Heshan, Guangdong, who went to St. Joseph's College in 1880. He established business in Guangzhou before relocating to Hong Kong , and the Li family subsequently developed into a prominent Chinese merchant family. His sons, Li Koon-chun and Li Tse-fong, founded The Bank of East Asia, Limited, in 1918. Many descendants of the Li family, such as Li Koon-chun and David Kwok-po Li, were graduated from the college. This reflects the college’s important contribution to education in Hong Kong in the past century.

Open Day:
Normally held in between January and February each year. For details, please visit the official website of St. Joseph's College: www.sjc.edu.hk

Address:
No. 7 Kennedy Road, Central, Hong Kong.