On passing Lady Forester’s Hospital you come up to a large gate. This is the present entrance to the Begume’s palace, now St. Charles’ Inter college. The former and the real entrance is from the North, by a very impressive gateway known as the “Lion Gate”. But being about 200 yards on the other side of the building it is hardly visited. The architect is the same person who built the Church, Anthony Reghelini. The palace was begun after the church had been completed and was only finished in 1835. The Bagum lived only one year in her new residence. When the Begum died, her state was taken over by the British Authorities, but her personal property was not touched. The palace with its 74 acres was inherited by her adopted son. When he left for England, it was left in the hands of an agent. In 1897 it was sold at a public auction by the agent of Lady Forester, the widow of Dyce Sombre. Many are under the wrong impression that the palace was left to the Catholic Mission by the Bagum. Actually, it was bought by the Arch Bishop of Agra for Rs/- 25,000.00. Before the building was sold, the twenty-five oil paintings that adorned the Throne Room were removed. Most of them were bought by the local government to adorn the palace of the Governor of Uttar Pradesh, formerly in Allahabad and now in Lucknow. Among the paintings that were removed, were portraits of the Begum, General Sir David Octherlony, David Dyce Sombre, Baron Solaroli, and Captain John Troup, husbands of David’s two sisters, and Major Reghelini. There was also a portrait of Pope Gregory XVI in engraving. But today in the Governor’s palace are only two paintings, one large one of the Begum in the Audience Hall, and another large one in the Billiard Room depicting the Begum presenting a chalice to the Arch Bishop Pezzoni on the occasion of the dedication of the church. When the Catholic Diocese of Agra bought the palace, it was at once converted into a school. All the boys that were in St. John’s Seminary, the Begum's former palace, which had been functioning as an orphanage, with the children orphaned by the terrible famine in U.P. and Punjab at the end of the last century, were sent there. It started as a Primary School. In 1910 it was recognized as an Anglo-Vernacular Middle School under the patronage of St. Charles, in honor of the then Archbishop of Agra, Dr. Charles Gentili. In 1954 it was raised to a High School and in 1951 it was recognized as an Intermediate College. In 1955 the Archbishop of Agra entrusted the school and hostel to the congregation of the Montfort Brothers of St. Gabriel, a famous teaching order. Since then the College has put up many new buildings, including a science block, a large Auditorium and a new hostel.
St. Charles’ Inter college is an offspring of St. Francis’ School, which was started in 1887 in Begum Samrus’ old palace presently known as St. Johns’ Seminary. The school was founded by the Capuchin Fathers and named after their patron St. Francis. The purpose of starting school was merely for the benefit of poor Catholic boys.
The Capuchin from Agra and Tibet Mission were frequent visitors to the court of Begum Samru. They used to receive encouragement and help to multiply their activities in the area. When Begum Samru died in 1836, her estate lapsed to the British Government. The present St. Charles’ Inter College building was formerly the palace of the Begum Samru of Sardhana. The Agra mission purchased the Begum’s palace on 28th December 1887 in an auction for Rs. 25,000/- then St. Francis’ School was shifted from the old palace to the new premises. The palace, presently St. Charles’ Inter College to a storied building in an Anglo- Indian style. It was then called “Kothi Dilkhusha.” It is raised upon a basement of 11 feet in height. The whole palace complex is situated on about 74 acres of land.
In 1910, St. Francis’ Primary School was raised to the status of a Middle School and was named St. Charles’ after the benign Archbishop Mgr. Charles Gentile of Agra. In 1917, Fr. Paul S.P. became the first Indian rector of this institution and he converted themassive land of the premise into an agricultural farm to meet the feeding demand of the inmates in the boarding house who numbered 250 then. On account of the untiring effort of Fr. Antony of Cap, the institution became self-sufficient in every respect. He started many small industries, cultivation at large scale, dairy farms, and even a printing press. The entire need for intuition was easily met by its own economic production. Under the regulation of the Department of Education of U.P. state, the primary section was separated from the Middle School in 1920. The Primary section still exists under the name of St. Francis’ Primary School. The Middle School became a High School in 1934 and an Inter College in 1951. It was in March 1954 that the Archbishop of Agra Monsgr. Evangelist Vanni OFM Cap wrote to the Provincial Superior, Bro. Eleazar asked him to visit him as he had some important thing to discuss. Bro. Eleazar visited him in the first week of April 1954. On 26th April the Provincial wrote to the Superior General a report of his visit to places where institutions are offered to us.
About Sardhana his report was that the Archbishop of Agra was offering to the Brothers the ST. CHARLES’ HIGHER SECONDARY SCHOOL, which was housed in the former palace of the Begum Samru. Bro. Eleazar was told that the school was self-supporting or nearly so. A Boarding was attached to the school for the poor Christian pupils who only paid what they could, that is to say, practically nothing. To support these was a farm of about 50 acres and a few thousand rupees from a trust established by the old Begum herself before her death in 1837.The Fathers assured the Provincial that these responses were just suffering for this “boarding”. Bro. Eleazar added that with the help of the Holy Childhood, the Brothers could do something better. The only condition laid down by the old Archbishop was that this so-called boarding should be continued on the same lines that is to say that all the poor children sent by the Parish Priests should be accepted for what they could afford to pay, this being the only way of giving a good Catholic education to these poor children.
As he was attending the General Chapter, the Provincial placed before the General Council the following proposal. A Brother would be sent to Sardhana the following July to acquaint himself with the working of the school and the Brothers would take charge of it in January 1955. This would be all the easier as some Directors would then be coming to the end of their terms of office. Brother Eleazar added that he was all in favor of this new foundation from which he saw the following advantages: “proximity to Delhi (only 60 miles away), a means of having Brothers knowing Hindi well and having a house in Northern India”. The Provincial Council was held at Yercaud on 9th May 1954 and unanimously accepted to take over St. Charles’ Higher Secondary School, Sardhana from January 1955, it also decided to send Brother Augustinus early enough to acquaint the working of the school. This was done as it was the first institution in the north of Hyderabad for the Brothers. One has to get familiar with the language and culture of the people and place. Brother Eleazar met the Agra Archbishop again at Mussoorie in June 1954 and discussed the details of taking over the school in 1955. In the month of September 1954, Brother Julian from Hyderabad was transferred to Sardhana to keep company to Brother Augustinus who had already reached the place, and to acquaint himself with the working of the farm of which he would have complete management from the following January.Brother Eleazar was again at Sardhana on 29th November 1954, after some more study and consultation with concerned people at Sardhana he finally decided on 30th November to take the full management of the school. It would reopen on 7th January 1955 under the complete management of the Brothers. The council meeting at Yercaud on the 14th of December 1954 appointed Bro. Paul Majella (M. Paul) as the Director of St. Charles.
1. Bro. Paul Majella (M. Paul) -Director / Manager
2. Bro. Augustinus - Principal
3. Bro. Julian - Farm In charge
4. Bro. Ambrose - Teacher
5. Bro. Mathurin - Teacher
6. Bro. Sylvanus - who joined in July 1955 to be in charge of St. Francis’ School.
The complete management of St. Charles’ Higher Secondary School, Sardhana was handed over to the Brothers of St. Gabriel on 6th January 1955. After a few months with the new agreement the management committee of St. Charles’ Hr. Sec. The school was re-constituted on 23rd April 1955. The members were:-
1. His Grace the Archbishop of Agra (President)
2. Bro. Eleazar (provincial) (Vice President)
3. Bro. M. Paul (Superior) (Manager)
4. Bro. Augustinus (Principal)
5. Fr. Mark (Rector of St. John’s Seminary) (Member)
6. Fr. Lawrence (Diocesan Inspector of School).
It was a really very hard life for the Brothers to stay here. Though the Bishop had convinced the Provincial that there was sufficient place and enough money to run the institution, the Brothers had a very hard life. There was no particular place to stay for the Brothers. The Brothers stayed in the underground rooms in different corners of the palace. Where there was no light. There was no toilet or bathing facilities. Brother Augustinus stayed in Anthon kothi presently the convent of Our Lady of Grace Sisters. Bro. Ambrose stayed in the underground room and presented cycle stand for the staff. Brothers used to go to the open field with a bottle of water for their first call in the early morning. Then for washing and bath, they had to go out looking for some hand pumps. Brothers used to get water from “Arhut” (Persian wheel) pulled by a camel. This was the main source of irrigation for the farm. The Brothers used to go to Meerut on bicycle or on foot. Bro. Ambrose used to work on the farm with the boys and harvest the wheat. He was so much fond of coffee that he used to keep a stove in the science lab. Since there was not much facility to shave most of the Brothers had sporting beards.
By February 1955, the Brothers found the financial state of the school was much worse than the Diocesan authorities had explained. They had assured the Provincial that the income from nearly 50 acres of farmland and help from the trust established by Begum Samruwas sufficient for the running of the “Boarding”. Brothers had also hoped that with the possible help from Holy Childhood, we may be able to manage the school and the boarding. Brother Provincial spent six full days to examine thoroughly the sources of income & expenditure, he came to the conclusion that instead of an annual deficit of Rs. 3000/- at the maximum, it would be like Rs. 15000/- or more the province has to shell out. However, optimistic and having great trust in providence the Provincial was confident that we would be able to overcome this hurdle with the possible help from the Holy Childhood and better income from the farm with improved methods of cultivation.
Brother Eleazar lost no time to prepare a detailed report of the situation and send it on to H.E. the Inter-Nuncio with an application to the Holy Childhood for help. His confidence was rewarded & by July 1955 a sum of 550 pounds sterling was received from the Holy Childhood. This was the first of many foreign help the Brothers got for St. Charles or for our other institutions later. Brother Julian was not too well. He needed some rest and attention. Considering also that the farm has to be improved, Brother Provincial sent Brother Othon to give his expertise in that area. He spent over month at Sardhana and return to Yercaud by June. He was happy to escape the North Indian heat.
Brother Paul too had health problems. He had already undergone five operations for his hernia and the trouble was persisting. He found also that the Northern Winter was too much for his age he needed medical attention. The Provincial Council which met at San Thome on 23rd September, again examined the financial situation at Sardhana and from 3000/- rupees annual deficit which the Capuchins had informed us was found to be more than 10 times that figure. The council felt that since a very wrong financial situation was presented to us when taking the institution, we were not bound to honor our part of the agreement and that we could come away when we wanted.
However, before accusing others, it was absolutely necessary to make a real study of the finances in light of these realities the following decisions were made: -
1. Brother Amance is to be sent to Sardhana as acting Director till March 1956 to enable Brother Paul to come away to South (Tindivanam).
2. Brother Amance to study the exact financial situation of the school and then decide about our future presence there. These were to take effect from October 1955. On October 23rd, 1955, Brother Eleazar was at Sardhana to preside over the Annual Retreat of the Brothers of the Community. At the end of this Retreat, Bro. Ambrose took his final Vows.
By now our appeal to the Holy Childhood for help for Sardhana mentioned earlier was received. But then the Diocesan authorities had a new idea. They had accepted that there would be an annual deficit for Sardhana to the tune of Rs. 3000/- to overcome that the Diocese was to give that amount from the fund left by Begum Samru. When the Archbishop of Agra heard that the Holy Childhood had sanctioned a sum for the Sardhana Boarding, he wanted the Rs. 3000/- to be kept for the Diocese. Brother Eleazar replied that not only he could not grant his request but that he was seriously considering withdrawing the Brothers from the school on account of the unsound financial situation of the institution. Brother Amance took charge of St. Charles on November 1st, 1955 as acting Director, as Brother Paul had to go back to the south for treatment and rest. Brother Rambert, one of the General Assistants had been appointed Visitor of the Province. He arrived in India on 1st December 1955 and Sardhana was the first Community of the Province, he visited the province on 2nd December.
In the Provincial Council meeting held at San Thome, Madras on 6th& 7th February 1956 Brother Claudian presented the accounts of Sardhana. The institution has cost the Province Rs. 9000/- in 1955. This was the deficit. In spite of it the Province decided to keep the institution. On 20 February 1956, the new Diocese of Meerut came into existence with Bishop Joseph B. Evangelist OFM Cap as the first Bishop, the Diocese having been carved out from the Archdiocese of Agra. So Sardhana came under the Diocese of Meerut. Brother Eleazar went to felicitate him and he in turn assured the Provincial of his interest in the Brothers work and promised all help. Brother Mathurin joined the Sardhana Community to assist in the office on January 1st, 1956. He was a member of the community till the month of May. Brother AlphonseRodriguez joined Sardhana Community to replace Bro. Amance had to go to Ooty to conduct the summer camp for the junior Brothers.
The Council meeting held at Eachinkadu on 27th 1956 confirmed the appointment of Brother Amance as Director of Sardhana who was holding the post as acting Director from the previous year.Since Sardhana was the first Community in North India, the Superiors always felt to have some programs for the Brothers. Therefore Brother Provincial arranged an annual retreat for the communities of Konbir Noatoli and Sardhana from 10th to 17th October 1956. At the end of the Retreat Bro. Mathurin made his final vows. In March 1956 Bro. Augustinus left Sardhana for Belgium to do his second Novitiate. He spent a few days in Rome and in France to study French Language. In his place Mr. Francis Edward the Vice Principal was officiating.
In 1957 Bro. Montfort Mary was appointed as Director and Principal succeeding Bro.Amance had to go to Mosul, Bagdad. Iraq. Bro. Gonsalo replaced Bro. Julian in the Farm. Brother Ambrose was appointed as Principal and Superior of the institution on 31st May 1960. During this time the Brothers were sent to Sardhana for their studies. Bro. Mathew Montfort & Bro. Xavier was the first group who were sent to Sardhana to complete their Intermediate in Hindi Medium. There were lots of problems and misunderstandings with the Diocesan authorities to run the institution. In spite of all these hurdles Brother Ambrose was very much attached to Sardhana. Bro. Herbert thought of providing little comfort to the brothers so he constructed a few rooms with toilets attached for the Brothers to stay. Bro. Ambrose tried his best to give better facilities to the boarders. He constructed the eastern wing with nine classrooms a huge auditorium and five more classrooms in the western wing. So he applied to the Holy Childhood for assistance and it was rewarded. Then the new building for the borders was built by Bro. Patrick in 1967.
Brother Gonsalo was transferred and Bro. Crecentius was appointed as the Headmaster of the Primary School and a new manager of the institution in 1961. Later Bro. Mathias succeeded him as manager of the institution in 1962 and continued up to 1964. In 1965 Brother Geralad Patrick was appointed as an assistant clerk and Bro. Benjamin was an assistant teacher and was told to teach English in Hindi. So he had to learn Hindi before he went to class. Bro. Ambrose continued as the Principal for nearly six years with a bold and daring heart. Even now he is well known among the people of this area. He served this institution up to 1966 and was succeeded by Bro. John De Montfort was the Principal and Superior from 1966 to 1973. Bro. John de Montfort had a great fame in this locality. He had a great memory that he could remember the names of all the students of the college.
1. Fr. Ludwic ( 1896 – 1900) Headmaster
2. Fr, James (1900 -1903) Headmaster
3. Fr. Ludwic( Second Term) (1903-1906) Headmaster
4. Fr. Lewis ( 1906-1910) Headmaster
5. Fr. PacificsMacloni ( 1910-1914) Headmaster
6. Fr. Paul (1914-1915) Headmaster
7. Tarif Singh ( 1915-1918) Headmaster
8. M.P.Sharma ( 1918-1928) Headmaster
9. Mahabir Prasad Mathur ( 1928-1934) Headmaster
10. S.Singh ( 1934-1935) Headmaster
11. Madho Narayan Mathur (1935-1942) Headmaster
12. Sultan Singh ( 1942-1943) Headmaster
13. Rajender Narayan Mathur (1943-1953) Principal
14. Francis Edward ( 1953-1955) Principal
1. Bro. Augustine ( 1955-1957) – No more
2. Bro.Montfort ( James Uralil) ( 1957-1960) – No more
3. Bro.Ambrose ( 1960-19660 ) – No more
4. Bro.John De Montfort ( 1966-1973)- No more
5. Benjamin (1973- 1979) – No more
6. Mani V.J. (1979-1982) who is now the Local Superior of the Provincialate community, Bhopal.
7. K.T. John (1982- 1983) died in a train accident at Salem railway station in order to save a little girl who was traveling with him.
8. Joseph Gabriel (1983- 1986) presently is residing at the Provincialate, Bhopal.
9. Mathew Montfort (1986- 1988) at present resides at Bhopal, as a counselor. He gives courses to the different congregations.
10. Emmanuel P.J. (1988- 1989) was the first Provincial of the Province of Delhi. At present, he is the Superior at St.Gabriel’s Community, Jabalpur, M.P.
11. Barnabas Tete (1989-1991) who is presently in Khandwa (M.P.) as a Bursar and the Superior of ITI, Community.
12. V.J. Joseph (1991- 1997) now he is in Chennai as a principal in one of the schools run by C.S.I.
13. Patras Kujur (1997- 2003) At present he is taking a rest and spending his retired life at Montfort Inter college community, Lucknow. As the Principal at St. Charles’ Inter College, he triedhis very best to bring up the institution. Lots of renovation took place in his time. The ground for the children to play became like a stadium. He also took much interest in the environment. To bring awareness about the environment to the children and people here he planted many trees that look so beautiful in the campus.
14. Bro.V.J.Mani (2003-2007) Now serving as the local Superior and the secretary to the Provincial Superior at Bhopal
15. Bro.Shaji Joseph (2007-2016) now serves as the Principal of Montfort School, Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh.
16. Bro.Anthony Swamy ( 2016-2020) Now serving as the Vice-Principal of St.Francis’ Sr.Secondary School, Bhopal
17. Bro.Sevak Gabriel (2020- ) Presently serving the Institution.
The Managers of the School From 1955 to till date:
1. Bro.M. Paul ( 1955-1956)
2. Bro.Amance ( 1956-1958)
3. Bro. Gonsalo ( 1958-1962)
4. Bro.Mathias ( 1962- 1965)
5. Bro.Crescentius ( 1965-1966)
6. Bro.Damian ( 1966-1970)
7. Bro. Thomas ( 1970-1973)
8. Bro.K.T.John ( 1973-1976)
9. Bro.Mathias ( 1976-1981)
10. Bro.Cherian ( 1981-1982)
11. Bro.John Minj ( 1982-1985)
12. Bro. Raju John ( 1985-1987)
13. Bro.James Ekka ( 1987)
14. Bro..V.J.Joseph ( 1987-1989)
15. Bro.Mathias ( 1989-2008)
16. Bro.Joy Thomas ( 2008-2010)
17. Bro.James Ekka ( 2010- 2013)
18. Bro.Sunil Ekka ( 2013-2018)
19. Bro.Joji Joseph ( 2018-2019)
20. Bro.T.T.Mathew (2019)
21. Bro.K.M.Mathew ( 2019-2020)
22. Bro.Sevak Gabriel ( 2020- continue...)
In the tenure of Bro. Benjamin & Bro. Mani V.J. a beautiful and spacious three-story laboratory building was built up with the donation from Germany.Bro. K.T. John in a very short period of one year not only got renovation of the entire boundary wall but also laid a network of pucca water channels for proper irrigation. The veranda of the main central building has enhanced the beauty of the building. Bro. Joseph Gabriel added the brick-laid pucca road on the campus. Bro. Emmanuel added the Montfort Bhawan building.
The main building which is very old was particularly written off and even thoughts were afoot not only to abandon it but to pull it down. But Bro. Mani V.J. changed it entire roofing and gave it a new lease of life. He also made a brick-laid pucca approach road. Bro. Patras Kujur got the entire roofing of the leaking eastern wing changed. All the approaches to the classrooms got brick-laid. He added a guard room at the gate. The gate itself was renovated. The college ground has been turned into a sports stadium with raised stared pavilions. The entire flooring and accession were redone in the Chemistry lab. He has put the college on sound financial footing. Credit goes to his bold vision and policies. Bro.Shaji Joseph opened the doors for female students in the school and brought a lot of changes to the school system. He also constructed the Grotto of OurLady of Graceon the school campus and developed a beautiful flower garden. Though there were so many hurdles and understanding with the Diocesan authorities Brothers were bold enough to run the institution. To look after the boarders and provide them with nutritious meals Brothers put their heart and soul into the new methods of cultivation. Through this, we could provide them the better food. A new tractor was brought from outside India. The tube well was made for irrigation. Later the farm was the main source for looking after the boarders and meeting their needs. Even now one Brother is allotted to look after the farm. The latest methods of cultivation are being experimented with. Bro. Simon did a great job in this field. At present Sardhana is self-sufficient in all respects. There are so many cash crops. At present, there are 600 hundred mango trees in the orchard. There are nearly 10 to 15 buffaloes which provide milk for the boarders. There is also a poultry and fish pond through which we can provide better meals to the boarders.St. Francis’ Primary school has also flourished a lot. It has become one of the most famous schools in this locality. At present, there are about 600 students and 20 teachers. Brother Mathias did a great job of improving the standard of education and to give better facilities he renovated the classrooms.The standard of the Boarding has also improved a lot. The children are given better facilities for their studies. The Boarders themselves work and cultivate vegetables for their requirement. The boys in the boarding are quite happy. There are always two brothers with the children to meet their needs. At present St. Charles has developed immensely. Lots of improvement has taken place during the last few years. At present, there are four Brothers in the community involved in different activities.
1. Bro. Sevak Gabriel - Superior, Manager of the College and Farm Manager
2. Bro. Balla Francis – Bursar, Boarding in charge & teacher.
3. Bro. Binod Kerketta – Asst.Boarding in charge & teacher
4. Bro. K.C. James – Taking Rest
Ever since the Montfort Brothers of St. Gabriel took over this institution, but for the first few years of uncertainty and ambiguity, they persevered with the mission with a determined heart and unwavering mind and mastered every dimension of activity. Brother after Bother rippling with inner energy & faith in God which sustained them through the turbulent period and day-to-day deliberations took the school to higher realms of discipline, study, and sports and carved a niche in the society for themselves. They are committed and are worthy bearers to carry the torch of Montfortian education forward.