World War II ended in 1945 but it did not bring peace to China due to the civil war between the nationalists and the communists. The situation alarmed the founders of St. Joseph Regional Seminary (the bishops of Sienhsien, Yungsien, Taming and Kingshien), on the fate of the seminarians. As it worsened in autumn of 1948, the four bishops decided to transfer the Regional Seminary to the Philippines, assigning Fr. P. F. Burkhardt, S. J., the former Rector of the seminary, to be in charge of the transfer.

In spring of 1949, almost one hundred seminarians and their professors safely departed from China to Manila. They continued their studies and formation in the new site of St. Joseph Seminary in Mandaluyong along Highway 54 (now EDSA). Eighty seminarians were steadfast in their vocation and became priests. Many of them founded Chinese schools in the different parts of the country. One of these is St. Joseph School in Naga City.

The History

In 1958, Msgr. Joseph Chen and Father Joseph Ly were employed in Naga Asian Cultural High School. Msgr. Chen was Prefect of Studies and Fr. Ly was a member of the school faculty teaching Chinese literature.

A year later, when the ACHS school principal went to Manila for medical checkup, he met the young priest Fr. Stanislaus Chin, whom he invited to come to Naga to teach and join the other two priests at ACHS. Although Fr. Chin had not finished yet his Bachelor's Degree in Physics and Mathematics at the University of Santo Tomas, he accepted the invitation in obedience to his superior. Thus, he proceeded to Naga City and taught at ACHS together with Msgr. Chen and Father Ly. Feeling that they were not only teachers but also missionary priests, they found their work unfulfilling because they could not teach the Catholic faith in school. Hence the idea of opening their own Chinese Catholic School in Naga City was conceived.

Immediately, Msgr. Chen, Father Ly and Father Chin undertook the preparations for the realization of their plan. They asked for the consent of Archbishop Pedro P. Santos, D.D. and he readily gave his approval to operate a coeducational school since at that time, all Catholic schools in Naga City were either exclusive for boys or for girls.

In December 1959, with the financial aid extended by Bishop Phillip Côté, S.J., Archbishop of Xuzhou Jingsu, China the priests acquired the present one and one-half-hectare lot located along Panganiban Drive. With this development, financial help started to pour in from Bishop Juan B. Velasco, the International Bishop of Chinese priests and from the Filipino-Chinese Catholic Association for the construction of the first building.

On Feb. 7, 1959, the construction started and the school was finally opened on June 11, 1960 with temporary permit from the Department of Education. It was named St. Joseph School for three reasons. First, most of the priests bear the Christian name Joseph. Secondly, they would like to remember the name of their seminary. And lastly, with their strong devotion to St. Joseph, the Patron of the Universal Church, they would like to place the school under his care and protection.

The school started with 192 students. Msgr. Joseph Chen served as the Director, and Fr. Didacus Ma, as Principal. They were supported by the late Fr. Joseph Ly, Prefect of Studies; Fr. Joseph Limingchin, Prefect of Discipline; Fr. Stanislaus Chin, Prefect of General Affairs and Fr. Joseph Kung, Treasurer. All of them were products of St. Joseph Seminary. In 1964, the school produced its first 9 high school graduates. In the same year, the Kindergarten building was constructed with the help of the Filipino Chinese Catholic Association of men and women sections. The gymnasium was completed in 1970 but a strong typhoon toppled it down. After a year, it was fully reconstructed to become the city's largest gymnasium with a total floor area of 1,296 square meters; the stage alone comprising 288 square meters.

Right after the proclamation of Martial Law, the school, which was originally considered a Chinese Catholic School, was recognized as a Filipino Catholic School offering Chinese subjects as part of its curriculum. The year 1976 saw the completion of a bigger school chapel situated at the entrance of the school campus. Since then it has served as the heart of the life of SJS community and center of the spiritual activities.

Under the persevering effort and selfless leadership of Msgr. Chen, the school was officially recognized by the Department of Education on June 4, 1978. After 18 years, it has proven its worth by its outstanding performance in academic and non-academic competitions like the BACS meet, achievement tests and by its quality graduates who excel in the tertiary level.

At the time of the official recognition, the student population had already reached 609 students and it has grown rapidly to more than 1,000 students, which demanded for additional building and facilities. In 1981 a two-storey building was constructed, which housed the entire primary department. Seven years later, another building was constructed through the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Jose Tan Bunkeng and family. This structure houses the clinic, office and canteen and on its ground floor, and a social hall on the second floor, which was later, converted into a computer laboratory in the late nineties.

After almost 30 years, the school has maintained its reputation for academic excellence and discipline. It has drawn more and more students that the population had gone up to almost two thousand students with 60 faculty members. With the steady growth of the school, Fr. Stanislaus Chin, the school Director decided to buy 6,300 sq. meters lot which paved the way for the construction of a three-storey building. It was formally inaugurated on Feb. 28, 2003 by Archbishop Leonardo Z. Legaspi and named as Bishop Philippe Cote building. The building has become a unique landmark in Naga City for its castle structural design.

On June 1, 2000, the administration of the school was turned over to the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Sister Consolata Yang was the first school directress and was later succeeded by Sister Cabrini Hsieh the following school year. Under her administration, a new dynamism has pervaded the school. She prioritized the improvement of Science instruction by constructing a new Science laboratory building. There was also the expansion of the library and the construction of an additional facility, the multi-media room. She has spearheaded the renewed interest in Chinese cultural activities like the Chinese New Celebration and musical performances like the SJS Rondalla Group and Fiddler's Group. On her fifth year as school directress, the school was blessed with a series of victory in Math, Science, Communications Arts, and sports competitions.

As the school is gearing towards its golden year, it has never lost sight of its mission of evangelization. Aside from its numerous graduates who have internalized Catholicism as their way of life, it has produced precious vocation to the priesthood and religious life.