St.Mary's College, a Catholic Institution of higher education for women, enjoys a rich heritage of fifty seven years in the cause of the uplift of young girls belonging to the marginalized section of society. Founded in 1948, by Rt. Rev. Tiburtius Roche, the then Bishop of Tuticorin and Rev. Fr. B.S. Susainather, the College functions under the Management of the Sisters of the Mother of Sorrows, Servants of Mary. This college began functioning even before the establishment of a college for the education of young men of this district.

As a Christian Minority Institution, St.Mary’s College is meant primarily for the higher education of Catholic girls in a Christian atmosphere. The targeted group of girls hail from the coastal villages, especially the economically and socially disadvantaged. Other Students however, are admitted without destinction of caste or creed.

Affiliated to the Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, the college offers graduate, post graduate, M.Phil., Ph.D. and a wide range of certificate and diploma courses. Besides scholastic excellence, the college aims at a holistic development of the students. With an initial strength of twenty one students, the College has now grown into a full grown institution with two thousand students. The vision of the college is to make young women, agents of an egalitarian society through liberative education. The motto of the college FIDE VIVANT meaning LIVE BY FAITH is an indicator that the higher education offered here is faith inspired, person oriented and value based with the mission of a liberating involvement with the powerless in the spirit of resurrection.

St. Mary’s College has been visited by great personalities such as Chief Minister, Governors and Vice-Chancellors. Thiru K. Kamaraj, the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, His Excellency Bishnu Ram Mehdi, His Excellency K.K. Shah and Her Excellency Fathima Beevi who have served as Governors of Tamil Nadu, Mrs. Lourdammal Simon and Vice-Chancellors of various Universities, notably the great academicians M. Varadarasan and Dr. C.P. Ramasamy Iyer.

St. Mary’s College was one of the colleges to be accredited in the first cycle of the NAAC in 1999. The students union, tutor-ward system, the parents Teachers Association and the Alumnae Association are the prominent highlights of the institution. The college chapel is a masterpiece of architecture. Christian, Hindu and Islamic structural features have been incorporated into it. Italian sculpture and Byzantine art with stained glass windows make the chapel unique. The hostels in the campus are idyllic in atmosphere. The residence of the Sister beside them and the sylvan surroundings contribute to the socio religious harmony that prevails in the hostels.

The study of Christian doctrine, ethics, yoga, feminism, counseling, Gandhian thought and extension activities such as village adoption schemes, NCC, NSS and AICUF Veeranganai contribute towards the invigorating ethos in the college. Gender sensitization and women’s empowerment form the focal points of all the campus activities, because it is our belief that unless and until women are liberated, the society can never become egalitarian in the real sense.

The fifteen feet statue of the patroness of St.Mary’s College, Our lady of Fatima is placed on a ninety feet tall chimney and blessed in 1955. She is a role model and the inspiring force for all who enter the campus and like her, sing a magnificent of liberation in unison with a socially, culturally, economically and politically egalitarian society.