;The Origin – A House at Wan Chai's Slum In 1860, a small group of
Canossian Sisters left their native
Italy and moved to Hong Kong for
evangelism. In order to teach and care for the moral welfare of the many poor children who lived in
Wan Chai, in 1869, Canossian Sisters took a house to provide proper education with an emphasis on moral growth and self-respect to the poor and needy, which was the beginning of today's St. Francis' Canossian College. The Sisters did not only start a school, they also set up a hospital and an orphanage at the same address. After visiting the school, the
Governor of Hong Kong was very impressed with the school's education, so he invited the school to join the "Grant-in-aid" Scheme. Although the school became a government establishment and one of the earliest
Grant Schools in Hong Kong, the administration and management still belonged to
Canossian Daughters of Charity. ;The Development in Post-War Era The school closed in 1941 due to the
Japanese Occupation, but the determination and passion of the Sisters did not waver. After the
World War II ended in 1945, the school re-opened and was named "Sacred Heart Junior School" until 1953 when it was renamed as "St. Francis' Canossian College." As a result of increasing demand of school places, the school started an expansion project with two extensions completed in 1956 and 1958. In the meantime, the school established the first team of
Red Cross Youth Unit in 1956, which became one of the most sizable uniform groups in Hong Kong. To further fulfill educational needs, the school introduced Form Six classes in 1962 and since then provided quality education from Primary One to Form Six. The hall building also opened in 1985, which consisted of a gymnasium, a library, a needlework room, a cookery room etc. ;The Millennium Campus Eventually, only the school campus for both secondary section and primary section remained standing on
Kennedy Road while the other buildings on St. Francis Street were used as the convent for Canossian Sisters and Caritas Magdalene School. Caritas Magdalene School was redeveloped into the new campus for the primary section in 2007 and the expansion project for the primary section finished in 2010. St. Francis' redevelopment construction for secondary section has started in 2011 and finished in 2018. The total site area of primary and secondary section is around 9,517m2, which takes up the hillside from St. Francis Street to Kennedy Road.
Timeline 19th century • 1869 – School was founded on 7 May. In response to
Catholic Diocese's request,
Canossian Daughters of Charity started a school around the
St. Francis Yard area and took charge of the first Catholic hospital in Hong Kong, St. Francis' Hospital, which was once abandoned by Catholic Diocese. • 1870 – A piece of land was granted by the government to build the campus, where included a hospital, an orphanage and a school taught in Chinese, English and Portuguese. • 1876 – First graduation of Primary Six students. • 1881 – School joined the "Grant-in-aid" scheme. Among the existing
Grant Schools, St. Francis' was the first girls' school in the program.
20th century • 1920–1940 – The school consisted of a kindergarten, a primary school and a junior secondary school with a total of over 500 students. The secondary section was known as "St. Francis' School", which was a girls' English school. The co-educational primary section was named as "Holy Infant School" and divided into Chinese and English sections. Although the majority of students were girls, boys under 10 years old were accepted. After graduation, boys will be promoted to other boys' secondary schools, such as
St. Joseph College and
Wah Yan College, Hong Kong. • 1945 – School reopened after
World War II and was named as "Sacred Heart Junior School." • 1952 – Visit of
Governor Sir Alexander Grantham. • 1953 – School was renamed as "'''St. Francis' Canossian College'''." • 1956 – The East Wing (Phrase I Building for the Primary Section) was completed. The first team of
Red Cross Youth Unit (Youth Unit One) in Hong Kong was formed on 5 November. • 1958 – Second phrase of the school building (Administration Block) was completed. First graduation of Form Five graduates. • 1960 – The Past Students' Association was established. Visit of
Bishop Lorenzo Bianchi. With St. Francis' Hospital being moved to Old Peak Road, St. Francis' was further expanded. • 1962 – First year of Sixth Form Classes. • 1963 – The West Wing (Phrase III building for the Secondary Section) was completed. First batch of matriculants presented to
University of Hong Kong. • 1970 – Fund-raising activities for the Hall building were launched. • 1975 – The Student Association was set up. • 1985 – School Hall building was completed. • 1986 – The Parent Teacher Association was set up. • 1994 – School celebrated its 125th anniversary with the motto "The World needs our Care." • 1998 – Conversion of the covered playground into a Multi-purpose unit.
21st century • 2000 – The campus was extensively damaged by
landslide on 24 August. The school reopening was postponed to mid-September. • 2002 – Project Learning curriculum was implemented in junior classes. • 2004 – School celebrated its 135th anniversary with the motto "Our Dream is still Alive." • 2009 – School celebrated its 140th anniversary with the motto "Magdalene's Dream in Motion." • 2010 – The new campus of the primary section was completed and the official move-in was in September. • 2011 – Open Day for the new campus of the primary section.
Michael Suen Ming-yeung was the honourable guest of the opening ceremony. The secondary section started seeking consultation for the redevelopment project in
Wan Chai District. The owners of the nearby luxury homes once complained about the new campus design due to the fear of depreciation in property values. • 2012 – First Swimming Gala. Fund-raising campaign for the redevelopment of the secondary section, "Bring Back Our Angels", was launched. • 2013 – "Bring Back Our Angels" Fund-raising Variety Show was held at Lyric Theatre,
Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.
Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor delivered an opening speech as an officiating guest.
Bowie Wu Fung performed as a special guest since his three daughters were
alumni.
List of Principals ==School information==