He was everywhere in the school and knew everything that was happening Rev. Fr. Stephen Abraham – By Victor Melder
“When the principal sneezes, the whole school catches a cold. This is neither good nor bad; it is just the truth. The principal’s impact is significant; his focus becomes the school’s focus.” These are Whitaker’s words and they illustrate the predominant role that a principal has in a school.
The Wallace Foundation gives a principal’s five key responsibilities: Establishing a school-wide vision of commitment to high standards and success of all students; ensuring that learning is at the centre of all activities; cultivating leadership in others; improving achievement by focusing on the quality of instruction and managing people and resources at hand.
Rev. Fr. Stephen Abraham fulfilled these commitments at the highest level possible at St. Anthony’s College, Katugastota, for 15 years from 1979 to 1994. He was born on February 15, 1933 and ordained as a priest in the Benedictine order of the Catholic Church on December 17, 1964. He passed away on February 21, 2026. As such he was in the service of God as a priest for 62 years of his life of 93 years.
St. Anthony’s College went through a difficult period after the handing over of the school to the government. It is at this stage that Fr. Stephen was appointed as Principal. In his own inimitable manner he took control with authority and raised the confidence of the staff and the community. He had the vision to realize that boosting the level of confidence had to be the priority. Alongside, he laid his emphasis on maintaining a strict code of discipline.
A quality that any good principal should possess is to be a great communicator. Fr. Stephen had that natural ability; he made connections with each person showing them that he cared about their situations. Through these connections he set high expectations for each individual. The articulation and eloquence of his expression convinced people of his opinions and decisions. He was also blessed with a sound sense of humour and it helped to ease tensions and resolve conflicting situations. More importantly, he was passionate about his responsibilities as the head of the school and spent all his time and energy with the sole objective of creating a proper environment for the students to be responsible learners striving for personal excellence.
Fr. Stephen was everywhere in the school and knew everything that was happening within the premises.
In 1979 when the school celebrated its 125th anniversary, Fr. Stephen invited then President J. R. Jayewardene as chief guest at the prize giving. In his speech at this function, he said, “The progress of any society depends mainly on discipline and discipline is not come by so easily unless the members of the society work towards it. No nation can be great unless its students aspire to greatness. But all this calls for training which is impossible without quality in teaching. Teachers should command the greatest respect in the land. Teaching is not a mere avocation, it is indeed a vocation and a very noble one at that.”
Fr. Stephen believed in developing the whole person. He laid emphasis in the academic arena but also on extra-curricular activities. He believed that inculcating and enhancing values such as compassion, integrity, courage, determination, gratitude, loyalty and patience are crucial for the proper upbringing of the younger generation.
In 1980, he invited the Prime Minister R. Premadasa for that year’s prizegiving ceremony and in the principal’s address he said, “When our young charges leave this emotionally safe and secure world of school with all its disciplines, they must be able to adjust to the wider world in which they must live and work. It is our responsibility to see that they leave the College mentally, spiritually and physically whole, so that they in turn may assume the roles they will be called upon to fulfil in the future,” demonstrating his belief in the advocacy of values.
He identified sports activities as a healthy medium to instil discipline and an acceptable value system and did his utmost in promoting, encouraging and popularizing all types of sports in the school. With his foresight and guidance, the school gained new heights in almost all spheres of sports activity. Three great sportsmen who had their grounding in that era, are legendary cricketer Muttiah Muralidharan, Priyantha Ekanayake – a respected past rugby captain of Sri Lanka and president of SLRFU and Udaya Weerakoon – a former national and world inter-airline badminton champion.
He did not neglect the expansion of the infrastructure in the school in keeping with the needs of the time. Some of the projects completed during his time were the building of a two-storey block of classrooms with the assistance of funds released by the Prime Minister, completion of the indoor sports complex and later a pavilion named after the famous Antonian cricketer Jack Anderson, with the help of the Old Boys’ Association.
The inspiration that Fr. Stephen Abraham had as Principal within the school community of St. Anthony’s College can be aptly described by John Quincy Adam’s quotation, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader”.
May God grant him the eternal reward!
