It caters to the educational needs of wide and divergent sections of students with an emphasis on the poor and downtrodden.

Due to the efforts of Jesuit missionaries, the College made a humble beginning in a thatched roof with just one student and five Jesuit teachers at the coastal town of Nagapattimam in 1844, to cater for the educational needs of Native Indians, Anglo-Indians and Europeans without any discrimination.

Students were taught Greek, Latin, Tamil, French, English, Geometry and Algebra.

Due to administrative reasons, the college was shifted to Trichinopoly, the centrally located town of Tamil Nadu, on 18 January 1881.

Through sheer commitment, persistence and divine assistance, the College could tide over this huge crisis and continued to serve the cause of education and students' welfare.

In 1896, the College established a Symphony Orchestra Band to prepare students for a professional career in music.

In 1924, a course on Mechanical and Electrical Engineering was introduced, which was offered to the science students of the Intermediate and BA classes.

In 1994, the College celebrated its sesquicentenary year by organizing year-long events that culminated with a large exhibition for the school children and general public.

Between 2013 and 2020 infrastructure upgrades and renovations were carried out, including: In 2024, the Toulouse Arena was built and inaugurated.

The School System was introduced in 2014 by forming five different schools with a view to maximizing resources, [1] sharing expertise across disciplines and enhancing lateral mobility in order to achieve holistic development, cross-discipline exposure and augmenting employment opportunity.

The college has a century - old Museum, Herbarium and Band, besides a library with 1.77 Lakh+ volumes of books, 5100 rare collections and 200+ print journals.