St. Xavier’s College of Education is run by the Society of Jesus. The Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) is a world wide organisation of religious men, numbering about 24,400 who work out of 1825 houses in 112 countries, of whom over 3747 are working in the 16 provinces of India.
In Tamil Nadu, at Madurai in 1609, the Portugal Jesuits started their mission under the leadership of Robert De Nobili. But unfortunately in 1773, the Society of Jesus was suppressed due to some political interference’s and later restored in 1814. After the restoration, the new Madurai Mission was nurtured by French Jesuits. It was on 4th February 1929, the anniversary of the Martyrdom of St. John De Britto, that the Madurai Mission was elevated to the status of Vice-Province, dependent on the Toulouse Province. A few years later, it was raised to an independent province on 15th August 1952 with Fr. Humbert Pinto (1899-1981) as the Acting Provincial. At the time of transfer of power by the French to Indians, there were 400 Jesuits of whom 300 were Indians.
Today in Madurai province, there are more than 500 Jesuits, spilled all over Tamil Nadu, in Nine University Colleges, Nine Higher Secondary Schools, Two Technical Institutes, Three Community Colleges, Five Social Action Centers and other sectors like Communication, Formation, Pastoral, Spiritual and Inter-Faith Dialogue.