Early years

The Jesuits came to Iloilo City in 1953 after being expelled from China by the Communists, and continued their apostolic work in the local Chinese community. They first did parish-pastoral ministry. With the support of the Iloilo Chinese and Filipino communities, Santa Maria Parish under the tutelage of Our Lady Queen of China was established by Fr. Guerrino Marsecano, an Italian Jesuit missionary.

Jesuits believe that quality education is essential in molding good Catholic Christians. So in 1958, with nine students as enrollees, Fr. Andrew Joliet, a French Jesuit, and Fr. Santiago Leon, a Spanish Jesuit, acting as Founder/Director and Principal respectively, opened a parochial school that was named Sta. Maria Catholic School (SMCS). A year after the founding of the school, a two-story wooden building was constructed to provide the students with eight classrooms. In 1962, through the beneficence of Eduardo and Cesar Lopez, additional classrooms were built on the brothers' lot situated across the street.

SMCS had its first batch of graduates from the Grade School Department in school year 1965–66. The school accepted its first batch of high school freshmen in school year 1966–67. SMCS held its first high school graduation in March 1970. In 1968, the Philippine government recognized SMCS as a Filipino school with a comprehensive Chinese language program.^[1]

From nine pupils in 1958, SMCS's student population had continuously grown. It accepted a total of 615 enrollees for high school alone in 1970. However, due to the decision of the Chinese Provincial superior to maintain only an elementary school, no freshmen were accepted for the school year 1971–72. As a result, high school enrollment plummeted to 513 and to 481 the following year. When parents of the students protested the phasing-out of the high school department, the Chinese Provincial Superior reconsidered his decision. A year after, enrollment started picking up as freshmen were again allowed to enroll for the school year 1972–73.^[1]

Meanwhile, a donation of 3,600 square meters of land by the Lopez family in June 1972 paved the way for the construction of a four-story concrete building in 1974 to replace the wooden one. The French-German missionary Fr. Arthur Baur, S.J., parish priest and Superior of the Sta. Maria community, added a new wing to the school in 1977.

Despite the limitations of a constricted space, SMCS's complex continued to grow under the tenure of Fr. John Chi, SJ. When SMCS celebrated its 25th founding anniversary in 1983, improvements such as the construction of additional comfort rooms, large classrooms, and a cluster of offices were undertaken. A two-story structure was also put up to house classrooms for kindergarten pupils. Two years later, administrative offices on the ground floor of the school were renovated and a conference room was added.^[1]

The integration of the Jesuits of the China Province delegation in the Philippines into the Jesuit Philippine Province on September 27, 1988, resulted in all the former delegation works being placed under the care and control of the Philippine Jesuit provincial superior. This facilitated the assignment of Filipino Jesuits to the three Chinese-Filipino schools run by Jesuits: the Santa Maria Catholic School (Iloilo), Sacred Heart School–Ateneo de Cebu, and Xavier School (San Juan, Metro Manila).^[1]

Recent years

With the incessant clamor of SMCS alumni and the local Iloilo community to let their children study in a Jesuit school, a plan for expansion and transfer to a new and spacious site was initiated.

On April 30, 2004, a Memorandum of Agreement was signed by Jesuit Father Provincial Romeo J. Intengan, S.J., Fr. Manuel A. Uy Jr., S.J., Director of SMCS, and Victor F. Pison of the Kauuturan Pison Development Corporation (KAPIDECO). The latter was donating 2.5 hectares of land to be part of the 7.5-hectare campus of a new Ateneo, the first in the Visayas. Archbishop Angel Lagdameo of the Archdiocese of Jaro and Iloilo City Mayor Jerry P. Treñas, an Ateneo de Manila alumnus, witnessed the MOA signing which formalized the establishment of the Ateneo de Iloilo – Santa Maria Catholic School, a Jesuit school separate from the parish.^[1]

The new school campus is on a 7.5-hectare property in Barangay San Rafael, Mandurriao District, Iloilo City. This site is the new main campus of the school. Buildings for the preschool, grade school, high school, and administration were constructed in this new campus, along with a covered gymnasium, sports complex, and church. Phase 1 of the master plan of the new campus was completed and the High School Department transferred to the new site in June 2010.^[1][2]

Groundbreaking rites for the construction of a four-story building (Phase 2) worth P200 million for the use of the Grade School Department and the Administration were held on June 1, 2013. Construction of the Grade School and Administration buildings (Phase 2) began in late 2013. It was opened for Preschool and Grades 1–2 in 2016 and became fully operational in the school year after.^[1][3][4]

The school has totally transferred to the new site in Barangay San Rafael, Mandurriao District, Iloilo City, in 2017, with 2,100 students and 200 faculty and staff. The old campus at General Blanco Street is now being used as a center for evangelization and pastoral activities by the Jesuits. School year 2018–2019 marks the school's Golden Anniversary with a theme: 60 years of forming leaders ignited by love and service.^[5]