Muffles Junior College
Muffles Junior College is in Orange Walk District, Belize.
| Motto | Making Christian Education Meaningful |
|---|---|
| Type | Junior College |
| Established | 1992 |
| Location | 1.3 miles San Estevan Road , Orange Walk Town Orange Walk District , Belize |
| Website | www.mjc.edu.bz/ |
History
In 1954 Jesuit Fr. Ring helped launch a high school in Orange Walk, named after Fr. Joseph Meuffels, S.J. (The spelling of the college name was adjusted to the way it is pronounced.) Sisters of Mercy took charge of the school in 1967.[1] In 1992 the need for tertiary level classes in Orange Walk District led to the first junior college classes at Muffles, with an enrollment of thirty-eight students pursuing the Associate Degree in Business Science. The first graduating class on June 11, 1994, numbered 22. With the support of the local community and government, Muffles Junior College relocated to its own campus in 2002. By 2012 nine associate degree programs enrolled approximately 400 students.[2]
Namesake
Muffles College is named after Fr. Joseph Meuffels, a Jesuit from Holland who arrived in Belize in 1898 and taught at St. John’s College for two years. In 1900 he began a twenty-year stint pastoring the Orange Walk church. He saw through the building of the present Inmaculada, replacing the earlier building destroyed by fire on November 28, 1899. With the help of Brother Naughton, S.J., Meuffels expanded the work of the schools and in 1914 brought the Pallottines to Orange Walk. In 1920 he returned to SJC where he taught religion and was a counselor until his death on January 23, 1931. To the left he is pictured with Bishop Joseph Murphy in 1928.[1]
References
- Woods, Charles M. Sr., et al. Years of Grace: The History of Roman Catholic Evangelization in Belize: 1524-2014. (Belize: Roman Catholic Diocese of Belize City-Belmopan, 2015), pp. 109, 170, 186.
- "Muffles Junior College". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
