Rev. Fr. Herman P.M. Thijssen, MHM
Rev. Fr. Herman P.M. Thijssen, MHM
St. Joseph's Missionary Society of Mill Hill
1 September 1903
Haarlem, Netherlands
17 July 1932
Mill Hill, London
Nellore
British India (1932)
March 1949
Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Answering a sacred calling to faith and service, Father Thijssen dedicated his life to establishing premier educational institutions that empower young minds and build communities across generations.
Early Life and Formative Years (1903 - 1932)
Birth: Born on September 1, 1903, in Haarlem, the Netherlands, Herman P.M. Thijssen grew up nurtured in deep Christian devotion and scholastic excellence.
Missionary Education: Answering an early calling to faith and global service, he joined the St. Joseph's Missionary Society of Mill Hill (the Mill Hill Fathers). He completed his rigorous academic and priesthood training across Mill Hill colleges in Tilburg and Roosendaal in the Netherlands, before concluding his final theological studies at the Mill Hill Headquarters in London, England.
Ordination: On July 17, 1932, Father Thijssen was formally ordained into the Catholic priesthood at Mill Hill, London, dedicating his life to missionary outreach and youth education.
Early Subcontinent Mission: Immediately following his ordination in the summer of 1932, Father Thijssen was posted to Nellore in British India. This formative assignment ignited his lifelong mission: founding and building premier educational institutions to empower local communities through knowledge, character, and discipline.
Founding St. Mary's Cambridge School (March 1949)
Following the monumental events of Partition in 1947, Father Thijssen moved to the historic garrison city of Rawalpindi. Tasked directly by the Roman Catholic Diocese with meeting the urgent post-independence demand for a premier English-medium boys' school, he laid the enduring foundations of our institution.
The Launch (March 1949)
In March 1949, Father Thijssen officially founded Saint Mary's Cambridge School and took up office as our visionary Founding Principal, personally shaping the academic standards, pastoral ethos, and school motto.
The Shared Spaces on Saidpur Road
Because the newly established school did not yet have its own standalone campus, Father Thijssen demonstrated resourcefulness and humility: he temporarily began running the first-ever classes out of the basement of the newly constructed, upcoming Holy Family Hospital facility on Saidpur Road, Rawalpindi.
Moving Into Our Permanent Home: The Old Holy Family Hospital
The identity of our school changed forever when we moved to our permanent home: a historic property steeped in medical and community heritage.
The History of Our Campus (1927)
The stately red-brick building on Murree Road, situated between Liaquat Bagh and Committee Chowk, was originally built in 1927. For over two decades, it served as the original Holy Family Hospital, managed with compassion by the Medical Mission Sisters.
The Handover to Saint Mary's
Once the Medical Mission Sisters shifted their hospital operations to their modern complex in Satellite Town, the original hospital structure on Murree Road became vacant.
From Hospital Wards to Classrooms
Recognizing its incredible potential, Father Thijssen and the Diocesan Board of Education acquired the building. Under Father Thijssen's direct supervision, the old hospital wards, clinics, and wings were systematically converted into the classrooms, hallways, and laboratories that generations of Saint Mary's students have walked through ever since.
Archival Heritage
Glimpses of Father Thijssen's Legacy
Rare photographs preserved from the foundation years of Saint Mary's Cambridge School on Murree Road. Click any photo to examine in full resolution.
Rev. Fr. Herman P.M. Thijssen, MHM
Founding Principal (March 1949)
Original Holy Family Hospital Campus (1927)
Murree Road Heritage
Students and Early Cohort (16 October 1951)
Murree Road Grounds
The Esteemed Teaching Faculty (May 1963)
Founding Mentors & Clergy