St. Xavier's College is a private, Catholic, autonomous higher education college under Calcutta University run by the Calcutta Province of the Society of Jesus in Kolkata, India. It was founded by the Jesuits in 1860 and named after St. Francis Xavier, a Jesuit saint of the 16th century, who travelled to India. In 2006, it became the first autonomous college in West Bengal, India, and is affiliated to the University of Calcutta. The National Institutional Ranking Framework has ranked the college 4th in India in 2021 and 8th in 2022. History The crest has remained the same, since it was undertaken in 1905. The college was founded in 1860 by the Jesuits, an all-male Catholic religious order formed by Saint Ignatius of Loyola. The college is named after Francis Xavier, the 16th century Spanish Jesuit saint. The founder of the college is Fr. Henri Depelchin. SJ. He had overseen most of the ground work, during the foundation years. Sans Souci theatre 30 Park Street (now Mother Teresa Sarani), Kolkata-700016, was where the Sans Souci theatre was located, before 1843. A fire broke out in 1843, leaving nothing but ashes. This same address was later bought by 7 Jesuits, who had arrived from Belgium. It is here, that the present day campus stands tall. Foundation years The present 30, Park Street address where the college is situated, is an amalgamation of numbers 10 and 11 of Park Street. Premise number 11, was bought for Rs 45,000.00, by Fr. Depelchen. These funds were made possible with the generous donations of the Anglo-Indians and with help from the home Province of Belgium. Park street is located in the heart of Kolkata and is a landmark street in the city, a melting pot of its diverse cultural, culinary, social and intellectual milieu. The very first class had as few as 40 students. Later, in 1862, two years after its inception, the college was affiliated to the Calcutta University. However, there was a paucity of funds for expansion work in terms of class rooms and to accommodate the Jesuits fathers. So The Rector appealed to the public of Calcutta in newspapers for generous assistance and was responded to with magnanimity by well wishers of the city in 1864. Besides Fr Depelchin and his assistant, Br. Koppes the builder went around personally collecting funds. The present imposing 5 storied building was built in an interval of