Introduction

St. Thomas College, Palai, was founded in 1950 by the Diocese of Palai. The founders of the college set before themselves the task of providing a Christian formation to the younger generation by fostering in their minds faith in God, love for their fellow-men and devotion to motherland. These aims are to be realised by imparting moral and religious discipline in addition to the instruction aimed at general intellectual and physical advancement. They made it their mission to spread the light of learning all around, irrespective of caste, creed, religion or language.

The College coat of arms symbolically suggests the intellectual and moral task the college assigns to itself. The motto on the crest, “Vita (Life), Lux (Light), Amor (Love)” shows how light and love, which stand for knowledge and fellow-feeling respectively, can enrich a person’s life. The bearings on the shield represent a river in the lower portion, a pepper-vine, a book and a lamp and a setsquare in the upper portion. The river is River Meenachil on whose banks the college is seated. The pepper - vine denotes the trade and agrarian associations of Palai and the charges to its right are symbols of learning and skill. Further, the setsquare evokes memories of St. Thomas, our Heavenly Patron, who is traditionally represented as holding a setsquare.