Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Colombo

The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Colombo (Latin: Archidioecesis Columbensis in Taprobane) is a Latin Metropolitan Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church, whose ecclesiastical province covers all Sri Lanka plus the Maldives (which are within the archbishopric). It depends on the missionary Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

Archdiocese of Colombo

Archidioecesis Columbensis in Taprobane

කොළඹ අගරදගුරු පදවිය
கொழும்பு உயர்மறைமாவட்டம்
Location
Country Sri Lanka
Ecclesiastical provinceColombo
Statistics
Area3,838 km2 (1,482 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics (including non-members)		(as of 2006)
5,692,004
700,000 (12.3%)
Information
DenominationRoman Catholic
RiteRoman Rite
CathedralSt. Lucia's Cathedral
Patron saintSt. Joseph Vaz, Our Lady of Lanka, Our Lady of Madhu, St. Thomas the Apostle
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
Metropolitan ArchbishopMalcolm Ranjith
Auxiliary BishopsSampathawaduge Maxwell Grenville Silva
(2012–to date)
Jayakody Aratchige Don Anton Jayakody
(2018 June–to date)
Anton Ranjith Pillainayagam
(2020 July–to date)
Bishops emeritusOswald Gomis
Archbishop (2002–2009)
Vincent Marius Peiris
Auxiliary Bishop (2000 - 2018)
Website
Website of the Archdiocese

The current archbishop of Colombo, appointed by Pope Benedict XVI on 16 June 2009, is Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith. He is assisted in this role by the auxiliary bishops.

The archdiocesan mother church and cathedral seat of its Metropolitan Archbishop is St. Lucia's Cathedral. Its other National Shrines are the Basilica of Our Lady of Lanka, a minor basilica in Tewatta, and St. Anthony's National Shrine in Kochchikade.

Statistics

As per 2014, it pastorally served 637,729 Catholics (8.8% of 7,281,000 total) on 3,838 km² in 128 parishes with 592 priests (313 diocesan, 279 religious), 1,560 lay religious (380 brothers, 1,180 sisters) and 292 seminarians.[1]

History
  • Erected as the Diocese of Ceylon, on territory split off from the Diocese of Cochin by Pope Gregory XVI on December 3, 1834.
  • Renamed as the Diocese of Colombo on February 17, 1845, having lost territory to establish the then Apostolic Vicariate of Jaffna (now a suffragan diocese).
  • Lost territory on 1883.04.20 to establish the then Apostolic Vicariate of Kandy (now its suffragan diocese)
  • Pope Leo XIII elevated it to Metropolitan Archdiocese of Colombo on September 1, 1886.
  • Lost territories repeatedly : on 1893.08.25 to establish Diocese of Galle and Diocese of Trincomalee, on 1939.01.05 to establish Diocese of Chilaw, all three as its suffragans
  • Its name was changed by Pope Pius XII to the Archdiocese of Colombo in Ceylon on December 6, 1944, but was returned to simply the Archdiocese of Colombo on May 22, 1972 by Pope Paul VI.
  • It enjoyed Papal visits form Pope Paul VI (1970.12), Pope John Paul II (January 1995) and Pope Francis (January 2015).

Ecclesiastical province

Its suffragan sees are :

Bishops

Ordinaries
Bishops of Ceylon
  • Vicente do Rosayro, C.O. (1836-1842)
  • Caetano Antonio Mulsuce, C.O. (1843-1845); see below
Bishops of Colombo
  • Caetano Antonio Mulsuce, C.O. (1845-1857); see above
  • Giuseppe Maria Bravi, O.S.B. Silv. (1857-1860)
  • Hilarion Silani, O.S.B. Silv. (1863-1879)
  • Clemente Pagnani, O.S.B. Silv. (1879-1883), appointed Apostolic Vicar and later Bishop of Kandy
  • Christophe-Etienne Bonjean, O.M.I. (1883-1886); see below
Archbishops of Colombo
  • Christophe-Etienne Bonjean, O.M.I. (1886-1892); see above
  • André-Théophile Mélizan, O.M.I. (1893-1905)
  • Antoine Coudert, O.M.I. (1905-1929)
  • Pierre-Guillaume Marque, O.M.I. (1929-1937)
  • Jean-Marie Masson, O.M.I. (1938-1944); see below
Archbishops of Colombo in Ceylon
  • Jean-Marie Masson, O.M.I. (1944-1947); see above
  • Thomas Cooray, O.M.I. (1947-1972); Cardinal in 1965; see below
Archbishops of Colombo

Coadjutor Archbishops of Colombo

Auxiliary Bishops of Colombo
  • Anthony de Saram (1962-1965) Titular Bishop of Tacapae; appointed Bishop of Galle
  • Frank Marcus Fernando (1965-1968) Titular Bishop of Oliva; appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Chilaw
  • Edmund Joseph Fernando (1968-1983) Titular Bishop of Igilgili; appointed Bishop of Badulla
  • Oswald Gomis (1968-1995) Titular Bishop of Mulia; appointed Bishop of Anuradhapura; later returned here as Archbishop
  • Malcolm Ranjith (1991-1995) Titular Bishop of Cabarsussi; appointed Bishop of Ratnapura; later returned here as Archbishop; future Cardinal
  • Vincent Marius Joseph Peiris (2001-2018) Titular Bishop of Tacarata
  • Fidelis Lionel Emmanuel Fernando (2012-2017) Titular Bishop of Horta; appointed Bishop of Mannar
  • Sampathawaduge Maxwell Grenville Silva (2012-Present) Titular Bishop of Lesina
  • Jayakody Aratchige Don Anton Jayakody (2018-Present) Titular Bishop of Mulli
  • Anton Ranjith Pillainayagam (2020-Present) Titular Bishop of Materiana

List of churches in the Archdiocese
  • Our Lady of Sorrows Church, Kandawala
  • Christ the King Church, Pannipitiya
  • St. Thomas' Church, Kotte
  • Our Lady of Fatima Church, Battaramulla
  • All Saints' Church, Borella
  • St. Mary's Church, Maharagama
  • Sacred Heart Church, Rajagiriya
  • Holy Rosary Church, Slave Island, Colombo-02
  • St. Philip Neri's Church, Pettah, Colombo-12
  • St. Anthony's Church, Kollupitiya, Colombo-03
  • St. Mary's Church. Bambalapitiya, Colombo-04
  • St. Lawrence's Church, Wellawatte, Colombo-06
  • St. Anthony's Shrine, Kochchikade, Colombo
  • Fatima Church, Maradana
  • St. Joseph's Church, Grandpass, Colombo 14
  • St. Mary's Church, Mattakuliya, Colombo 15
  • St. James the Great Church, Mutwal, Colombo 15
  • St. Sebastian's Church, Panchikawatha, Colombo 10

St. Theresa's Church Colombo

The Church of St. Theresa is a Roman Catholic church located at Thimbirigasyaya Road Colombo, Sri Lanka. The current parish priest is Rev. Fr. Neil Dias Karunarathne C.Ss.R..

Over time the Catholic community of the area had been growing, and a Fr. James initiated a process in 1934 to construct the existing church. In 1937, a proposal was made to Fr. Giwdan, the parish priest of Bambalapitiya, to lay a foundation for a Catholic church. The bishop gave his permission, and as a result the temporary structure was built and dedicated to St. Theresa.

In 1951, construction started and in 1952 Archbishop Thomas Corey has handed over the church to Dominican fathers. It was completed and consecrated on 7 October 1961 by Archbishop Thomas Cooray.

See also

References
  1. "Archdiocese of Colombo, Maldives and Sri Lanka".
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