Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Colombo
| Archdiocese of Colombo Archidioecesis Columbensis in Taprobane කොළඹ අගරදගුරු පදවිය கொழும்பு உயர்மறை | |
|---|---|
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| Location | |
| Country |
 |
| Ecclesiastical province | Colombo |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 3,838 km2 (1,482 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2006) 5,692,004 700,000 (12.3%) |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Cathedral | St. Lucia's Cathedral |
| Patron saint | St. Joseph Vaz, Our Lady of Lanka, Our Lady of Madhu, St. Thomas the Apostle |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Metropolitan Archbishop | Malcolm Ranjith |
| Auxiliary Bishops |
Sampathawaduge Maxwell Grenville Silva (2012–to date) Jayakody Aratchige Don Anton Jayakody (2018 June–to date) |
| Emeritus Bishops |
Nicholas Marcus Fernando Archbishop Emeritus (1977–2002) Oswald Gomis Archbishop Emeritus (2002–2009) Vincent Marius Peiris Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus (2000 - 2018) Emmanuel Fidelis Fernando Auxiliary Bishop (2012 - 2017) |
| Website | |
| Website of the Archdiocese | |
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). Yet is depends on the missionary Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
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 archidiocesan motherchurch 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 (French colonial Indochinese) 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 :
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Anuradhapura
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Badulla
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Batticaloa
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Chilaw
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Galle
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Jaffna
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Kandy
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Kurunegala
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Mannar
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Ratnapura
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Trincomalee
Ordinaries
Bishops of Ceylon
- Vicente do Rosayro, C.O. (1836-1842)
- Caetano Antonio Mulsuce, C.O. (1843-1845)
Bishops of Colombo
- Caetano Antonio Mulsuce, C.O. (1845-1857)
- 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)
Archbishops of Colombo
- Christophe-Etienne Bonjean, O.M.I. (1886-1892)
- 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)
Archbishops of Colombo in Ceylon
- Jean-Marie Masson, O.M.I. (1944-1947
- Cardinal Thomas Cooray, O.M.I. (1947-1972)
Archbishops of Colombo
- Cardinal Thomas Cooray, O.M.I. (1972-1976)
- Nicholas Fernando (1977-2002)
- Oswald Gomis (2002-2009)
- Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith (2009-present)
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
- 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 the St. Theresa's 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..
In 1937, a proposal was made to Fr. Giwdan, the parish priest of Bambalapitiya, to lay a foundation for a Catholic church. Bishop has given his permission and as a result the temporary structure was built and dedicated to St. Theresa. In time the Catholic community of the area grew and Fr. James has initiated a process in 1934 to construct the existing church.
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.