Roman Catholicism in Sri Lanka

St. Sebastian's Church in Negombo

The Roman Catholic Church in Sri Lanka (Sinhala: Sri Lankavay Katholika Sabhava) is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and curia in Rome. The country comes under the province of Colombo and is divided into 11 dioceses including one archdiocese.There are approximately 1.2 million Catholics in Sri Lanka representing around 6.1% of the total population.

In 1995, at a ceremony in Colombo, Pope John Paul II beatified Father Joseph Vaz, an early missionary to the country, who was known as the Apostle of Ceylon.

Early History

Records of ancient travelers to Sri Lanka reports that a separate area was allocated for Christians in the ancient capital Anuradhapura and there was a Christian chapel used by the Persian merchants who came to Ceylon in around 5th century. The Persian cross excavated in Anuradhapura belonging to the 5th century and the decorative baptismal pond excavated near Vavuniya proves presence of Christians in Sri Lanka during the early period Anuradhapura Kingdom. Two crosses excavated around Anuradhapura in 1913 said to be identical to the cross at St Thomas Mount near Chennai.

Modern history

On 15 November 1505 a Portuguese fleet commanded by Lourenço de Almeida, having been driven by a storm to the shores of Sri Lanka, landed in Colombo. With permission of the king of Kotte, Dharma Parakramabahu IX, Alimeida erected a trade station and a small chapel in Colombo. The chapel was dedicated to St Lawrence. Franciscan Friar Vicente, the chaplain of the fleet, celebrated Mass. This is the first record of a Catholic mass on Sri Lankan soil. Over the next few centuries, Portuguese, Dutch, and Irish missionaries spread the religion in Sri Lanka, most notably in the western and northwestern coast, where in some places Catholics are half the population.

Important churches

Dioceses	Church	Type	Town
Anuradhapura	St. Joseph’s Cathedral	Cathedral	Anuradhapura
Badulla	St. Mary’s Cathedral	Cathedral	Badulla
Chilaw	St. Mary’s Cathedral	Cathedral	Chilaw
Colombo	St. Lucia’s Cathedral	Cathedral	Kotahena
	Basilica of Our Lady of Lanka	National Shrine	Tewatta, Ragama
	St. Anthony’s National Shrine	National Shrine	Kochchikade
Galle	St. Mary’s Cathedral	Cathedral	Galle
Jaffna	St. Mary’s Cathedral	Cathedral	Jaffna
Kandy	St. Anthony’s Cathedral	Cathedral	Kandy
Kurunegala	St. Anne’s Cathedral	Cathedral	Kurunegala
Mannar	St. Sebastian’s Cathedral	Cathedral	Mannar
Ratnapura	Ss. Peter & Paul Cathedral	Cathedral	Ratnapura
Roman Catholic Diocese of Trincomalee	St. Mary’s Cathedral	Cathedral	Trincomalee
	St. Mary's Co-Cathedral	Co-Cathedral	Batticaloa

References

• history of Catholicism in Sri Lanka

External links

• The Catholic Church in Sri Lanka by Giga-Catholic Information
• Profile of the Catholic church in Sri Lanka
•  "Ceylon". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913.