Roman Catholic Diocese of Anuradhapura

Diocese of Anuradhapura

Dioecesis Anuradhapurensis

அநுராதபுரம் மாவட்ட
Location
CountrySri Lanka
Ecclesiastical provinceColombo
MetropolitanColombo
Statistics
Area10,727 km2 (4,142 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics
(as of 2012)
1,110,904
12,703 (1.1%)
Information
DenominationRoman Catholic
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
CathedralCathedral of St Joseph in Anuradhapura
Patron saintSaint Joseph
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopNorbert Marshall Andradi
Metropolitan ArchbishopMalcolm Ranjith

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Anuradhapura (Lat: Dioecesis Anuradhapurensis) is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church in Sri Lanka.

Originally erected as the apostolic prefecture of Anuradhapura, the prefecture was created from territory in the Diocese of Jaffna and the Diocese of Trincomalee-Batticaloa.

The prefecture was elevated to a full diocese in 1982, and is a suffragan to the Archdiocese of Colombo.

The current bishop is Norbert Marshall Andradi, appointed in 2003.

St. Joseph's Cathedral, possibly the oldest church in Sri Lanka, was founded by the Portuguese missionary Pedro de la Fonseca in 1544. The present building dates from 1845.[1]

Ordinaries

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  • Henry Swithin Thomas Alexander Wijetunge Goonewardena, O.M.I. † (20 Dec 1975 Appointed - 2 Nov 1995 Resigned)
  • Oswald Thomas Colman Gomis (2 Nov 1995 Appointed - 6 Jul 2002 Appointed, Archbishop of Colombo)
  • Norbert Marshall Andradi, O.M.I. (14 Nov 2003 Appointed - )

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Finn Ståhl: Ceylon - en reseguide, p. 98. Stockholm 1977

8°19′17″N 80°24′41″E / 8.3215°N 80.4114°E / 8.3215; 80.4114