Roman Catholic Diocese of Chilaw

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

Diocese of Chilaw Dioecesis Chilavensis சிலாபம் மறைமாவட்டம்
Location
Country	Sri Lanka
Ecclesiastical province	Colombo
Metropolitan	Colombo
Statistics
Area	2,076 km2 (802 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 1235) 788,000 272,692 (34.6%)
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	5 January 1939
Cathedral	Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Chilaw
Patron saint	Sacred Heart of Jesus
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Arachchige Jayasuriya
Metropolitan Archbishop	Malcolm Ranjith
Vicar General	Rev. Fr. Ashok Priyantha Perera
Episcopal Vicars	Rev. Fr. Patrick Wijesinghe
Website
chilawdiocese.org[1]

Erected as the Diocese of Galle in 1939, the diocese is suffragan to the Archdiocese of Colombo. In 1995, part of the diocese was split off to form the Diocese of Kurunegala.

The current bishop is Warnakulasurya Wadumestrige Devasritha Valence Mendis, appointed in 2006.

St. Mary's Cathedral, Chilaw

Ordinaries

• Louis Perera, O.M.I. † (5 Jan 1939 Appointed - 8 Apr 1939 Died)
• Edmund Peiris, O.M.I. † (12 Jan 1940 Appointed - 27 Dec 1972 Resigned)
• Frank Marcus Fernando, † (27 Dec 1972 Succeeded - 19 Oct 2006 Retired)
• Valence Mendis, (19 Oct 2006 Succeeded - 9 Oct 2021 Appointed, Bishop of Kandy)

See also

• Roman Catholicism in Sri Lanka

External links

• [2]