Fidelis Fernando
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Right Reverend Dr. Fidelis Lionel Emmanuel Fernando (, ; born 20 May 1948) is a Sri Lankan priest and current
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
Bishop of Mannar. He is the first Bishop appointed from among the Bharatha community of Sri Lanka.


Early life and ministry

Fernando was born in 1948 to Xavier Bastian Fernando- an engineer- and Gnanasourubi Fernando in
Jaffna Jaffna (, ; , ) is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka, Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a Jaffna Peninsula, peninsula of the same name. With a population o ...
. The family were devout Catholics, and part of the Sri Lankan Bharatha community descended from immigrants from Vembar,
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
. The family moved to
Grandpass Grandpass is a suburb in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is part of an area known as ''Colombo 14''. History During the Portuguese administration in Sri Lanka, the area was named Grande Passo. The name was anglicised during the British administration t ...
in 1951 and then to
Kotahena Kotahena is a suburb of Colombo, Sri Lanka, and is known as ''Colombo 13''. Places of worship Local houses of worship include: * St. Lucia's Cathedral (1881), Catholic * St. Anthony's Shrine, Kochchikade, St. Anthony's Shrine, Catholic *St. ...
in 1955, where Fidelis was already enrolled at St. Benedict's College along with his brothers Joe and John. He became part of the St. John Berchman's Society of Altar Servers at St. Lucia's Cathedral, and joined the St. Aloysius Seminary after completing his Ordinary Level exams, where he was a contemporary of
Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don Albert Malcolm Ranjith (; born 15 November 1947) is a Sri Lankan Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of Colombo since 2009. He was made a cardinal in 2010. Ranjith previously served as auxiliary bishop of Colombo (1 ...
. He then moved to the St. Eymard's Minor Seminary at
Haputale Haputale (; ) is a town of Badulla District in the Uva Province, Sri Lanka, governed by an Urban Council. The elevation is 1431 m (4695 ft) above the sea level. The area has a rich bio-diversity dense with numerous varieties of flora an ...
for a brief period, and then to the National Seminary at
Ampitiya Ampitiya () is a suburb of the city of Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is located within the country's Central Province. Ampitiya is approximately 3 miles from the Kandy city centre. Ampitiya is administratively divided into the two sections of Ampitiya n ...
in 1966. In August 1969, he was sent to the
Pontifical Urban University The Pontifical Urban University, also called the ''Urbaniana'' after its names in both Latin and Italian, is a pontifical university that was under the authority of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. The university's mission is to ...
by
Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...
Thomas Cooray Thomas Benjamin Cooray (Sinhala language: තෝමස් බෙන්ජමින් කුරේ), O.M.I. (28 December 1901 – 29 October 1988) was a Sri Lankan cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the Archbishop of Colombo ...
; he graduated in 1972 with a
Bachelor of Theology The Bachelor of Theology degree (BTh, ThB, or BTheol) is a two- to five-year undergraduate degree or graduate degree in theological disciplines and is typically (but not exclusively) pursued by those seeking ordination for ministry in a church, de ...
, and was ordained a priest on 6 January 1973 in
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
by
Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...
alongside 38 others from 19 nations on the 350th Anniversary of the
Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (CEP; ) was a congregation (Roman Curia), congregation of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church in Rome, responsible for Catholic missions, missionary work and related activities. It is also kn ...
. He obtained his
Licentiate of Sacred Theology Licentiate in Sacred Theology (; abbreviated LTh or STL) is the second of three ecclesiastical degrees in theology (the first being the Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology and the third being the Doctorate in Sacred Theology) which are conferred ...
in 1974 and returned to Sri Lanka the same year, consecutively holding the position of assistant parish priest in three parishes, including duties at Kochchikade. Fernando then returned to the National Seminary, where he lectured until 1987, when he left for the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
for a doctorate in Moral Theology at the
Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily a ...
, which he earned in 1987 with a dissertation entitled ''Population policy of Sri Lanka and the moral teachings of the Catholic Church''. On his return to Sri Lanka later that year, he was appointed Vice-Rector at the National Seminary, and then Rector in 1989- a position he would hold until 1991, overseeing reforms at the Seminary, including improvements to its library facilities and streamlining course structures. In the period between 1991 and 2011, he went on to hold several ecclesiastical appointments in the country: *Pastor, Dean in the
Moratuwa Moratuwa () is a large municipality on the southwestern coast of Sri Lanka, near Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia. It is situated on the Galle–Colombo (Galle road) main highway, south of the centre of Colombo. Moratuwa is surrounded on three sides ...
area, *Episcopal Vicar for Catechesis, *Member of the Apostolate for the Family, *Episcopal Vicar for the Southern area of the
Archdiocese of Colombo The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Colombo () 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 th ...
, *Member of the Priests’ Council and the Board of Consultants, and *Episcopal Vicar for the Faithful of Tamil Origin in the Archdiocese of Colombo. Three of Fidelis' siblings also went on to serve in the Catholic clergy in Sri Lanka: his brother Joe was attached to the Diocese of Jaffna, while two sisters- Assumpta and Micheline- joined the Apostolic Carmelite Congregation.


Episcopal ministry

A number of priests were considered for appointment as Auxiliary Bishops by Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, with Fernando's name being among them. In preparation, he was assigned the
titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...
of Horta on 28 November 2011 and on 11 February 2012, was consecrated as an Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Colombo at St. Lucia's Cathedral by Cardinal Ranjith and two co-consecrators: Bishop of Trincomalee, Dr. Joseph
Kingsley Swampillai Right Reverend Dr. Joseph Kingsley Swampillai (born 9 December 1936) is a Sri Lankan Tamil priest and former Roman Catholic Bishop of Trincomalee. Early life and family Swampillai was born on 9 December 1936 in Kayts on the island of Velanaitivu ...
and Bishop of Kurunegala, Dr. Harold Anthony Perera. Fernando then functioned, at various times, as Regional Bishop of Negombo and as Chairman of the Episcopal Commission for Ecumenism and Inter-religious Dialogue. On 28 November 2017,
Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...
appointed Fernando Bishop of Mannar; he was installed on 30 December that year in a ceremony held at
St. Sebastian's Cathedral, Mannar St. Sebastian's Cathedral is the Cathedra, seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mannar located in Mannar, Sri Lanka, Mannar, Sri Lanka. See also *St James' Church, Vidathaltheevu References

Churches in Mannar, Sri Lanka Roman Catholic ca ...
. The ceremony was attended by members of the parish, civil society leaders, Apostolic Administrator
Kingsley Swampillai Right Reverend Dr. Joseph Kingsley Swampillai (born 9 December 1936) is a Sri Lankan Tamil priest and former Roman Catholic Bishop of Trincomalee. Early life and family Swampillai was born on 9 December 1936 in Kayts on the island of Velanaitivu ...
(who oversaw the diocese since the position of Bishop fell vacant in 2016), Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith,
Apostolic nuncio An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is ...
Archbishop Pierre Nguyên Van Tot and Bishop of Jaffna
Justin Gnanapragasam Right Reverend Justin Bernard Gnanapragasam (; born 13 May 1948) is a Sri Lanka Tamil priest and the current Roman Catholic Bishop of Jaffna. Early life Gnanapragasam was born on 13 May 1948 in Karampon on the island of Velanaitivu in northern ...
.


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernando, Fidelis 1948 births 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Sri Lanka Alumni of St. Benedict's College, Colombo Catholic University of America alumni Living people People from Northern Province, Sri Lanka Pontifical Urban University alumni Roman Catholic bishops of Mannar Sri Lankan Tamil people Bharatha people Roman Catholic auxiliary bishops of Colombo Sri Lankan Roman Catholic bishops