TWO
VICARIATES FOR SRI LANKA
By a decree of 9 September 1847 Rome erected two
vicariates apostolic in Sri Lanka, the northern vicariate of Jaffna and the
southern vicariate of Colombo, the former dependent on the latter, and with
Bettacchini as its Pro-Vicar. Two years later, by the apostolic brief of 13
August 1849, the northern vicariate became autonomous with Bettacchini as its
Vicar apostolic.
The Italian Sylvestrine, Joseph Bravi, was nominated
coadjutor to Caetano Antonio in Colombo. The northern vicariate comprised the
Northern, North Central, Eastern and North Western civil divisions or
provinces, while the remaining provinces (Western, Central, Uva, Sabaragamuwa
and Southern) together formed the Southern Vicariate.
Thus from 1849 there were two vicariates in Sri Lanka,
Jaffna and Colombo, both having Oratorian bishops, Caetano Antonio, an Indian,
in Colombo. and Orazio Bettacchini, an Italian, in Jaffna. In 1856 the Oblate
Semeria was appointed coadjutor to Bettacchini in Jaffna. When in the following
year (1857) the Oratorian vicars apostolic of both Colombo and Jaffna died,
their coadjutors succeeded them, so that Colombo had a Sylvestrine bishop
(Joseph Bravi) and Jaffna an Oblate (Stephen Semeria).
This position of Sylvestrines being in charge of the
Colombo Vicariate continued for the next quarter century, three Italian
Sylvestrines being Vicar Apostolic one after the other: Joseph Bravi
(1857-1860), Hilarion Silani (1863-1879) and Clement Pagnani (1879-1882). The
Oblates had charge of Jaffna for the next 115 years (till 1972).
BONJEAN AS BISHOP IN JAFFNA AND IN COLOMBO
In 1868 the first Oblate Vicar Apostolic of Jaffna,
Stephen Semeria, died and Christopher Bonjean was appointed to succeed him. He
was followed by four other French Oblate bishops, Andrew Melizan (1883-1893),
Henry Joulain (1893-1919), Jules Brault (1919-1923) and Alfred Guyomar
(1924-1950), and then by a Sri Lankan Oblate, Emilianuspillai (1950-1972).
After him came for the first time a bishop of the diocesan clergy,
Bastiampillai-Deogupillai.
We have seen that in the vicariate of Colombo the
first two bishops, who were Indian Oratorians, were followed successively by
three Italian Sylvestrines. But the Sylvestrine order was not in a position to
supply the vicariate of Colombo with the missionary personnel it needed. The
Holy See therefore decided to entrust Colombo too to the Oblates and in 1883
transferred Bonjean from Jaffna to Colombo, after he had been Bishop of Jaffna
for 15 years.
At the same time a new territorial unit, the Vicariate
Apostolic of Kandy, comprising the Central and Uva Provinces, was created and
Bishop Clement Pagnani transferred from Colombo to Kandy. Thus 36 years after
the setting up of the first two vicariates, Colombo and Jaffna, a third was
erected, but Colombo and Jaffna, both now looked after by the Oblates, remained
the two major vicariates in the island, where most of the island's Catholics
lived.
In 1886, three years after Bonjean's transfer to
Colombo, came the decision of the Holy See to establish the hierarchy in India and
Sri Lanka. At an Episcopal assembly in Colombo on 6 January 1887, the Apostolic
Delegate, Antonio Agliardi, promulgated Rome's decision. Colombo became an Archdiocese,
and Christopher Bonjean the first Archbishop of Colombo. Jaffna and Kandy became Colombo's suffragan
dioceses.
