Rev. Mgr. Justin Bernard Gnanapiragasam, appointed on the 13 of October, 2015 by the Holy Father as the 11th Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jaffna, was consecrated as the Bishop on the 28th of November in the Jaffna Cathedral of Our Lady.
The Principal Consecrator was the retiring Bishop Thomas Savundranayagam of Jaffna assisted by Rev. Dr. Kingsly Swampillai, Bishop Emeritus of Trincomalee and Rev. Dr. Vianny Fernando, Bishop of Kandy.
The Bishops of all the 13 Dioceses of Sri Lanka, led by the Cardinal Arch-Bishop of Colombo and the Apostolic Delegate for Sri Lanka also participated in the Ceremony. More than 200 priests including those from other Dioceses and over 6000 Catholics were present.
Leading prelates from other Religions, the Heads of State Departments and the security Forces led by catholic Minister John Amaratunga of the Central Government and the Chief Minister Vigneswaran of the Northern Provincial Council and many Members of Parliament and of the NPC graced the occasion and welcomed the new Bishop.
The long ceremony conducted in Tamil and English, started at 8.30 am and ended at 12 noon. The Installation Ceremony is scheduled to be at 4.30 pm on 30th Nov. at the Cathedral.
