A tribute to a colossus:

Rt. Revd. Dr. Frank Marcus Fernando

Yesterday, 28th of October 2006 His Lordship Rt. Revd. Dr. Frank Marcus Fernando bade adieu to the Catholic community of the Diocese of Chilaw after a long and fruitful episcopate of 34 years, and hands over the Shepherd's staff to his Lordship Rt. Revd. Dr. Valence Mendis.

The golden jubilee of his priestly ordination too will be celebrated on this day. As Bishop Frank Marcus takes leave of his people I consider it my pleasure and duty to pay a public tribute to an inspiring leader, erudite speaker, voice of the voiceless, protector of the environment, fighter against injustice and corruption, and above all the 'good shepherd' (in true biblical sense) of the Catholic community of the Diocese of Chilaw.

Having entrusted St. Aloysius' Minor Seminary in 1943 and St. Bernard's Major Seminary in 1951, he was sent by the then Archbishop, His Grace (later Cardinal) Thomas Cooray to Rome to pursue his priestly studies.

He was ordained in Rome on 22nd December 1956 at the age of 25. Within a very short period of 9 years he was ordained the Auxiliary Bishop of Colombo in 1965. He was appointed the Coadjutor Bishop of Chilaw in 1968, and thereafter took over the reins of the Diocese in December 1972 from the eminent scholar Rt. Revd. Dr. Edmund Peiris.

His appointment to the episcopate at the young age of 34 years, is a record for Sri Lanka and it is most unlikely that it will ever be broken. I believe Bishop Frank Marcus must be among the youngest in the world to be raised to the episcopate of the Catholic Church in contemporary times.

This year is his 41st year as a bishop. The figure 40 in biblical sense denotes fullness and completeness. In that sense his 41 years as a bishop (exceeding the biblical 40) is a manifestation of the abundant blessings Almighty God has bestowed upon him.

Limitation of space does not permit me to write at length about his great achievements and contribution as Bishop of Chilaw. Hence I shall confine myself only to a few major issues which have had a lasting impression in me.

The Diocese of Chilaw comprised the Puttalam and Kurunegala districts of the North Western Province. What was foremost in his mind was neither the geographical size of the diocese nor the number of Catholics, but the spiritual nourishment and welfare of his flock.

Having realised the spiritual needs of his people scattered throughout the large expanse of land in these two districts and studied the ways and means of strengthening their faith as well as assisting them in their material needs, he proposed the erection of a new diocese for the district of Kurunegala.

Diocese of Kurunegala

Thus, the new Diocese of Kurunegala with His Lordship Bishop Raymond Peiris as its first Bishop was erected in 1987.

The strong campaign he carried out in the 1980s against the establishment of an extravagant complex to set up the Voice of America relay station at Iranawila compelled the then government and the VOA to re-think and tone down their plans drastically. Consequently, a large extent of land belonging to poor fisherfolk of the area was saved from being acquired for this project and thousands of fisherfamilies are grateful to him for saving them from being displaced.

His belief in the importance of the media in making the people aware of Jesus Christ and the mission of his Church resulted in setting up "Sudasuna" way back in 1978. Over the years it has grown to become a fully fledged Catholic Media Centre.

The calm and serene Retreat Centre "Sanhindiyawa" constructed in Chilaw in the year 2000 overlooking the Deduru Oya to enable priests, the religious as well as play people to hold seminars as well as to conduct spiritual retreats is his brainchild.

Bishop Frank Marcus gave tremendous leadership to those who opposed the settings up of the Coral Power Plant.

The Anti-conversion Bill presented in parliament in May 2004 was another opportunity for Bishop Frank Marcus to show his mettle, leadership qualities and steadfast love for Christ and his Church. He boldly petitioned the Supreme Court against the Draconic provisions of this bill and the judgement delivered vindicated his stand.

He was one who steadfastly campaigned against the discrimination meted out to Catholic children attending certain government schools where they were forced to study another religion.

His unselfish attitude and deep love for the Church was clearly manifested by his ready willingness to release priests from his diocese to other dioceses whenever his brother bishops requested his assistance to tide over their problems caused by a dearth of priests.

He willingly 'loaned' his best priests to help other dioceses. To highlight his magnanimity it would suffice if I only mention the release of two of his newly ordained priests in 1985.

The quality of the priests whom he released can be judged by the positions they hold today in the Diocese of Chilaw - one being his successor Bishop Valence Mendis and the other being Revd. Fr. Pius Nihal Fernando the present Procurator General of the diocese who were loaned to the dioceses of Kandy and Badulla respectively.

The last but not the least major contribution I wish to highlight is the very meaningful and farsighted step he took in naming and ordaining his successor nearly two years before his date of retirement which has paved the way for a perfect "batton change" on 28th October 2006.

In fact, I was told that Bishop Frank Marcus had wanted his successor appointed much earlier, but the Church authorities were not in a position to grant his request as Bishop Valence Mendis was at that time the Rector of the National Seminary and there was a need for him to continue in that position for a longer period.

People of the Diocese of Chilaw loved and respected Bishop Frank Marcus as a father. The ceremony on 28th October 2006 will be similar to that of a father handing over the reins to an equally capable son who with his genial personality, prudence, and genuine love for people irrespective of creed, ethnicity or social status, is sure to make the Diocese of Chilaw a vibrant Catholic community that will witness to the sacrificial love and compassionate forgiveness of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Dear Bishop Frank Marcus, we thank you for the yeomen service you rendered to the Church in particular and to our nation in general.

Though we will miss your erudite sermons and inspiring leadership, your presence in our midst will always be felt by the fruits of the immense contribution you made, and we still will be with you in spirit through prayer. As you embark on a new mission in retirement, we wish you many more years of fruitful service in the vineyard of the Lord.

AD MULTOS ANNOS
FELICISSIMOS
IN VINEA DOMINI!
Victor Silva (FCA, Dip.M, MC IM)