St. Anthony’s Church, Kollupitiya celebrates:

75th Jubilee

by Nimal Dias

The parishioners of St. Anthony’s Church, Kollupitiya, decided to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of the church when the Chief Celebrant Rev. Dr. Joseph Spiteri Apostolic Nuncio for Sri Lanka, promulgated the Jubilee Year 2012-2013 from the declaration scroll presented to him on the Feast Day of June 24, 2012. It is all the more significant that the Jubilee Year coincided with the ‘Year of Faith’ declared by the church.

In the earlier days, the Catholics of Kollupitiya attended to their religious obligations in a small chapel in an old tenement garden bordering the railway line near the Kollupitiya Station. This building had a large hall at the seaside end. It was used as a school on weekdays and as a church on Sundays and days of obligation.

The parish of Kollupitiya was under the Mission of Slave Island. When Rev. Fr. C. V. Croos was appointed Parish Priest of Slave Island church in April 1932, he was keen on building a new church as the chapel, being covered by a line of dilapidated boutiques was not conducive and the population of Kollupitiya was growing. Hence a church in a new location with a Mission House became a necessity.

At the request of Rev. Fr. C. V. Croos, Archbishop Marque, donated a part of a property belonging to the Diocese. On October 15, 1934, the foundation of the church of St. Anthony at Kollupitiya was laid by Very Rev. Fr. Theobald De Silva and a portion of the nave was completed in 1938.

Due to the efforts of Rev. Fr. Croos, the generosity of the Archbishop and the zeal of Catholics rich as well as poor, a new and worthy place of religious worship was built and the new church of St. Anthony at St. Anthony’s Mawatha, formerly Kollupitya Lane, was blessed on Sunday, June 5, 1938 by Very Rev. Fr. J.M. Masson, Administrator of the Diocese and the first feast was celebrated on June 19, 1938.

The parish of Kollupitiya was detached from the Slave Island Mission in 1945 and Rev. Fr. C.V. Croos was appointed as the first Parish Priest. The temporary Mission House was demolished and a spacious bungalow was purchased and was occupied by the Parish Priest in May 1949. From then the Parish Priests who were appointed, gradually developed the church and today it is a beautiful monument thanks to the efforts of the parishioners of Kollupitiya and also the devotees of St. Anthony. Rev. Fr. N. Manokumaran is the 16th Parish Priest. Under his leadership, members of the Parish Pastoral Council and the Jubilee Committee with the assistance of parishioners and donors carried out a major refurbishment program and also construct a Jubilee Hall to commemorate the Anniversary.

The festive High Mass will be held today at 8.00 a.m. and the Chief Celebrant will be the Apostlic Nuncio for Sri Lanka Most Rev. Dr. Joseph Spiteri.

The Principal Celebrant will be received at 7.45 a.m. near the Kollupitiya Flats.

The celebrations will terminate with a fellowship.