Sri Lanka: Pope names new bishop of Chilaw

Pope Francis appointed the Reverend Arachchige Don Wimal Siri Appuhamy Jayasuriya as the new bishop of Chilaw, Sri Lanka, on December 6.

Jayasuriya is a clergyman of the same diocese and at the time of appointment, he was the parish priest of Saint Mary, Mother of God, and judge of the diocesan tribunal of Fort Wayne-South Bend, United States of America.

The bishop-elect was born on January 23, 1969, in Negombo, in the Archdiocese of Colombo.

After attending the minor seminary in Chilaw, he finished his studies in philosophy and theology at the Our Lady of Lanka National Major Seminary in Kandy.

On August 9, 1997, he became a priest for the clergy of Chilaw. After ordination, he first held the roles of parish vicar of Saint Sebastian,  Katuneriya (1997–1998), the Shrine of Saint Anne, Talawila (1998–1999), and Saint Joseph, Wennappuwa (1999–2000).

He earned a licentiate and a doctorate in canon law at the Pontifical Urbanian University of Rome (2000–2005) and subsequently served as the judicial vicar of Chilaw (2006–2012), a teacher at the Our Lady of Lanka National Major Seminary in Kandy, and the dean of the Department of Theology (2013–2019).

Since 2019, he has been the judge in the diocesan tribunal of Fort Wayne-South Bend, in the United States of America, and parish vicar of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Fort Wayne-South Bend (2019-2020).

In 2020, he became the parish priest of Saint Mary, Mother of God, Fort Wayne-South Bend.

On January 5, 1939, the Diocese of Chilaw came into existence. According to Vatican sources, there will be as many as 309,026 Catholics spread over 49 parishes in 2022.

Since 2021, the diocese of Chilaw has been without a bishop after Bishop Warnakulasurya Wadumestrige Devasritha Valence Mendis was appointed as the bishop of Kandy, Sri Lanka. He continued to serve as its apostolic administrator until his successor was appointed on December 6.