Roman Catholic Diocese of Batticaloa

Diocese of Batticaloa

Dioecesis Batticaloaensis

மட்டக்களப்பு மறைமாவட்டம்
St. Mary's Cathedral, Batticaloa
Location
CountrySri Lanka
Ecclesiastical provinceColombo
MetropolitanColombo
Statistics
Area7,269 km2 (2,807 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics		(as of 2012)
1,199,966
55,225 (4.6%)
Information
DenominationRoman Catholic
RiteLatin Rite
Established3 July 2012
CathedralSt. Mary's Cathedral, Batticaloa
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopJoseph Ponniah
Metropolitan ArchbishopMalcolm Ranjith
Map

The Diocese of Batticaloa (Latin: Dioecesis Batticaloaensis,Tamil: மட்டக்களப்பு மறைமாவட்டம்) is a Roman Catholic diocese for south-eastern Sri Lanka. The current bishop is Joseph Ponniah.

History

The Diocese of Batticaloa was created on 3 July 2012 from parts of the Diocese of Trincomalee-Batticaloa.[1] The first and oldest church of this diocese is Church of Our Lady of Presentation.[2]

Parishes and Churches

The diocese has 19 parishes in Batticaloa deanery and 7 in Kalmunai deanery.[3] It has 7 shrines such as St. Antony's shrine (Puliyanthivu), Our Lady of Fátima shrine (Inginiyagala), Our Lady of the Rosary shrine (Periya Pullumalai), Our Lady of Perpetual Help shrine (Aayithiyamalai), Our Lady of Little Lourdes shrine (Navatkudah), Holy Cross shrine (Sorikkalmunai) and St. Judas Thaddaeus shrine (Thettathivu).[4]

Bishops

# Bishop Took office Left office
1st Joseph Ponniah 2012

References

  1. ^ "Diocese of Batticaloa". GCatholic.
  2. ^ "Newsletter: The Two New Dioceses of Batticaloa & Trincomalee" (PDF). Roman Catholic Diocese of Batticaloa. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  3. ^ "Parishes". Diocese of Batticaloa. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  4. ^ "Shrines". Diocese of Batticaloa. Retrieved 27 April 2016.

7°42′45″N 81°41′46″E / 7.7124°N 81.6961°E / 7.7124; 81.6961