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New priesthood with admirable clarity

If more than once we have thought of you, Venerable Brother, on that day when you were joined to the successors of the Apostles and raised to the fullness of the priesthood, this we do now when a bright period of 25 years has elapsed, a notable duration for the Episcopal and Pastoral ministry.

To carry out your ministry better, you obtained solid doctrine in this city which saw your ascend to the altar and exercise your new priesthood with admirable clarity.

Soon after you returned to your native land, you began to exercise onerous duties, first in guiding the young seminarians, and them handing down and teaching evangelical precepts. By the wishes of Pope Paul VI you were destined as Governor of your diocesan church and you exercised your ministry in his family of faithful and in that family you, endowed with the dignity given by the Lord dispensed His benefits abundantly.

We think the sacred ministry is carried out well when we seek to follow in the footsteps of the early heralds of the Gospel so that the Salvation of the Saviour may attain as many as possible by common work and may fill them up fully.

Therefore in commemorating this jubilee we wish to join our congratulatory voice together with the flock of faithful for whom alone you vowed your episcopal work so that your ministry of 25 years may be proclaimed with joy.

We pray the most kind Lord that He may be your gracious rewarder and munificent dispenser of His graces. We do specially impart to you, Venerable Brother, our Apostolic Blessing to be communicated to the faithful.

John Paul II

Outstanding qualities of leadership

I am pleased to send this message of felicitation on the occasion of the Silver Jubilee of the Episcopal Ordination of His Grace the Archbishop. The Most Rev. Dr. Nicholas Marcus Fernando, the Archbishop of Colombo. His Grace the Archbishop will be completing 25 years of fruitful service in the Archdiocese of Colombo on 14th May 2002.

Exercising leadership today is an undertaking fraught with risk and demands much sacrifice of personal comfort, health and peace of mind. Leadership calls for heroic courage and deep commitment to one's mission to serve God and Country.

His Grace the Archbishop, has displayed outstanding qualities of leadership by speaking out courageously in defence of democratic and moral values and in vehemently denouncing violence and injustice. He has thus been like a beacon of light guiding the Catholic community through political turmoil and social unrest.

He has promoted peace and harmony between different religions and ethnic groups in Sri Lanka. In a society like ours where all great religions have contributed to the moral upliftment of our people His Gace the Archbishop has constantly endeavoured to forge amity, understanding and brotherhood.

As the spiritual leader in the Archdiocese of Colombo, he has admonished the Catholics to live up to the ideals of Christianity. He has always given priority to the education of children in a religious environment.

His Grace the Archbishop is an eminent scholar of our time. The appointments he has held since 1960 testifies to his dedication to the service of God and to mankind.

I would like to thank the presbyterium of the Archdiocese of Colombo for organising the Jubilee on a celebratory note and arranging to publish a special felicitation volume. I wish His Grace the Archbishop of Colombo the Most Rev. Dr. Nicholas Marcus Fernando continued success in all his endeavours and blessings of good health, long life and serenity of mind, so that he could serve the Church and the Nation for many more years to come.

Ranil Wickremesinghe , Prime Minister

Felicitation Message of the Minister of Interior and Christian Affairs

The Silver Jubilee of the Episcopal ordination of the Most Rev. Nicholas Marcus Fernando, as Archbishop of Colombo, is an occasion for joyous celebration for all Catholics of Sri Lanka. I wholeheartedly associate myself with the felicitations showered on His Grace the Archbishop, on reaching this significant milestone, of completing 25 years at the helm of affairs of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka.

From the date of his ordination as a priest through to his Episcopal ordination, now providing leadership to over a million Catholics in Sri Lanka, His Grace the Archbishop served during a most testing time, not only in the affairs of the church but also the history of Sri Lanka. He ably assisted the Bishops and the priests, who form the hierarchy of the church's Ecclesiastical order, and admirably nurtured and guided the Catholic community through many vicissitudes.

These ranged from national issues to political, economical and social upheavals in the country. As Chief Shepherd of his Flock he had to face the heartfelt concerns of the Catholic priesthood and laity. He always listened to every point of view, with patience, respected varied opinions and offered mature advice based on what was right and just. He was very firm in opposing and denouncing discrimination, injustice and violence in any form and the stifling of democratic rights and human freedoms whenever or wherever they occurred.

The Catholic Church in Sri Lanka is rich in its diversity, having members from all social, racial and linguistic groups. They hold a variety of divergent political views. Under the guidance of His Grace the spirit of unity in diversity was nourished while, at the same time, developing healthy relationships and understanding, in the true spirit of tolerance, with the clergy and laity professing other religious viewpoints. His unceasing and firm commitment to finding acceptable solutions to national problems are well known and made him a valued adviser to national decision makers. In his search for solutions he has unequivocally extolled Catholics to pray and work for peace.

A special feature of His Grace's Episcopate was his unceasing effort to improve the lot of the church community living in the rural areas. Providing facilities for devotees to meet their spiritual needs through the development of churches, promoting community work, furthering education, helping the needy as well as providing assistance for their training various vocations are some: his outstanding contributions.

I pray with my brethren of the Catholic community and invoke God's blessing on His Grace the Most Rev. Nicholas Marcus Fernando so that he be continued to be strengthened, to enable him to carry forward the Lord's mission for very many years to come.

John. A.E. , Amaratunga

Shepherd of the Archdiocese

by Newton Fernando

Fourteenth of May 1977 was a great day for the entire Church in Sri Lanka and more particularly for the Archdiocese of Colombo. It was the day when the 7th Archbishop was consecrated at St. Benedict's College quadrangle in the Cathedral Parish of Kotahena by the late Thomas Cardinal Cooray O.M.I. The humble, unassuming priest who was thus elevated was Fr. Nicholas Marcus Fernando.

An Archbishop in the making

He was ordained a priest 43 years ago 21st December 1959 in Rome. Msgr. Nicholas Marcus Fernando's nomination to the See of Colombo was announced on 30th March, 1977 by the Apostolic Nuncio, His Excellency Msgr. Carlo Curis. This announcement was made in the National Seminary of Our Lady of Lanka at Ampitiya, Kandy where Fr. Nicholas Marcus was then serving as a Professor in the staff. A graduate from the University of London holding Bachelor of Arts degree and having successfully completed his Philosophical and Theological studies in Rome, Fr. Nicholas Marcus was quite content to teach first his students of St. Peter's College, Colombo and later at St. Aloysius Minor Seminary as Bursar and Rector respectively.

This was followed by being appointed to the position of acting Rector and later the Rector of Intermediate Seminary, Haputale. Having been sent in Rome again to pursue further studies, he read for a Doctorate in Moral Theology and was subsequently appointed to the staff of the National Seminary. Thus his 18 years of priestly career had been spent on the formation the young students and seminarians. Young Fr. Nicholas Marcus never failed in his duties as a teacher and a formator. He was faithful in small matters and thus was he placed in charge of greater responsibility as the Chief Shepherd of the Colombo Archdiocese.

Bit of personal data:

Perhaps his humble origin in the hamlet of Munnakkara, Negombo made him to always be simple and unassuming even in the later years. He was born in 1932 December 6th (on the feast day of St. Nicholas) and had his primary education in the village school - R. C. School, Munnakkara. His secondary education was at St. Mary's College.

Negombo, a premier Catholic Educational Institute of the time. His ability to speak both Sinhala and Tamil from his young days was an added advantage and in the later years had the opportunity to enhance his Tamil vocabulary further in Jaffna.

His Grace the Archbishop of Colombo, Most Rev. Dr. Nicholas Marcus Fernando is primarily a man of God who has learnt to look at his life experience in the light of faith. Relating some incidents in his life he once reminiscenced how he was saved from near death by drowning at sea how at moments of doubt in his priestly life God guided him gently to this present exalted position, which he least expected. He is shy and humble, shuns publicity and basically is of a loving and caring disposition and can move with the highest and the lowest in society with equal ease.

Friend of the laity

He has a regard for the laity and is ready to give ear to them. Hardly ever does he refuse an invitation from a lay apostolate movement. He realizes the great need to have a vibrant in laity participation if the Church is to be truly participatory. Gently but firmly does he guide them in their apostolate whether be at National, Archdiocesan or even parish level. As the President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Sri Lanka, His Grace the Archbishop Nicholas Marcus Fernando had this to say when he addressed the Catholic Union of Sri Lanka at its 90th Annual General Meeting on 21st March 1992 at Tewatte Retreat House.

"Living on the threshold of the third millennium it is opportune to reflect on the mission of the laity in the world. I wish to draw your attention more to the daily challenges of Christian living than to academic theological disputes.

Today the laity must be more dynamic, conscientious and responsible in the face of the problems confronting the universal Church and the local Church".

Pastoral approach

The Archbishop has a good rapport with his team of priests. On his numerous pastoral visits to parishes he has been able to gather first hand information with regard to parish life. On such visits he interests freely with all concerned and has his ear to the ground so to speak.

This enabled him to take remedial action where necessary and also to develop the Archdiocese in many ways. He has rendered immense service in the social, educational and pastoral fields in his quarter century of stewardship as the Archbishop. Housing scheme for the church workers at Athurugiriya, Theologate for the theological emancipation of laity and even religious are just 2 examples that stand out. The Archdiocese has expanded to 127 parishes.

The prophetic role

With God's grace Archbishop Nicholas Marcus Fernando has also grown in stature over the years. He is not only being accepted by the political leadership as the head of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka but also is sought after for guidance.

From being the Teacher that he was and is, he has developed to be a fearless prophet who is forthright in his advice and even admonitions regarding socio-political issues that affect the governance of the people. Thus he has become an outspoken religious leader and a counsellor on good governance. Whether it be on Free and Fair Elections or on consensual politics, when His Grace speaks, he speaks to the point and without fear or favour. When he appealed for financial assistance for those families of soldiers affected by the war he was openly criticized by self-made champions of peace within the Church itself. But he was undaunted. Condemning abuse of power and violence at elections he once exhorted the voters to reject such parties and candidates.

His statement in July 2001 called for the formation of a National Government to save the country from disaster while in a message issued on 12th November 2001 the Archbishop called for a new political culture devoid of violence. His Easter Message on 31st March 2002 hopes "that the two present leaders of our country, the President and the Prime Minister could join hands and work together for Peace".

Ecumenism and dialogue

Archbishop Nicholas Marcus Fernando is the current President of the Catholic National Commission for Ecumenism and Dialogue. But even before he took over that responsibility he had been involved in meaningful dialogue with other religions through Ekamuthu Daham Sansadaya. Archbishop's sincerity and friendly disposition has brought about a very close rapport with the Buddhist member of the Sansadaya - Most Ven. Kotugoda Dhammawasa Thera, the Anunayake of Amarapura Nikaya. Himself a very pious and humble monk, Ven. Dhammawasa invited the whole Bishops' Conference to his temple at Galkissa for a discussion and Dhana.

The Bishops too readily accepted the kind offer. The monks, and the Bishops met at Dharmapalaramaya and the discussion was presided over by the Mahanayake of Amarapura Nikaya a Most Ven. Aggamaha Panditha Madihe Pangnaseeha Thera and Most Rev. Dr. Oswald Gomis, President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Sri Lanka.

The above is a glimpse of the service rendered by his Grace during the 25 years of dedicated shepherding as the Archbishop. On the occasion of the Silver Jubilee of His Episcopal Ordination on 14th May 2002 we shall praise the Lord for the life and service of this great man, Most Rev. Dr. Nicholas Marcus Fernando our beloved Archbishop. We ask the Good Lord to shower him with blessings of good health and long life to continue in serving and guiding His Church.

(The writer is a Past President of the Colombo Diocesan Catholic Union as well as that of the Catholic Union of Sri Lanka)

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