Appreciations

Rev Fr Felix Mevel :

Visionary missionary

Fr Felix Mevel was a French Catholic missionary priest of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate Order who served in Sri Lanka for over 20 years in different parishes in Colombo diocese. His most innovative work, as a parish priest, in the service of the church and the nation was the children’s movement La.Kri.Vi. (lama kriyakari veerayo), which he founded and defined as a movement of children for children with the goal of preparing them to build tomorrow’s world of peace, justice and unity.

His methods for children’s apostolate in parishes are proved valid for all times. A visionary and a revolutionary in pastoral exercise, Fr Mevel died on October 28, 1984 at the age of 59.

Children used to call him simply ape suwami - our priest, and parishioners and others affectionately called him Honda suwami - good priest.

He was known for a lot of pioneering ventures in his pastoral service, but his best known and very audacious venture that shone out most was the ‘La.Kri.Vi’, the movement that he founded for children.

He was a good parish priest and a friendly regional superior, social leader, peace maker, reliable pastoral delegate and above all, a close friend of children.

His apostolate to children and his service to people in general was remarkable in each parish he pastored. but the five years he was at Ragama are seen as the golden period of the children’s movement, as La.Kri.Vi was built on strong foundations, grew into a full fledged children’s movement with stories, songs, games, poems, plays and prayers and flowered into a national apostolate.

Felix Mevel was born on May 23, 1925 in France. He took his final vows as an Oblate of Mary Immaculate (OMI) in 1947 and was ordained a priest three years later. Few months after his ordination, being called to be a missionary, he set sail to Sri Lanka.

Upon his arrival in the island, he was busy learning Sinhala, which he mastered even to the extent of understanding the tricky nuances of certain colloquial phrase usages.

For 15 long years, Fr Mevel worked hard in several parishes like Ragama, Beruwala and Pitipana, saying mass, dispensing sacraments, and organising meetings for children, youth, and elderly people. He organised holy masses in outstations to help all people attended the sacraments easily. Families were visited by him and the old and disabled received communion at home once a month. Whenever informed, he was at the death bed of dying persons to pray and administer last sacraments. All parish pilgrimages to Madhu, Thalawila and Wahakotte were a common feature in the parish life. Even the altar boys were lucky to have a yearly picnic with associate pastors.

Fr Mevel was an outgoing priest who was always happy to be among the poor. With Fr Mevel, the church, the churchyard and the mission house was open to the children all day. Joyful voices, laughs and cries of children made all gay with an aura of sweetness and liveliness. He and the other priests were always available to the children, talking to them, helping them and teaching them about Christ through games, conferences, picnics, radio plays as well as shramadanas.

Fr Mevel always kept in touch with his home news. So he was well-aware of the children’s movement then spreading in France.

Few months after his arrival at Ragama in 1979, Fr Mevel was often seen seated at his desk, writing texts, stories, songs and games, for long hours, for the Sri Lankan version of this children’s movement. Then he would direct his assistant to translate them into good and catchy Sinhala. Sometimes he would dictate texts in English to be translated immediately into Sinhala. Very often he would adapt French tunes of popular songs and children’s songs to simple Sinhala words. He used to say that the children were simple and therefore all about this movement should be very simple.

Dear Father, may you rest with the Lord!

S Dharmasena

Rajaratnam Senathi Rajah :

Highly intellectual personality

I first met Sena 40 years ago when he married my sister – Swarna. He was a charming, soft spoken, well mannered, highly intellectual person, who took immense interest over his physical appearance, impeccably dressed to suit all occasions.

He was always present at all our family social functions, and mixed freely with the younger generation, and watched them grow to adulthood, giving them advice on education and choice of profession. He had plenty of wisdom and foresight, and the ability to come down to their ways of thinking.

The children loved him and called him Sena Mama, Sena Uncle and were very attached to him. They are now professionally qualified, married and living abroad with their own children, who come over to the land of their birth from time to time, to inquire into the well-being of those whom they have left behind, seeking advice and exchanging views on many a subject.

When he entertained, whether old or young, he was a host “par excellence”, who took personal interest in choosing the “menu” taking into consideration the gastronomical taste of each guest.

He was an Attorney-at-Law by profession. He had an in-depth knowledge on all legal matters at the tip of his tongue, and a trained mind which worked at lightning speed, grasping the essentials, to which he also had a retentive and photographic memory.

He could unravel with ease the most complicated entanglements in any legal matter, and accepted each case as a challenge. He had unique powers of concentration.

Though he not a temple-goer, he had an oil lamp in a niche upstairs in his residence, and every morning he ritually lit the lamp and stood in contemplation and prayer, before he began his day.

”Om Santhi, Santhi Santhi”

Parames