Diocese of Chilaw
Chilaven(sis)
Suffragan diocese · Latin Church · Chilaw, Sri Lanka
Latin diocese on the northwest coast of Sri Lanka, erected on 5 January 1939, suffragan of the Archdiocese of Colombo; part of its territory was split off in 1987 to form the Diocese of Kurunegala. Its cathedral is the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Chilaw.
The see
- Rank
- Suffragan diocese
- Tradition
- Latin Church
- Erected
- 5 January 1939
- Latin
- Chilaven(sis)
- Patron
- Sacred Heart of Jesus
- Annuario code
- 001001132
The see in figures
- Catholics
- 272,692
- Population
- 788,000
- Catholic share
- 34.6%
- Extent
- 2,076 km²
- Catholics per km²
- 131
of the people living within its bounds
Figures as recorded in the register, from the Annuario Pontificio and the see's own published statements. Shares and ratios are computed from the two figures shown beside them.
The bishop
- Bishop
- Wimal Siri Jayasuriya
A see whose chair stands empty is recorded as vacant rather than filled with a guess. On what a bishop is, see the bishop.
The cathedral
Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Chilaw stands in Chilaw, the church that holds the cathedra from which this see takes its name.
On what a cathedral is, see the cathedral; every see church on earth is gathered at the cathedrals.
The province of Colombo
A suffragan of Archdiocese of Colombo.
The sees of this province:
- Diocese of AnuradhapuraAnuradhapura
- Diocese of BadullaBadulla
- Diocese of BatticaloaBatticaloa
- Diocese of GalleGalle
- Diocese of JaffnaJaffna
- Diocese of KandyKandy
- Diocese of KurunegalaKurunegala
- Diocese of MannarMannar
- Diocese of RatnapuraRatnapura
- Diocese of TrincomaleeTrincomalee
On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.
History
A Latin Church diocese in Sri Lanka and a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Colombo, Chilaw (Lat: Dioecesis Chilavensis) traces its erection to 1939, when it was established as the Diocese of Galle. A portion of its territory was separated in 1995 to create the Diocese of Kurunegala. Don Wimal Siri Appuhamy Jayasuriya, appointed in December 2023, is the current bishop.
What is kept by invitation
The record above is published because it is public: what this see is, when it was erected, who holds its chair, and where it stands among its neighbours.
The working record is not. The chancery's address, telephone and email, the clergy of the see, and the hours of Mass, confession and adoration in the parishes within it are kept for members, and a person reads every request.
Sources
The see's own website · Wikipedia
This record is compiled from the published statements of the see and the references of the Holy See, among them the Annuario Pontificio. On the method, see the keeping of the record. Whoever finds an error is asked, in charity, to write: [email protected].