Diocese of Jaffna
Iaffnen(sis)
Suffragan diocese · Latin Church · Jaffna, Sri Lanka
Latin diocese in northern Sri Lanka, established as the Apostolic Vicariate of Jaffna on 17 February 1845 from the Diocese of Ceylon and promoted to a diocese on 1 September 1886, suffragan of the Archdiocese of Colombo. Its cathedral is St. Mary's Cathedral in Jaffna.
The see
- Rank
- Suffragan diocese
- Tradition
- Latin Church
- Erected
- 1 September 1886
- Latin
- Iaffnen(sis)
- Annuario code
- 001001708
The see in figures
- Catholics
- 247,315
- Priests
- 162
- Catholics per priest
- 1,527
- Extent
- 4,400 km²
- Catholics per km²
- 56
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
- Justin Gnanapragasam
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
St. Mary's Cathedral, Jaffna stands in Jaffna, 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 ChilawChilaw
- Diocese of GalleGalle
- 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
In northern Sri Lanka, the Latin Church is organized as the Diocese of Jaffna (Latin: Dioecesis Jaffnensis). Latin Catholicism in this territory reaches back to the days of Francis Xavier. Justin Gnanapragasam serves as 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].