Diocese of Mannar
Mannaren(sis)
Suffragan diocese · Latin Church · Mannar, Sri Lanka
Latin diocese in northwestern Sri Lanka, established on 24 January 1981 from parts of the Diocese of Jaffna, suffragan of the Archdiocese of Colombo. Its cathedral is St. Sebastian's Cathedral in Mannar; Bishop Gnanapragasam Anthonypillai was appointed on 14 December 2024 after Bishop Fidelis Fernando's resignation.
The see
- Rank
- Suffragan diocese
- Tradition
- Latin Church
- Erected
- 24 January 1981
- Latin
- Mannaren(sis)
- Patron
- Our Lady of Madhu
- Annuario code
- 001002145
The see in figures
- Catholics
- 89,516
- Population
- 270,375
- Catholic share
- 33.1%
- Priests
- 87
- Catholics per priest
- 1,029
- Extent
- 3,998 km²
- Catholics per km²
- 22
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
- Gnanapragasam Anthonypillai
- Born
- 12 July 1965
- Birthplace
- Adampan
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. Sebastian's Cathedral, Mannar stands in Mannar, 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 JaffnaJaffna
- Diocese of KandyKandy
- Diocese of KurunegalaKurunegala
- Diocese of RatnapuraRatnapura
- Diocese of TrincomaleeTrincomalee
On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.
History
North-western Sri Lanka is served by the Latin Catholic Diocese of Mannar (Latin: Dioecesis Mannarensis), governed by the Bishop of Mannar, an office presently held by Fidelis Fernando.
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].