Sri Lankan Catholics farewell their first chaplain Fr Treesen Silva

Hundreds of Sri Lankan Catholics gathered at Our Lady of Czestochowa in Marayong on September 5 to farewell Fr Treesen Silva, the community's first chaplain. During the farewell Mass, Fr Silva passed his responsibilities to the incoming chaplain, Fr Terrance Prasanga.

Fr Silva led the liturgy with prayers and songs in English, Sinhala, and Tamil. In his final homily, he encouraged the community to build unity through honesty and direct reconciliation. He stated that his primary duty was to bring the Sri Lankan community together and urged parishioners to keep their doors open to everyone.

In lieu of standard collections, parishioners contributed $2,400 to a special fund for the District General Hospital Negombo in Sri Lanka. Fr Silva will take these funds to the Archdiocese of Colombo to purchase medical equipment.