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St. Sebastian's Church, Enderamulla

Coordinates: 6°59′49″N 79°55′00″E / 6.9969°N 79.9168°E / 6.9969; 79.9168
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St. Sebastian's Church, Enderamulla
  • Sinhala: සා. සෙබස්තියන් දේවස්ථානය,
  • එඬේරමුල්ල
Front facade
Map
6°59′49″N 79°55′00″E / 6.9969°N 79.9168°E / 6.9969; 79.9168[1]
LocationEnderamulla, Wattala[1][2]
CountrySri Lanka
Language(s)
DenominationCatholic
WebsiteOfficial Facebook page
History
StatusParish Church
Founded1891; 134 years ago (1891)
DedicationSaint Sebastian[3]
Relics heldBone fragment from the forearm of St. Sebastian
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Architectural typeChapel
Style
Groundbreaking1879; 146 years ago (1879)
Completed1920; 105 years ago (1920)
Specifications
Capacity
  • 700 (inside church building)
  • 2500 (including front yard)
Number of towers1
Bells1
Administration
DistrictGampaha
ProvinceWestern Province
ArchdioceseColombo Archdiocese
ParishEnderamulla Parish
Clergy
Priest in chargeSujeewa Athukorala[4]
Laity
Music group(s)St. Cecilia's English Choir
SacristanJoseph Dabare (retired 2024)

St. Sebastian's Church, Enderamulla (Sinhala: සා. සෙබස්තියන් දේවස්ථානය, එඬේරමුල්ල) is a Roman Catholic church in the Archdiocese of Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is located in Enderamulla, Wattala. Construction of the current church building began in 1879, and it was operational by 1891. After being a co‑parish with Dalugama (1879–1903) and Kirimetiyagara (1903–1934), it was declared an independent parish in 1934.

A tiny fragment of Saint Sebastian's forearm bone is preserved in a special reliquary, which is located together with the Monstrance in a glass chamber inside the eucharistic chapel on the left side of the main church building.

The reliquary at St. Sebastian's Church Enderamulla containing a bone fragment from the forearm of Saint Sebastian
The glass chamber inside The Eucharistic chapel at St. Sebastian's Church, Enderamulla which holds the reliquary and the monstrance

Parish priests

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1855–1879

[edit]

From 1855, before the current church building was established, and while Enderamulla was not yet officially a parish, the priests were of St. Sebastian's were:[a]

  • Constantine Nevis
  • Mathias Caitano
  • Fr Brucio
  • Fr Santangelo
  • Fr Kanjamanathan
  • Fr Mawar

1879–1903

[edit]

Enderamulla was connected with Dalugama parish in 1879 (until 1903).

1879–1903
Priest [a] Period
Fr. Brucio 1879–1882
Bartholomew Rosere 1882–1882 (November)
Fr. Cardano 1882–1886
J. B. De Sampaio 1886–1895
E. Julian 1895–1897
P. Bulik 1897–1898
J. B. De Sampaio 1898–1903

1903–1934

[edit]

Enderamulla was connected with Kirimetiyagara parish in 1903 until 1934.

1903–1934
Priest [a] Period
A. Guillaume 1903–1908
Leo Fernando 1908
Fr. Alas 1908–1910
J. B. De Sampaio 1910–1930
Fr. Guri 1930-1931
P. J. Fernando 1931–1933
Pebian Fernando 1933–1934

1934–1973

[edit]

Enderamulla became an independent parish in 1934.

1934–1973: Independent parish
Priest [a] Period Note
P. Bonipas Pieris 1934–1937 Constructed Holy water fonts in the doorways
P. Bulik 1937–1940 Introduced the service of Sisters of the Holy Family (of Bordeaux)[5] to St. Sebastian's Maha Vidyalaya, Enderamulla
Don Wilfred Benedict 1940–1944
Fr. Heuber 1944–1946
J. Dhalpathadhu 1944–1946
Fr. Mersels 1944–1946
Don Winson 1944–1946
J. M. Kerbul 1946–1951
J. Hebesmo 1951–1951
Fr. Pupon 1951–1954
F. A. Desigo 1951–1954
Winson Staullo 1954–1957 Constructed the ceiling on top of the Altar
Willam Perera 1957–1963 Elongated the north wing of the church building, planted shade trees in the front yard, introduced the weekly fair
Joseph Cabrall 1963–1967 Broke the traditions of priest offering the mass facing the alter and constructed an altar table to face the audience while the mass service
Kinsly C. Perera 1967–1972 Renovated church walls and roof, finished the elongation constructions of the north wing
Siril Joseph 1972–1973

From 1973

[edit]
From 1973
Priest [a] Period Note
Felix John Hettiarachchi 1973–1978 Installed pews to the church
Mervin Fernando 1978–1982 Constructed the Thuduwegedara church
Emil Perera 1982–1983 (co-parish priest)
Eyalas Weerakkodi 1982–1983 (co-parish priest)
Chris Abeyrathne commenced 1983
Anton Premalal [6] c. 2009 – c. 2011
Prasanna Rohan [7] c. 2011 – c. 2013
Tharanga Sampath Perera c. 2013 – c. 2023
Sujeewa Athukorala Incumbent from c. 2023  
  1. ^ a b c d e All entitled to honorific of "Rev. Fr.". In cases where the forenames or initials are not known, this listing retains the honorific of Fr, to aid comprehension.

References

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  1. ^ a b "St Sebastian Church Enderamulla - Wattala 🇱🇰 - WorldPlaces". Archived from the original on 2022-09-24. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  2. ^ "Churches in Wattala, Western Province, Sri Lanka". Archived from the original on 27 September 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  3. ^ Wijetunge, Basil (29 January 2012). "Feast of St. Sebastian's Church, Enderamulla today". Spectrum. Sunday Observer.
  4. ^ "Priest - Archdiocese of Colombo Sri Lanka". Archived from the original on 2022-09-24. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  5. ^ "150 Years of the Presence of Holy Family Sisters in Sri Lanka Celebrated in the Generalate". Sainte Famille Bordeaux — Casa Generalizia Santa Famiglia di Bordeaux. 19 November 2012. Archived from the original on 30 May 2023. On the 26th October, the Sri Lankan sisters in the Generalate organised a prayerful reflection ... to mark the 150th year of the arrival of the Holy Family Sisters, in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan sisters in the community of Via dei Gracchi joined this celebration.
  6. ^ "Christian Perspectives". Daily News. Lakehouse Newspapers. 28 November 2009.
  7. ^ "St. Sebastian's feast on Jan. 27". Sunday Observer. 27 January 2013. Sri Lanka News.

Bibliography

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  • Aivan Rasaia (2016). එඬේරමුල්ල ග්‍රාමයේ සැඟවුන අතීතය [The past of Ederamulla village]. දෙව්මැදුරයි අපේ ගමයි [The Church and our village] (in Sinhala).
  • එඬේරමුල්ල සියවස් ජුබිලි සමරුව [Enderamulla Centenary Jubilee Celebration]. සියවස් සමරු කළඹ [Centenary Portfolio] (in Sinhala). 1991.
  • Anandappa, J. B. Clinton, ed. (1990). The Catholic directory of Sri Lanka, 1989/90. J. B. C. Anandappa.
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