CLARETIANS 25 years of life in Sri Lanka ~ CLARETIAN MISSIONARIES

The Background
The dawn of the 19th century might have been an century of spiritual decadence, but God the author of life never lets His people die in spiritual hunger. He sends His messengers of life as He had been doing from the beginning of the Creation. The birth and the life of St. Antony Mary Claret who felt that his spirit is for the whole world was one of God’s powerful hand in that time of the history. Popes and political leaders called him the apostle of the century. The spirit that was ignited by the life and mission of Claret today spreads slowly but steadily throughout the whole world. God realizes His plane through the spirit of Claret that is implanted in the hearts of the Claretian missionaries. Some of the missionaries have become so unique in crossing the political, national and geographical boundaries. Every historical movement has its main authors and protagonists. They have existed also in the history of the Claretian movement and especially in the history of the Sri Lankan Claretians. If we could trace the origins of the Claretians in Sri lanka easily we could converge in to one name that is still alive in the hearts of the Claretians of India and Srilanka it will be their “beloved thatha” (loving grand father) Rev.Fr. Franz Xaver Dirnberger First Inspiration It was the year 1976. Rev.Fr. Franz Xaver Dirnberger, a German dynamic missionary was the Superior and Novice master of Claret Bhavan Carmalalaram. He was like great missionary of India Francis Xavier was looking for ways and means for spreading the kingdom of God. He was creative and imaginative in his mission. Looking for avenues to take the congregation to other parts of the world like his founder St. Antony Mary Claret. Accidentally he came into contact with the two Holy Family Nuns from Sri Lanka namely, Sr. Mary Angelina and Sr. Aida. Casually he asked tyhem about Sri Lanka and shared with them his dream of starting the Congregation in Sri Lanka. Those nuns gave him hope and promised to help him in finding the Congregation in Sri Lanka. He prayed a lot. Discussed a lot with his superiors and friends about his dream. He felt that it was time to send a priest to do a feasibility study. He found Fr. Cyric Njayarkulam a young and open minded priest. He sent him to Jaffna in April 1978. With help of Sr. Angelina he contacted the Bishop of Jaffna, Rt. Rev. Dr. B. Deogupillai. He approved and blessed the plan of recruiting candidates from his diocese to the Claretian Congregation. The Bishop had a good impression about the Claretians, which he got during his Canon Law studies in Rome. Rev. Fr. J.P. E. Selvarajah, then parish priest of the Cathedral and Rev. Fr. Kingsley Swampillai (Emeritus Bishop of Trinco- Batti and now the Apostolic administrator of Mannar), then secretary of the Bishop too supported and encouraged the plan. First Sri Lankan candidates in India In July 1979 the first batch consisting of four candidates; Alfred Kirubananthan, Suhanthanesan Christopher, Jansen and Vilvarajasingham reached Claret Bhavan, Karumathur, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, South India. In the subsequent years Frs. Anselmus, Lucas, Abraham Valiyakandam and Mathew Njayarkulam made visits to Sri Lanka with the purpose of further recruitment of candidates. Due to their efforts and with the collaboration of Rev.Fr. Selvarajah, Sr. Angelina and others, 15 candidates joined the Claretians in India until 1985. Then the political situation disrupted the recruitment process. At this juncture the superiors of the Congregation felt the timely need to found the Cngregation here in Sri Lanka so that they could have their formation here itself. In 1984 the Provincial Superior of Germany, Rev.Fr. Alois Hornung and Fr. Peter Schutz made a trip to Jaffna accompanied by the Rosarian Superior General of that time, Rev.Fr. Packianathan CR. During that visit a spacious house at Chundikuli, Jaffna was purchased hoping that a foundation would follow soon. But, the civil war prevented the realization of the plan. Now the Claretian communities in India and Sri Lanka were under the province of Germany. In 1984 Province of India and Indo-Sri Lankan Delegation were established. The Indo-Sri lankan Delegation comprised the state of Tamil Nadu and members from Sri Lanka. Beginnings in Sri Lanka The students from Sri Lanka underwent their formation programme in India till 1988. Since then, as the situation was not favorable to pursue religious studies in India the students went to the Philippines for their theological studies. At that critical moment Rev. Fr. Domingo Moraleda, the provincial superior in the Philippines, received the Sri lanka students warmly. The students had their formation in the Philippines till the end of 1993. In 1991 the Sri Lankan Claretians were blessed with their first priests in Fr. Alfred Kirupananthan (May 10th) and Fr. Rex Constantine (July 30th) who were Ordained and started serving in the Archdiocese of Colombo (St. Lucia’s, Kotahena) and in the Diocese of Kandy (Nuwara Eliya) respectively. New students at the National Seminary Kandy: The students Joy Mariaratnam and M. K. S. Francis who came from India for their holidays could not return to India to continue their formation. Their continuous attempts to obtain Visa turned to be a failure. The province of Germany decided that the students would attend the Our Lady of Lanka National Seminary, Kandy for their theological studies. They had no house yet. The students were directed by the Province to seek the possibilities of finding accommodation in any of the religious houses near the National Seminary. Finally they found a home with the Oblates of Mary Immaculate community Ampitiya. They stayed there and did their theological studies in Kandy. In the following year Paramavalan E. Peter too joins the students at the Oblate Scholastuicate but Francis left to Germany for studies. The students were accommodated in the Oblate Scholasticate for two years till they found a rented house at Hantana. In 1992 the Province of Chennai was formed, and Sri Lankan Mission got separated from the administrative set-up of Indian Provinces and came directly under the Province of Germany for further development. Thus the German Provincial, Rev. Fr. Lorenz Reifenberger, was directly responsible for the further growth of this Mission. Fr. Lorenz showed an extra ordinary concern towards the development of the mission. His personal contacts with the members and his loving friendly approach with everty member created a close link between the province and the mission of Sri Lanka. One of his consulters Rev. Fr. Alois Andelfinger made regular visits to the Sri Lankan mission and spend ample time with the members and he got himself very much involved in the development of the mission. His contribution is still alive in the hearts and minds of every Claretian member in Sri Lanka. The First House They had a beautiful house in Jaffa. They bought that with the aim of starting their formation and mission house there. But the house in Jaffna was occupied by various groups during the time of war. They were in need of a house to settle down with the newly formed community. They had no house of their own. At the request of the German Provincial to the Indian province, Fr. Cyriac Njayarkulam came to Sri Lanka to assist in the formation of students of the region. By the mean time with the tireless effort of Fr. Alfred Kirupanant han they bought a simple house at Welisdara, Mahabage. The official establishment, opening and blessing of this first residence of the Claretians in Sri Lanka took place on 24 October 1992 through His Grace Most Rev. Dr. Nicholas Marcus Fernando, the Archbishop of Colombo of that time. The first official community began its life there at Welisara. Vocation Recruitment and Moving to Kandy The year 1993 was indeed a golden year in the life of the Mission in Sri Lanka. The new batch of students was recruited and the formation of a study house in Kandy was established. In 1997 the novitiate was erected and 5 novices entered the Novitiate with the guidance of Fr. Cyriac Njayarkulam as the Novice Master. The Publication Ministry One of the major and the distinctive mission of the Claretians is the ministry of the Word through the printed media. The Claretian Publications was established at Welisara, Ragama in 1992. Since then the Claretians continue to contribute a lot to the formation of the faith of the Catholics through the Ministry of the publications. From 1994 Bible diaries were printed and distributed and now its available in all three languages. Arguably its one of the most sought after Bible Diaries in Sri Lanka. Parish Ministry From the very beginning of their existence here in Sri Lanka the Missionaries were involved in the Parish apostolate for their pastoral experience. As the result they were given the parishes of Talawakele, Madulsima, Chekku Street, Colombo and Bulathkohupitiya. These parishes witnessed the Apostolic zeal of the young Claretian Missionaries in Sri lanka. The Claretians took charge of the parishes of Madulsima, Badulla (since 1994) and Chukku street, Colombo 13 (1998 – 2009). After the General Assembly 2014 they decided to accept more parishes and got Namunukula in the diocese of Badulla (they left the Madulsima parish after 20 years of commitment), Aligambey in the diocese of Batticaloa and Hultsdorp in the Archdiocese of Colombo. To Jaffna The house purchased at Chundikuli in Jaffna already in 1984 did not suffer much damages during the heavy fighting and shelling and was taken care of by Fr. Selvaraja all throughout these years. In 1998 a community was established there with Frs. Rex Constantine, M.K.S. Francis and candidates from Jaffna diocese were admitted to the minor seminary. Fathers were involved in preaching and extraordinary apostolates. They lived there in one of the most difficult time in the history of Sri Lanka. The community also experienced a couple of great exodus. Every situation left the community to start their life from zero again. That painful experiences undoubtedly gave new spirit and vigor to the members. Minor Seminary at Kattuwa For many years the establishment of the formation programme was limping due to the lack of a good Minor Seminary to accommodate new students. As the Claretians were becoming better known among the people they found the need for a bigger space to accommodate them. A separate minor seminary was a need of the hour and accordingly Negombo was chosen to establish this minor seminary. Fr. Joy Mariaratnam shifted his residence along with a few candidates to Daluwakotuwa near Kochchikade and Fr. Calistus Joseph joined them after a couple of months. A land of 7 acres was acquired at Kattuwa and a spacious minor seminary was constructed, for which the foundation stone was laid by Rev.Fr. Aquilino Bocos CMF, Superior General on the 5^th of February 2000. St. Claret Seminary was blessed by His Grace Most Rev.Dr. Nicholas Marcus Fernando, Archbishop of Colombo on 12 March 2002 and was opened by Rev.Fr. Peter Schuetz CMF, Provincial of the German Province. Ordinations of the First Batch Trained in Sri Lanka 28 April 2006 is certainly an important day in the life of the Claretians in Sri Lanka. On that day His Lordship Rt.Rev.Dr. Rayappu Joseph, Bishop of Mannar ordained the Deacons L.P. Royestan Jeyaraj, S. Steevan and S.M.S. Satheesh to priests. They had their complete formation in Sri Lanka. And with them the second generation of Claretians from Sri Lanka received the priestly ordination. Philosophy to Jaffna and Novitiate to Kurunegala The community in Sri Lanka with the guidance and advise of the province of Germany decided to move the Philosophate to Jaffa. The situation was very peaceful after the ceasefire agreement between the LTTE and the government of Sri Lanka. With much hope they moved in to Jaffna. Hardly had they lived in Jaffna for a year. The war broke out again. Having no second option they were forced to return to Claret Nivas, Gurudeniya to continued their philosophy studies at the National Seminary, Ampitiya. The plan of extending the house in Jaffna to accommodate the students of philosophy was abandoned. At the mean time in the community there was a discussion going on; whether to have Philosophy after the Novitiate or before. They had a lot of discussion and discernment. Finally they arrived at the decision to undergo the novitiate year after studying philosophy. Consequently there was no more novitiate batches after September 2005 at ‘Fussimanya’. Consolidation and organuizing the different stages of formation was felt. In stead of having different stages of formation in the same place and city they decided to move the Novitiate from Kandy to another place. A land consisting of 10 acres with coconut trees was purchased in 2007 at Uhumeeya near Kurunegala. The new novitiate batch started at Uhumeeya in “Casa St. Claret” on 7 September 2008 with Rev.Fr. S. Anselmus from the province of Chennai, as the novice master. Changes in the Administration Since the time the Claretians began their life in Sri Lanka in 1991, Fr. Cyriac Njayarkulam served as the Superior of the Sri Lanka Mission. After a long and really committed service he handed over the Mission to the hands of Fr. Rohan Dominic on 16 July 2005. Then in the year 2012 Fr, Joy took over the responsibility of being the Delegation Superior of the newly born dependent Delegation of the German province for a short time and then Fr. Rohan was reappointed to be the head of the Claretian family in Sri Lanka. In the year 2016 Fr. Rex Constantine became the Delegation superior. by now the Claretians who began their life as a mission has grown to be a dependent delegation of the province of Germany. Economic Development In view of the financial self-sufficiency of the Mission an estate of 40 acres was acquired near Mattugama in 2009. It is an estate consisting of rubber, tea and cinnamon plants. VAROD at Vavuniya Claretians had started to co-operate with the KAROD Project in Kilinochchi since 2007. Because of the war and displacement that project came to a standstill. A new Project with the name VAROD (Vanni Rehabilitation Organization for the Differently abled) was started by the Claretians with the co-operation of religious congregations and diocesan authorities in 2009 in Vavuniya. Fr. A. Joseph Arul Raja CMF took charge as director in October 2009. This project takes care of the physically and mentally handicapped persons from among the war victims and displaced. In 2004 the Tsunami devastated the costal belt of the Island. The Claretians involved themselves in giving relief and rebuilding the lives of the affected. So many projects and programmes were launched to the affected irrespective of regions and religions. In the same spirit,. During the war in the North-East they were also involved in giving assistance to the people in need. Initial Formation of students abroad Year 2009 marks another year of development in formation. For the first time after they began their formation here in Sri Lanka two postulants were sent to the novitiate at Ormoc City in the Philippines to undergo the novitiate year. 3 candidates were sent to India to study philosophy. Since then on, time to time novices were sent to the Philippines for novitiate as the numbers were small to have the novitiate in Sri Lanka. With the view of receiving different formation and civil degree in Philosophy students were sent each year to Karumatur, India for Philosophy studies B y the mean time as proposed by the General Assembly 2014 and approved by the Provincial Government in Germany the Philosophy study house in Jaffna was closed and the Philosophy students were brought to Kandy to have the formation along with the Professed students. Specialization: Fr. Alfred: Moral Theology/ religious Life Fr. Joseph: Counseling and Psychology Fr. Rex: Counseling Fr. Arulraj: Counseling Fr. Rohan: Small Christian Communities Fr. Joy: Scripture Fr. Royestan: Religious Life At present Fr. Ronald : MSW Fr. Steevan: Pastoral Management/ Family Apostolate Fr. Jeyaseelan: Formation/ Ministry Fr. Everest: Canon Law Student Vinothan for Theology in Spain Universal Mission This is not something new to the Congregation. Father Founder had the spirit for the whole world. The Claretians are convinced that the whole world is their mission field. From the early stages of formation the students are formed in this spirit of Universal Mission. First Fr. Joseph Calistus went as a missionary to Uganda on a very special way. He worked 3 years in collaboration with the other Congregations in the spirit of shared mission then again in 2015 they contributed for the Universal Mission the first missionary to Zimbabwe. Fr. Shylan is the first person from Sri Lanka who has received the missionary assignment. Assistance from the other provinces: The mission in Sri Lanka was very much previledged to have so many veteran missionaries with them. Their presence certainly was a source of inspiration especially to the young ones. Starting from Fr Cyriac Njayarkulam and his brother Mathew Njayarkulam they had Frs. Anselmus, Mathew Pothiyettil, Raimund Beck, John Raab, John Kennady, L. Xavier, Lawrance and Fr. Santiago Joseph. Fr. Alois Andelfinger though he was in the provincial Council he too spent longer durations here in Sri Lanka especially during the time of intense war. The members of the Claretian community of the early days still cherish the pleasant memories of those days. As of January 31 Priests: In sri lanka - 27 In abroad – studies - 5 - Mission – 2 From other provinces - 2 Professed students- 12 Non professed Students – In Sri Lanka - 7 - In India - 4 Novices - 11 Minor seminarian – 29 Places of Apostolate: Formation: Theology and Philosophy: Claret Nivas, Kandy Novitiate: CASA St. Claret, Kurunegala Minor Seminary: St. Claret Seminary, Kattuwa, Negombo Parishes: Archdiocese of Colombo: St. Sebastian’s Parish. Hultsdrof, Colombo. Diocese of Badulla: St. Joseph Vaz Parish, Namunukulla Diocese of Batticaloa: St. Francis Xavier parish, Aligambay Publication: St. Claret Centre, Ragama Social Apostolate VAROD – programme with disabled War victims – Vavuniya CLASIKA- Psycho-social Programme with War affected children – Jaffna Pre-schools – Vanni District, Northern Province Evening Classes for war affected children – Vanni District, Northern Province Supplementary Education - Namunukulla Bible Apostolate: Claret Aham – Jaffna Animation of lay and religious Centre for Third-way Orientation (CTO) – Kattuwa Estate: St. Claret Estate, Ittapana.