Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake attended a civic event held to mark the golden jubilee of the priestly ordination of Cardinal Albert Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don, Archbishop of Colombo, at the Maduru Auditorium of the Colombo Archbishop’s House on July 7, 2025.
In his address, President Dissanayake congratulated and thanked the Cardinal for his decades of dedicated service to Sri Lanka and the universal Church as the nation’s top Catholic religious leader.
The president praised the Cardinal’s moral and prophetic voice, noting how he has courageously raised issues of national importance with conviction. “Cardinal Ranjith has consistently championed the causes of the poor, defended their rights, and stood for justice while promoting peace across the island nation,” Dissanayake said.
Bishop Harold Anthony, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Sri Lanka, also commended the Cardinal for his exemplary service to the Church and society.
In his remarks, Cardinal Ranjith expressed his gratitude to the president, government officials, church leaders, and all those who have collaborated with the Catholic Church over the years. He called on all citizens to work together for a peaceful, prosperous, and inclusive Sri Lanka, where no one is left behind.
Born on November 15, 1947, in Polgahawela, in the Diocese of Chilaw, Cardinal Ranjith was ordained a priest on June 29, 1975, by Pope Paul VI in St. Peter’s Square, Rome.
Upon returning to Sri Lanka, he was appointed assistant parish priest in Pamunugama in 1978, and later served as parish priest in Payagala and Kalutara.
In his long ministry, he has held several significant positions, including Auxiliary Bishop of Colombo, Bishop of Ratnapura, Adjunct Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Apostolic Nuncio to Indonesia and Timor-Leste, Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, and Archbishop of Colombo.
He has been a bishop for 34 years and a cardinal for 14 years, continuing to offer strong leadership both pastorally and prophetically in Sri Lanka and beyond.
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