Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Dr. Pillainayagam Anton Ranjith as the new bishop of the Diocese of Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka, the Vatican announced on June 29.
Seventeen years after the end of Sri Lanka’s civil war, the fate of Fr. Francis Joseph and hundreds of Tamil civilians who surrendered alongside him to the Sri Lankan military remains unknown, with families still waiting for answers from the state.
Thousands of devotees from India and Sri Lanka gathered on the remote island of Kachchatheevu in the Palk Strait to celebrate the annual feast of St. Anthony’s Church on February 27 and 28, highlighting how faith continues to transcend national boundaries and foster reconciliation between neighboring nations.
