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.
In a country where Catholics make up barely 5.6 percent of the population, one name is repeatedly quoted across Sri Lankan media, Christian and non-Christian alike, whenever Christmas approaches: Rev. Fr. Marcelline Jayakody, OMI.
