Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith

Sri Lanka’s Catholic Church marked National Independence Day and the feast of Our Lady of Lanka, the country’s patroness, with solemnity and devotion on February 4 at the Tewatta National Basilica, led by Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo.

Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith of Colombo, Sri Lanka, has declared 2026 as the Year of Parish Renewal through a pastoral letter calling for a renewed vision of parish life rooted in communion and participation.

Even in the absence of a formally declared Third World War, peace must be consciously and actively built, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo, Sri Lanka said in his Christmas Midnight Mass homily, warning that today’s world increasingly profits from the trade of weapons rather than the pursuit of peace.

An upcoming art exhibition titled “Talento”—featuring works by 40 young artists—will be held from December 1–3 at the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery in Colombo. The event marks the 10th anniversary of the art academy founded by Rev. Fr. Samantha Thushara Perera, a priest of the Archdiocese of Colombo.

Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo, celebrated the 50th anniversary of his priestly ordination with a solemn Thanksgiving Mass at St. Lucia’s Cathedral in Colombo on June 30.

“Once the Catholic Church functioned as a bishop-priest centered church and did only what the bishop or the priest would say. Today, we no longer need such sacristy Catholics,” Cardinal Ranjith.

In a special statement released on November 8, Cardinal Ranjit stated that “Cruel and intolerable suppression exercised or being exercised by the existing Government against the leaders of protests and activists for Human rights in the country." Particularly, he condemned the Government for “the abusive and unjustified manner” in which the prevention of terrorism act is used for “arresting social leaders and those engaged in peaceful resistance to such policies.”

The Sri Lankan Cardinal calls upon the president and government of Sri Lanka to step down from their positions and hand over power to the people.