Commemoration of Cardinal Cooray, Sri Lanka's first cardinal
Tewatte (AsiaNews) - "Living in accordance with his Episcopal motto 'ministrare non ministrari' - to serve and not to be served, His Eminence Cardinal Thomas Cooray visited his people with pastoral zeal, spreading the holiness of his life wherever he went." The archbishop of Colombo, Oswald Gomis, remembered Cardinal Cooray on October 29, at a Mass at the basilica of Our Lady of Lanka in Tewatte, for the 20th anniversary of his death, in the presence of more than 900 faithful.
"The first Sri Lankan archbishop of Colombo . . . on March 7, 1950, he laid the foundation for the minor seminary and trained students with a missionary commitment. Seminary formation was a priority for His Eminence."
"In the 1960's, our schools were taken over by the government, not on a vision of better education but to attack the Catholic Church and to disrupt religious education . . . But the Church in Sri Lanka found ways and means to educate our children and maintain religious education in the schools."
"In the early days of World War II Archbishop Jean Marie Masson, the last Frenchman to be metropolitan of Sri Lanka, made a vow in 1940 to the Blessed Mother to build a Marian shrine in her honour if the country was saved from the ravages of the war. His Eminence Cardinal Cooray kept the vow made by Archbishop Masson and started to build this beautiful basilica, slowly but steadily in spite of the criticisms. Some were asking, why build a huge basilica instead of building houses for the poor? His Eminence not only purchased lands for the poor, but also built houses for them. Amidst all the work, His Eminence completed the construction of the National Basilica of Our Lady of Lanka."
After the Mass, Archbishop Gomis led the faithful in prayer at the cardinal's tomb (in the photo), in the crypt of the basilica, which the faithful had covered with flowers.
Cardinal Cooray was born on December 28, 1901, in the parish of Periyamulla, Negombo, and was ordained on June 23, 1929, for the congregation of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. On July 26, 1947, he became archbishop of Colombo, and on February 22, 1965, he was appointed cardinal. The Sri Lankan faithful often go to pray at his tomb, and say they are certain that he will soon be recognized as blessed. A committee has been set up to evaluate the testimonies of the many faithful who say they have witnessed a miracle through the intervention of Cardinal Cooray. Dickson Anthony, the committee's secretary, tells AsiaNews that "we are collecting all the details of miracles, remedies, stories and answered prayers. And also a special Mass has been arranged on the 29th of each month at the nearby church of Sts. Peter & Paul in Ragama."
But popular devotion has no doubts. "We are praying and looking forward to hear the happy news of the beatification of our beloved Cardinal Cooray," say the elderly Marie and Claude Fernando, who came from the parish of Ragama for the commemoration.
Niyomi and Sunil Batepola, from the faraway parish of Welivita, are sure that he will soon be "the first Sri Lankan saint." Many faithful gathered for the anniversary are praying fervently, grateful for his teaching, including the young people of the schools.
.png)
