March 4, 2025 // FEATURE

From Fort Wayne to ‘Bishop of the People’ in Sri Lanka

Scott Warden

Editor-In-Chief

Bishop Wimal Jayasuriya Shares the Joys, Challenges of His New Role

In December of 2023, Father Wimal Jayasuriya had been away from his native Sri Lanka for more than four years. He left to further his studies, landing in Fort Wayne, where he was serving as pastor of St. Mary, Mother of God Church, which was well known for its outreach to the poor – a mission that was close to Father Jayasuriya’s heart.

However, his life was changed when he received a phone call from the apostolic nuncio to Sri Lanka, who told him that Pope Francis had appointed him bishop of the Diocese of Chilaw, his home diocese.

Bishop Jayasuriya was ordained as the fourth bishop of Chilaw on Saturday, March 2, 2024. In an email interview with Today’s Catholic marking the one-year anniversary of his ordination, Bishop Jayasuriya relayed the joys and challenges of leading his hometown diocese.

Bishop Jayasuriya humbly told Today’s Catholic that the faithful of Sri Lanka call him “the bishop of the people” and “the Francis of Sri Lanka.” He can be reached at [email protected].

The following interview has been edited for clarity.

Today’s Catholic: Your parish in Fort Wayne, St. Mary, Mother of God, was seen as a parish whose mission it is to serve the poor. What does poverty look like in Sri-Lanka? What is the Church’s role in serving the poor, and what have you been doing as bishop to ensure serving the poor remains a priority?

Bishop Jayasuriya: Sri Lanka is undergoing an economic crisis. Most of the people are in need. Many are the less privileged. The Church’s role in serving the poor is to help them stand on their own feet without simply doling out financial and other resources. Moreover, what the U.S. government and voluntary groups are doing for communities in Fort Wayne, the Church in Sri Lanka is doing. Every day from 8-10 a.m., people come in a queue asking for various monetary help.

As bishop, to ensure serving the poor remains a priority. I have made myself available to the people, to listen to them, and to allow them to share their concerns, as well as visiting parishes and homes, especially of the poor and somewhat isolated islands in the diocese, as well as participating in various organized activities, declaring new parishes, and imploring the service of religious communities.

I have organized and strengthened scholarship programs for 300 university students and other needy students. First, I had to find resources, and then the Church began giving them a sufficient amount annually that they will pay back once they finish their studies; this will allow me to help many others like them. I have also taken initiatives to grant medical aid and medical facilities to the needy, shown solidarity to the poor by sharing meals with the less privileged, distributed dry rations and other gifts, and encouraged the more privileged to share their resources rather than merely keeping pious practices.

Attempts have also been taken to maintain the orphanages in the diocese and to find resources to organize various projects. I have also made sure to stop building churches for at least one year in order to release the people of the financial burden. I’ve also urged the religious leadership to concentrate more on the spiritual upliftment of the people.

Today’s Catholic: What has surprised you about your role as bishop? What has been a challenge? What aspects of the job have brought you joy?

Bishop Jayasuriya: Before I became the bishop, I did not realize how much God is demanding of me. He has given me a lot in my life, and now it is my turn to meet His demand of making a total sacrifice of myself. For example, since I was appointed on December 5, 2023, I haven’t had time for physical exercise, but beginning this year, I have decided to think of myself a bit more so I am fit enough to meet His demands.

One of the challenges has been the implementations of the true convictions and the very much needed true doctrine of the Church, the “true way of being Church.” This has been a bit challenging, because most of us need to unlearn the wrong things so we can surrender totally to the vocation each of us has embraced.

What has given me joy is being with the people and the priests of the diocese and listening to them, attending to their concerns, meeting their needs, and giving them spiritual guidance. 

Today’s Catholic: Did Bishop Rhoades give you any words of wisdom he thought might help you in your role as bishop? Also, what did you learn from Bishop Rhoades about being a bishop while you were in Fort Wayne?

Bishop Jayasuriya: Bishop Rhoades’ advice was for me to make sure I have free time for myself and to find a family or two like Martha and Mary of Bethany. I’m determined to follow the former, but the latter is quite unlikely because of the Sri Lankan culture. But I can manage it in personnel prayer to find a true brother, sister, father, mother, and friend in the Eucharistic Lord.

While I was in Fort Wayne, I learned from Bishop Rhoades to continue to row the boat in the tempest, to hide the pain and the heavy responsibility of being a bishop under a lovely smiling face, and to keep the balance of being a bishop-pastor and bishop-administrator.

Today’s Catholic: What do you think is the most important thing a bishop must be doing in the governance and pastoral care of his diocese, and how do you plan to live that out in the Diocese of Chilaw?

Bishop Jayasuriya: I think the most important thing a bishop must be doing in the governance and pastoral care of his diocese is to proclaim the Gospel of Christ to men. This includes giving a high value to the human person, to his liberty and bodily life; the family, its unity and stability; the procreation and education of children; and human society, with its laws and professions, its labor and leisure, its arts and technical inventions, its poverty and abundance.

To live this out in the diocese, the first step was to conduct a monthly session of 45-60 minutes at the cathedral addressing people with a relevant topic. Second was to cover all the parishes in a year administering the Sacrament of Confirmation to children and making it an opportunity to spend time with them inculcating Christian values, a practice intended to be carried out annually. Attention has also been given to having a program for lawyers, Legal Ad Vitam, for professionals engaged in legal affairs, to get them together to sustain them and to work in unison on common issues.

I have been visiting schools because we don’t have enough Catholic religion teachers, and we appoint volunteer teachers paid by the diocese, which costs us very much. Also, I have initiated a visit – or “the shepherd amidst the flock” – where I will spend two to three days in a parish to be with the people, to understand them better and to experience parish life and the true living conditions of the priests and the people. To encourage artistic skills of the children, we have the diocesan cultural circle functioning very well organizing events.

As a diocese, we are faced with the problem of not having sufficient infrastructure, not enough trained priests for all the apostolates to meet the demands. For example, a priest has not been trained for 60-70 years for catechetics and the youth apostolate for which I am working to remedy the matter. Since Catholics are a minority, steps are being taken to safeguard our rights in practicing our religion since there is a subtle attempt at violating our rights.

There is a lack of religious in the diocese, and I conducted a program with the diocesan religious by way of encouraging them and motivating them for service in collaboration with priests, and I very much admire their response.

Aligned with the Jubilee Year, I have drawn up a plan for 2025, with the theme, “Eucharistic Revival, People of Hope.” Under different monthly themes centered around the Eucharist, I have planned out different programs focusing on different age groups, families, workers, professionals, etc., with eight main objectives to be carried out throughout the year.

I am quite influenced by the pastoral approach of the Holy Fathers – St. John the XXIII, the administrative ability of Saint Paul VI, the scholarly style of Benedict XVI, the endurance in suffering of St. John Paul II, and the humility of Pope Francis.

Today’s Catholic: In your first year as bishop, what are some of the most memorable moments?

Bishop Jayasuriya: The way people welcomed me with great love when I first came to the diocese as the bishop, how they still express their joy when I visit them, and the moment after the consecration that my brother priests gave the promise of obedience as I sat at the cathedral.

It was moving when I occupied the cathedral after the installation, when the priests promised obedience, because they were my formators, some were the senior priests, some were parish priests whom I had assisted as an associate … others my contemporaries in seminaries. One senior priest was on his knees when I asked, “Do you promise obedience to me and my successors?” He replied, “Only you and to no one else,” meaning he will die soon. That brought me to tears.

Scott Warden is editor-in-chief of Today’s Catholic.