Arch. Ranjith opens cause for beatification of Sri Lanka’s “great son” Card. Cooray

Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith declared open the cause of beatification of Cardinal Thomas Cooray during a Eucharistic celebration Friday, held at the basilica built by the late Cardinal, dedicated to Our Lady of Lanka, in Tewatta. Cardinal Cooray was born in1901 and was ordained a priest in 1929 in the Congregation of Oblates of Mary Immaculate. He became the first native born Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Colombo on in 1947.
“He was a man of God”, Archbishop Ranjith tells Vatican Radio, “a deeply spiritual, but very active pastor. During his tenure, which lasted nearly thirty years, he did a lot of work to establish the other dioceses of Sri Lanka. He was very missionary minded. Card. Cooray dedicated himself entirely to his Church and the cause of the Lord”.
Archbishop Ranjith addes: “during years of religious restriction in Sri Lanka, when nationalistic forces saw the Church as a foreign elements, he endeavoured to further the cause of the faith. Today, while there are still tensions, the Church is very respected as an integral part of our nation. Our role, a new role has been thrust upon us because of our Christian calling, to promote dialogue between all religions and all people on this island”.
He concludes: “Dialogue between religions and care for the poor were the pillars of Card Cooray’s faith and the pillars of our Church today”. Listen to Emer McCarthy’s interview with the Archbishop of Colombo: