Sunday Times 2
A Shepherd unto God’s heart
Rev Vianney Fernando
On March 27, (Wednesday) in the Holy Week of 1983, the Vatican Radio announced the appointment of Very Rev Fr Vianney Fernando, Vicar General of the Diocese of Kandy as the Sixth Bishop of Kandy, by His Holiness Pope (St) John Paul II. With his Episcopal Ordination on May 21, 1983, Bishop Vianney took over the Diocese of Kandy from his predecessor and mentor, Bishop Paul Perera, and when he hands over the Diocese to his successor, Rt Rev Dr Valence Mendis on January 17, 2022, he would complete his period of shepherding the Diocese for 38 years, 7 months and 27 days (a total of 14,121 days to be precise) creating history as the longest serving Bishop of a Diocese of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka. It is fitting that Bishop Vianney hands over the Diocese to a person whose formative years as a newly ordained Priest (from 1985 to 1989) was under his watchful and loving guidance.
During his record-breaking tenure as the Shepherd of the Diocese of Kandy, Bishop Vianney not only gave spiritual leadership to the Catholics of the Central Province (which constitutes the Diocese of Kandy) but also a tremendous leadership to Sri Lankans of all religions and races in matters of national interest – especially on justice and peace, human rights, equality, ethnic harmony, poverty alleviation, inter-religious dialogue and the holding of free and fair elections.
Numerous are his contributions to the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka at the national level and among them only the following are given below: -
a) He spearheaded the national effort to canonize St Joseph Vaz who almost single-handedly revived the faith of our forefathers during the persecution of the Catholics by the Dutch rulers of Sri Lanka in the 17th-18th centuries. These efforts culminated in the beatification of the beloved Apostle of Sri Lanka on January 21, 1995 by Pope (St) John Paul II and finally the canonization on January 14, 2015 by His Holiness Pope Francis. (All Catholics of Sri Lanka are very fortunate as both these ceremonies took place at our own Galle Face Green. Many of us believe that we are Catholics today because of the untiring missionary efforts of St Joseph Vaz, and that we have a Saint today because of the untiring efforts of Bishop Vianney).
b) The meaningful preparation and celebration of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 by the Sri Lankan Catholics were due to Bishop Vianney’s leadership during his first tenure of office as the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Sri Lanka (CBCSL) during 1996-1999. Among the numerous steps taken in this regard by the CBCSL, the most important was the adoption of the Asian Integral Pastoral Approach (ASIPA) by all the Dioceses, resulting in the setting-up of Small Christian Communities (SCCs) in several parishes. The SCCs brought about a true spiritual re-awakening and a genuine feeling of brotherhood among those in the neighbourhood. The fruits of the SCCs can now be seen in the deep yearning of the people to hear, live and proclaim the Word of God.
To the Church in Asia and to the Universal Church too he made a tremendous contribution – especially with regard to matters of faith and morals, inter-religious dialogue and social justice. He was Sri Lanka’s representative at the Synod of Asian Bishops held in the Vatican in the late 1990s. He was a member of the Preparatory Council of the Asian Synod, and functioned as the Bishop in charge of the press interviews during the Synod proceedings. Subsequently, he was elected a member of the Post-Synodal Council. Consequent to this Synod, Pope (St) John Paul II issued his Apostolic Exhortation “Ecclesia in Asia”.
His spiritual leadership was geared towards rekindling the faith of the Catholics and empowering them to be Spirit-filled witnesses of Jesus Christ. His goal was to make the Diocese of Kandy a Truly Participatory and an Evangelizing Church – a Missionary Church witnessing to the love and mercy of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ – (which incidentally is the main objective of the General Synod of Bishops convoked by His Holiness Pope Francis to be held in October 2023).
Space constraints restrict me from mentioning all that he did for the spiritual nourishment and social upliftment of the flock entrusted to him, and therefore I wish to confine myself only to highlight the following:
i) The number of parishes which was 16 in 1983 has now increased to 30. Further, many chapels were constructed in the remote areas of all the geographically large parishes for the benefit of the Catholics living far away from the parish church.
ii) Churches that could not accommodate the increasing numbers that attend Holy Mass and other services were expanded, and in some parishes, beautifully designed new churches were constructed to replace the old ones – (eg, at Rotawewa and Talawakelle). Special mention must be made of the major project to expand St Anthony’s Cathedral, Kandy. This Cathedral, which was built in 1877, was an elongated building without side wings. Its distinctive architecture is a Gregorian adaptation of the Renaissance period – greatly admired for its beauty and style. Considering its cultural, historical and archeological importance as well as its age, this gigantic project had to be meticulously planned and executed with great care and caution so that the architectural beauty and style of the building was well preserved. The project which commenced in 1999 was completed in 2002 with the construction of two new side-wings and a belfry blending perfectly with the architecture of the main building, thus doubling the seating capacity.
iii) His genuine concern for the orphans, the aged, the sick and other less-fortunate brethren is manifested in the number of ‘Homes’ that are in operation in many parts of the Diocese. Having realised that many poor patients from outside Kandy who are compelled to come to the General Hospital, Kandy regularly to attend clinics or for treatment have no place to stay overnight, he began ‘Sanasum Sevana’ (Shelter of Tranquility) in a house adjoining the Kandy Cathedral in 1984 with the assistance of two Good Shepherd Sisters well-known for their compassionate love and concern for the poor (namely, Rev Mother Maurice of revered memory and Rev Sister Perpetual who is now in her mid-90s). It was shifted to a spacious house at Kuda Ratwatte Mawatha which was donated to the Diocese in 1991 and renamed ‘Pachow Welcome House’ in memory of the donors. It is now a haven not only for patients from outside Kandy, but also for young girls and women in crisis. In response to his request to open a ‘Home’ to coincide with the tercentenary of the arrival of St Joseph Vaz in Kandy (in 1689), St (Mother) Teresa of Calcutta opened ‘Daya Nivasa’ (Home of Compassion) in Kandy in 1989 to look after the destitute and the abandoned.
iv) Being aware of the lack of proper educational facilities for Catholic children in the Nuwara Eliya District, he established two schools (St Patrick’s College, Talawakelle and Our Lady’s Upper School, Blackpool, Nuwara Eliya) both of which are now leading schools.
v) During the recent Corona virus pandemic, he not only gave leadership to the Priests and the religious to reach out to those affected in their Parishes, but also looked into the welfare and safety of all his co-workers.
vi) As his parting gift, he built five small but compact houses at Dalpitiya, (Gampola Parish) and donated them to homeless families in August 2021.
He rendered yeomen services in the aftermath of the ethnic riots of 1983. He visited every centre in the Central Province that provided shelter to the victims, looking into their immediate needs and also encouraging all those involved in providing humanitarian services. His yearning for lasting peace in our beloved country and his firm belief in the maternal intercession of Mother Mary prompted him to compose the well-known ‘Prayer to Our Lady for our Country’ soon after the 1983 riots. This beautiful prayer (the recitation of which began in a small way in the Diocese of Kandy), is now being recited in almost every parish throughout Sri Lanka every Sunday (and even daily in some parishes) appealing to our dear Mother to “Guide the destinies of our nation and obtain for us lasting peace so that all of us may live as brothers and sisters of one family”.
Because of his farsightedness of ordaining only Deacons who are fluent in both Sinhala and Tamil (in addition to English), the Diocese is now fortunate to have trilingual priests who can serve in any parish. He is erudite and forthright. His policy of no-compromise on matters of faith and morals, and strict adherence to the liturgical norms of the Church (with zero tolerance of liturgical aberrations) coupled with genuine compassion, love and concern for the poor, the oppressed and the marginalised endeared him to his flock as their gentle shepherd. (A few of us affectionately refer to him as the “Gentle Giant” – which was coined by the late Rev Fr Mark Perera SJ in the late 1980s). His sanctity and prayer-life coupled with his simple lifestyle devoid of any unnecessary luxuries made him to be looked upon by the priests and the religious as a model to be emulated.
He is a man for all seasons – an excellent host, an interesting conversationalist and a very good singer who could render many a popular Sinhala song by heart.
As Bishop Vianney concludes his fruitful, exemplary and record-breaking long episcopate, we thank God for the gift of a loving and caring shepherd who always led from the front. May Mother Mary (Queen and Patroness of Sri Lanka), St Anthony (the Patron of the Diocese of Kandy) and St Joseph Vaz (the Apostle of Sri Lanka) protect and guide him. May Almighty God shower upon him a grace-filled retirement which he so richly deserves.
Thank you, dear Bishop Vianney. You have been a “Shepherd unto God’s heart” (cf. Jeremiah 3:15). We wish you a happy retirement!
Victor Silva (FCA, FCMA, MCIM – Retired)