New Bishop of Jaffna appointed

Vicar General diocese of Jaffna Very Rev. Msgr. Dr. Justin Bernard Gnanapragasam has been appointed as the new Bishop of Jaffna to the Diocese of Jaffna Sri Lanka by Holy Father Pope Francis. The consecration ceremony will take place on November 28, 2015, local media reported. The Catholics of the entire Jaffna peninsula learned on October 13 of the long awaited appointment of Very. Rev. Msgr. Dr. Justin Bernard Gnanapragasam as their new Bishop of Jaffna. Bishop Thomas Savundaranayagam, who has stepped down having reached  retirement at the age of 75  had been Bishop of Mannar since 1981 and was transferred to Jaffna in 1992. Msgr. Justin Gnanapragasam was born on May 13, 1948, to  orthodox Catholic Parents Father Antonipillai Gnanapragasam and Mother Emily Thangamalar as the fourth child in the family with three brothers and three sisters in a village called "Little Vatican" Karampon, Kayts, in the Diocese of Jaffna. The village Karampon has produced seven  Bishops and many Priests and nuns thereby earning the name "Little Vatican" in the Jaffna Diocese.