Right Reverend Jerome Emilianuspillai (20 July 1901 – 17 July 1972) was a

Ceylon Tamil Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, live in significant numbers in the Eastern Pr ...

priest and

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Bishop of Jaffna.

Early life and family

Emilianuspillai was born on 20 July 1901 in

Wennappuwa Wennappuwa is a town in Puttalam District, North Western Province, Sri Lanka, North Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is north of Negombo. The village of Wennappuwa is mentioned in the Culavamsa as a small farming hamlet. History A church mad ...

in western

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. His father was a teacher in Wennappuwa. He was educated at

St Patrick's College, Jaffna , motto_translation = By faith and labour , location = Mathews Road, Gurunagar , city = Jaffna , province = Northern Province , country = Sri Lanka , coordinates ...

Career

Emilianuspillai was ordained as a priest in July 1929. In July 1950 he became Bishop of Jaffna. He was the first Tamil Catholic bishop of Ceylon. He inspired everyone to pray with trust and deep conviction. His sermons which reflected his profound faith were simple and clear and touched the heart of hearers. He visited the priests often,especially those who worked in far-off and difficult missions. He took much interest in the spiritual and material well being of all Religious Congregations. He closely followed their growth and ongoing formation, helping and encouraging them. Emilianuspillai died on 17 July 1972.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Emilianuspillai, Jerome 1901 births 1972 deaths Alumni of St. Patrick's College, Jaffna Roman Catholic bishops of Jaffna People from British Ceylon 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Sri Lanka