Oswald Thomas Colman Gomis ( Sinhala: ඔස්වල්ඩ් තෝමස් කොල්මන් ගෝමිස්) (born 12 December 1932) is the former

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 ...

Archbishop of Colombo The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Colombo ( la, Archidioecesis Columbensis in Taprobane) is a Latin Metropolitan Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church, whose ecclesiastical province covers all Sri Lanka plus the Maldives (which are ...

and the former

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the

University of Colombo (Buddhih Sarvatra Bhrajate) , mottoeng = ''Wisdom Enlightens'' , established = , endowment = Sri Lankan rupee, LKR 1.461 1,000,000,000 (number), billion

(2002-2021). Msgr. Gomis' previous post was as the Bishop of Anuradhapura having been appointed in 1996. He was also the Auxiliary Bishop of Colombo from 1968 to 1996. He formally relinquished office and retired on 5 August 2009.

Early life

Born on 12 December 1932 in the city of

Kelaniya Kelaniya ( si, කැලණිය ta, களனி) is a suburb of Colombo in the Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is known for the Buddhist temple built on the banks of the Kelani River, which divides the suburb from Colombo District. The templ ...

Gampaha district Gampaha District ( si, ගම්පහ දිස්ත්‍රික්කය ''gampaha distrikkaya'', ta, கம்பஹா மாவட்டம் ''Kampahā Māvaṭṭam'') is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administ ...

Sri Lanka 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 ...

, Gomis attended St. Joseph's College and St. Benedict's College Colombo 13 and then entered the

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

in 1950. He was ordained priest on 3 February 1958. He was consecrated bishop on 17 July 1968. He has held several posts during his service in the Archdiocese, such as, Lecturer at St. Aloysius' Seminary,

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

from 1958 to 1960, and Director cum Editor of the Catholic Press, Colombo from 1961 - 1968.

Social work

In order to assist children from villages outside

he has been instrumental in founding various branch schools in the outer districts affiliated with the main colleges in Colombo. He has been involved in various aid schemes for the poor; construction of houses for tsunami victims, relief and rehabilitation work, and a scholarship programme for children affected by the

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...

in 2004. He has also donated a health centre to his hometown of

. Branch schools founded *St. Peter's College, Gampaha *St. Peter's College, Udugampola *Holy Cross College, Payagala * St. Joseph's College, Wattala *St. Joseph's College, Kadolkele *Loyola College, Bopitiya *Christ the King College, Weliweriya

Archbishop

On 6 July 2002, he was appointed Metropolitan

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of Colombo by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

. He was installed as the Archbishop on 27 July 2002. Following his earlier appointment as the Secretary General of the Asian Bishops' Conferences, he was reappointed in the same year. He was also appointed by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

as a Synodal Father on 8 September 2005, and has met with him on 2 May 2007 to discuss the civil war situation in Sri Lanka. He is also the 3rd Archbishop of Colombo that is Sri Lankan, as following the erection of the Diocese by

Pope Gregory XVI Pope Gregory XVI ( la, Gregorius XVI; it, Gregorio XVI; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in 1 June 1846. He h ...

on 3 December 1834, all Archbishops until 1947 had been of foreign heritage. He retired on 5 August 2009.

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gomis, Oswald 1932 births Living people Sinhalese priests 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Sri Lanka Alumni of Saint Joseph's College, Colombo 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Sri Lanka Roman Catholic auxiliary bishops of Colombo Roman Catholic archbishops of Colombo Sri Lankan Roman Catholic archbishops