Christian Noel Emmanuel (born 25 December 1960) is a Sri Lankan Tamil priest and the current Roman Catholic Bishop of Trincomalee.


Noel Emmanuel
Bishop of Trincomalee
ChurchRoman Catholic Church
ProvinceColombo
DioceseTrincomalee
Installed3 June 2015
PredecessorKingsley Swampillai
Personal details
Born (1960-12-25) 25 December 1960 (age 63)

Early life and family edit

Emmanuel was born on 25 December 1960 in Trincomalee in eastern Ceylon.[1][2][3] After school he joined St. Joseph's Minor Seminary before studying philosophy at the National Seminary of Kandy (1978–81).[2][3] He then did regency with pastoral work (1981–82) before entering St. Paul's Major Seminary, Triruchirappally (1983–86).[2][3]

Career edit

Emmanuel was ordained as a deacon and priest on 12 March 1985 and 21 May 1986 respectively.[1][2][3] He then held various positions: assistant priest in the Cathedral Parish, Batticaloa (1986–88); parish priest of the Church of Iruthayapuram, Batticaloa (1988–89); parish priest of the Church of Our Lady of Good Health, Akkaraipattu (1989–93); and Director of the Catechetical, Biblical and Liturgical Apostolate, Batticaloa (1993–99).[2][3] Between 1999 and 2001 he studied at the Pontifical Urban University.[2][3] On returning to Sri Lanka he served as professor at the National Seminary in Kandy (2001–11).[2][3] In 2011 he was appointed episcopal vicar of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trincomalee-Batticaloa.[2][3] He became general treasurer of the diocese in 2012.[2][3] On 3 June 2015 he became Bishop of Trincomalee.[1][4]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Bishop Christian Noel Emmanuel". Catholic Hierarchy.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Pope appoints a new Bishop in Sri Lanka". Vatican Radio. 3 June 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Pope appoints a new Bishop in Sri Lanka". The Island (Sri Lanka). 5 June 2015.
  4. ^ "Fr. Noel Emmanuel new Bishop of Trincomalee". Daily News (Sri Lanka). 4 June 2015. Archived from the original on 7 June 2015.

External links edit