Sri Lankan Christmas celebration in Jerusalem


Father Roshan Perera, a Sinhala speaking priest from Sri Lanka, came this year to Jerusalem to celebrate Christmas for the Sinhala speaking faithful in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Beer Sheba and Netanya. On December 31, 2016, he celebrated mass at Notre Dame Center in Jerusalem and a festive celebration followed.

sri lankan christmas2016

Hundreds of Sinhala speaking Catholic migrant workers from Sri Lanka are served by a chaplaincy headed by Sister Clarice, who resides at Our Lady Woman of Valor Pastoral Center in Tel Aviv. The community is ordinarily served by priests who do not speak Sinhala but the CPAM (Coordination for the Pastoral Among Migrants) tries to invite a priest for the periods of Christmas and Easter. This year, Father Roshan Wasantha Perera came to serve the community and celebrated Christmas masses around the country.

On Saturday, December 31, 2016, the Sri Lankan community organized a celebration at the Notre Dame Center in Jerusalem. Among those invited were Father David Neuhaus, Latin Patriarchal Vicar, and the Sri Lankan ambassador to Israel. Father Roshan celebrated mass in the auditorium of the center in Sinhala. This was followed by a cultural program that began with a traditional candle lighting. Carols and dances, performed by groups of Sri Lankans from Jerusalem, Netanya and Tel Aviv, were interspersed with messages from Father Roshan, the ambassador and Father David. At the end, a nativity play was performed.

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