Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Colombo (Agenzia Fides) – The official visit of Father Guy Bognon (PSS), Secretary General of the Pontifical Society of St. Peter the Apostle, to Sri Lanka, concluded today with the ordination of four new priests (one of whom was trained at the Pontifical College "de Propaganda Fide"). Before beginning his visits to several minor Seminaries and the national major Seminary, Father Guy, accompanied by Father Alessandro Brandi, a collaborator of the Pontifical Society, was received by Cardinal Albert Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don, Metropolitan Archbishop of Colombo, who expressed his deep gratitude for the work of the Pontifical Society of St. Peter the Apostle, founded to support seminaries and seminarians in the territories under the jurisdiction of the Dicastery for Evangelization (Section for First Evangelization and the New Particular Churches).
The warm welcome from the seminarians, who expressed their gratitude for the support they received from the Pontifical Society of St. Peter the Apostle on their journey of formation and faith, was reciprocated by Father Guy and Father Brandi with an appeal to continue their journey with enthusiasm, trust, and seriousness, always relying on their formators and the bishop.
Father Guy addressed the formators by quoting the famous phrase from Pope Paul VI's Apostolic Exhortation, according to which "man today prefers to listen to witnesses rather than teachers, or if he listens to teachers, it is because they are witnesses." The Secretary General also recalled Pope Francis' words regarding the work of formators in the field of consecrated life: "And therefore, it is beautiful to be formators, because it is a privilege to take part in the work of the Father who forms the heart of the Son in those whom the Spirit has called" (Address to the participants in the Congress for Formators in Consecrated Life, 2015).
During the official visit of the delegation from the Society of St. Peter the Apostle, which began on Sunday, September 28, at the St. Aloysius Minor Seminary, the new kitchen, whose construction was made possible in part thanks to the support of the Society of St. Peter the Apostle, was inaugurated in the presence of Father Padige Basil Rohan Fernando, Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Sri Lanka. During the week, Father Bognon and Father Brandi also visited the minor seminary of the Diocese of Chilaw and the seminary in Kurunegala. At the Kandy major Seminary, Father Bognon and Father Brandi participated in the Eucharistic celebration marking the opening of the academic year, during which the Decree establishing the Institute of Theology and Philosophy was read. According to the norms of the Holy See, seminaries must distinguish the institution of seminary from the academic institution. Immediately afterward, the new website of the Kandy Seminary was officially launched. A meeting was held yesterday in Colombo with Msgr. Roberto Lucchini, Chargé d'Affaires of the Apostolic Nunciature in Sri Lanka. (EG) (Agenzia Fides, 4/10/2025)
