President congratulates new Cardinal

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has sent a message of congratulations to Colombo Archbishop Rt. Rev. Dr. Malcolm Ranjith on his being elevated to the position of Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church as announced by the Vatican today, states a media release from the Department of Government Information.

His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith is the second Sri Lankan to be named to the College of Cardinals of the Catholic Church, the first being the late Thomas Cardinal Cooray, who also served as Archbishop of Colombo when elevated to the Cardinalate in 1965.

Due to the prominence within the Catholic Church’s hierarchy of his position as Archbishop of Colombo, His Lordship Malcolm Ranjith has been named a Cardinal in the next consistory, which is to be called by Pope Benedict XVI in November 2010.

Prior to his appointment as Archbishop of Colombo in June 2009, Bishop Malcolm Ranjith has served as Auxiliary Bishop of Colombo (1991–1995), Bishop of Ratnapura (1995–2001), Adjunct Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (2001–2004), Apostolic Nuncio to Indonesia and East Timor (2004–2005), and Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments (2005–2009). He served as the Vicar General in charge of Parochial Apostolate and Lay Apostolate from 1991 to 1995. His peers elected him the Secretary General of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Sri Lanka as well.