Archbishop Emeritus, His Grace Most Rev. Dr Oswald Gomis, passed away this morning in a private hospital in Colombo after a brief illness. Rev. Gomis was 90 at the time of his passing. Initially appointed as an auxiliary bishop to serve the Colombo archdiocese along with then-Archbishop of Colombo His Eminence Dr Thomas Cardinal Cooray, he later served as the Bishop of Anuradhapura before being appointed as the Archbishop of Colombo following the retirement of Archbishop Rt Rev.Nicholas Marcus Fernando.
Archbishop Emeritus Oswald Gomis also served as the Chancellor of Colombo University. Rt Rev Gomis was a product of St Joseph’s College Maradana. Hailing from Keleniya, he also developed a penchant for Sinhala literature and maintained a close affinity with scholar-Buddhist monks during his tenure as the Archbishop of Colombo.
His remains will lie in state at the Sacred Heart Chapel, Archbishop’s House from 12 noon to 6.00 p.m. tody( Friday) and thereafter at St. Anne’s Church, Pilapitya, Kelaniya. The remains will be there until 12 noon on 4th February.
Thereafter his remains will be taken to St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Anuradhapura and will be there until 11. a.m. on 5th February. On Sunday the 5th of February at 5.00 pm his remains will be received at the Kotahena roundabout and taken in procession to St Lucia’s Cathedral.
The Requiem Mass will be held on Monday, the 6th of February at 3.00 p.m. followed by burial at St. Lucia’s Cathedral Crypt.
