TENSING RODRIGUES
Let me quote João Ribeiro before I go further; for it truly throws light on how the location and geography of Sri Lanka determined its history, including the missionary history. According to Ribeiro, “This finest piece of land, which the Creator has placed upon this earth should have been made into the capital of the Estado da Índia and the centerpiece in the political, military, and colonial policy in Asia. Of all maritime outposts from ‘Sofala to Japan’, it was Sri Lanka that was worth holding on to.” This becomes obvious from a careful look at the accompanying map.
Sri Lanka’s primary locational advantage is its strategic position in the Indian Ocean, situated at the crossroads of major shipping routes connecting South Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Africa, making it a convenient port of call for international trade and a gateway to the South Asian market; essentially acting as a vital hub for maritime logistics and commerce.
Let us begin with Ashoka’s 273–232 BCE Buddhist mission, led by Mahinda, described as Ashoka’s son. Mahinda and his colleagues travelled to the Mihintale Hill, eight miles (13 km) from Anuradhapura. There they chanced to meet the Sinhalese King Tissa, to whom they delivered a sermon on Buddhism. The king was brought into the Buddhist fold, and he invited Mahinda to the city. Many embraced the new religion, some taking holy orders and joining the Buddhist sangha. Thus, Buddhism became an established religion in Sri Lanka with Anuradhapura in the highlands as its centre. The coastal lowlands, largely Tamil, remained out of the influence of Buddhism. But the coastal lowlands were of greater importance to the European powers – Portuguese, Dutch, and British – to dominate the trade. So, the colonial and the missionary battles were fought on the coast.
Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, the island of Sri Lanka was witness to the conversion to Catholicism of a large group of communities located mainly along the sea coast, where first the Portuguese established their commercial networks. This widespread conversion determined the construction of a network of churches that spread from the sea coast to the interior of the island of Mannar and the Kingdom of Jaffna, in the northwest of Sri Lanka. The earliest efforts to convert the island’s inhabitants began in 1543, when the Franciscans settled in the Kingdom of Kotte, after King Bhuvanekabahu (1521-1551) sent an embassy to Lisbon. During the 1540s, the missionaries also settled in the Kingdom of Kandy, where they were offered some land in the capital by the local ruler, to build a church dedicated to Our Lady of Conception.[Jayasinghe, et al, 2019 : ‘Remains of Dark Days – The Architectural Heritage of Oratorian Missionary Churches in Sri Lanka’]
Initially, the construction of churches was slow-paced; a letter from Fr. João Noé to King John III of Portugal mentions the construction of only five Catholic churches on the island prior to 1552: “(…) these are the places where our friars live: a monastery in Colombo where the Guardian stays; a church at Negombo; another at Berberym [Beruwala]; another at Galle, which is the chief sea port; and another at Lyção [Weligama]. At each of these there is a friar to baptise and teach those who join the faith (…)”.
Around 1535-37, the Portuguese missionary movement underwent a new development: the Parava leaders (pattankattis) agreed to the conversion of all their people to Catholicism, in return for Portuguese protection. The members of this large community were distributed along the south coast of India and the northwestern coast of the island of Sri Lanka, working as pearl fishermen – a key activity for the region’s economy. Joined by St. Francis Xavier, the Jesuits began a dynamic religious campaign throughout the Pearl Fishery Coast, building a large group of churches not only on the Indian coast, but also in the Gulf of Mannar.
Yet Sankili I opposed this campaign and massacred in 1544 the new Catholic converts of the island of Mannar, along with Fr. António Sardinha. This can help explain why the viceroy Constantino de Bragança invaded the Kingdom of Jaffna in 1560 and why Sankili was subsequently deposed. As a consequence, the island of Mannar came definitively under the sway of the Estado da Índia. A fortress was built on the island and became the residence of the captain of the Fishery Coast. The construction of the Jesuit college in Mannar started in 1565 and the Jesuits’ annual letters also mention the construction of four churches inland: three Karava churches and one Parava church, respectively in Erukkilampiddi, Thoddavali, Karisal, and Patim.
Following the victories of Jaffna and the demise of the Kingdom of Sitawaka, in 1593, the Portuguese adopted an offensive strategy, intent on conquering the Kingdom of Kandy and, by extension, gaining complete control of Sri Lanka. This new political, territorial and colonial strategy went hand in hand with a renewed missionary effort.
In 1594, Fr. Antonio Schipano wrote from Colombo to Claudio Acquaviva, the Jesuit Superior General, about the need for the Society of Jesus to become involved in evangelical work on the island. In January 1597, in response to growing expectations regarding the evangelisation of Sri Lanka, the Bishop of Cochin requested King Philip I of Portugal (Philip II of Spain) to authorise the entry of more religious orders in the island, in order to assist in the “pacification” of the kingdoms of Kotte and Sitawaka. Seeing their religious monopoly in Sri Lanka under threat, the Franciscans tried their best to prevent this, but in 1602 the viceroy allowed priests from the Society of Jesus to settle in the island, granting them the territory of the Seven Korales, in the Kingdom of Kotte. The strong support given to the Jesuits by Jerónimo de Azevedo (1594-1612), the Captain-General of Ceylon, was a major contribution to their expansion. It is thus no wonder that the same Jerónimo de Azevedo acquired in 1604, in the city of Colombo, a land in which to build a Jesuit college. In the following year, a vast number of villages previously controlled by Buddhist priests were assigned to the Jesuits. Continuing the process of expansion initiated by other religious orders, the Dominicans reached Sri Lanka in 1605, followed in 1606 by the Augustinians.
The Franciscans also intensified their activities during this period. In 1602, the text ‘Apologia’ mentions 18 Franciscan churches, almost twice as much as the ones mentioned in 1599. In 1610, Fr. Francisco Negrão, the Franciscan General Commissioner in Ceylon, sent a report to Rome on mass baptisms, mentioning 31 churches where such acts had taken place. A document dated from 1628 and signed by Constantino de Sá de Noronha, Portuguese Captain-General of Ceylon, refers to the existence of no less than 55 Franciscan churches in the Kingdom of Kotte. This detailed document suggests that Catholic communities, although still emerging along the Sri Lankan coastline, were also starting to expand to inland areas, following the course of the main rivers.
In Jaffna the missionary work expanded at a stunning rate, coinciding with the annexation of the kingdom by the Portuguese crown in 1619. A series of large-scale baptisms took place between 1624 and 1626, whereby a large part of the royal family, members of the court and senior dignitaries and their respective families converted to Catholicism. This situation culminated in the heir to the throne of Jaffna renouncing his rights in favour of the King of Portugal, in 1633.
In his global assessment of the advances made by the missionaries, Paulo da Trindade provides a list of 25 Franciscan churches built in this period, not including those on the islands of Tanadiva and Mannar, nor those in Mantota, whose construction was described in a separate chapter. Fernão de Queiroz also drew up an additional list of 10 churches built by the Jesuits. However, a Jesuit document dated from 1644 mentions 12 residences in Jaffna, along with the respective dedications and the number of Christians affiliated to each one.
Another congregation from the Portuguese overseas empire, the Congregation of the Oratory of the Holy Cross of Miracles, established in Goa, entered Sri Lanka. However, the Oratorian congregation of Goa is a sui generis case, which will be mentioned below. According to Maria de Jesus dos Mártires Lopes, until the Pombaline reforms of the second half of the 18th century, the native clerics were relegated to secondary positions – or even interdicted – in most Catholic religious orders installed in Goa. This situation, unlike that of other European countries, was seen as iniquitous by the Goan native clergy, especially because these clerics were of Brahmin origin, the highest (and dominant) caste in India. The congregation of Goan priests under the rule of the Oratorian congregation of Lisbon could be seen as an exception to this awkward situation, since they were allowed to behave almost as regular monastics and to continue their evangelisation and missionary work, acting therefore as a kind of native Asian religious order.
In 1685, José Vaz joined the congregation. And the native clergy of this congregation rose to more privileged positions within the ecclesiastic hierarchy in Goa and India. The Goan Oratorians became increasingly important, which led them to partially replace the Jesuits in the education and training of the local clergy, following the expulsion of the Society of Jesus from the Portuguese territories, in 1759. In fact, many of the Goan priests were trained by Jesuits, which is why Jesuit missionary ideals, including the idea of ‘accomodation’ were firmly embedded in their minds.
