Resignation and Appointment of the Bishop of Jaffna (Sri Lanka)
Appointment of the Bishop of Yopal (Colombia)
Resignation and Appointment of the Bishop of Jaffna (Sri Lanka)
The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Jaffna (Sri Lanka), presented by His Excellency Bishop Justin Bernard Gnanapragasam.
The Holy Father has appointed as Bishop of Jaffna (Sri Lanka) His Excellency Bishop Anton Ranjith Pillainayagam, transferring him from the titular see of Materiana and from the office of Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Colombo.
Curriculum Vitae
His Excellency Bishop Anton Ranjith Pillainayagam was born on 23 September 1966 in Jaffna. He studied Philosophy at St. Francis Xavier Major Seminary in Jaffna and Theology at the National Seminary in Kandy.
He was ordained a priest on 16 September 2000 for the Archdiocese of Colombo.
On 13 July 2020 he was appointed Titular Bishop of Materiana and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Colombo, receiving episcopal consecration on 29 August 2020. In the Archdiocese of Colombo he serves as Delegate for the Tamil Community.
Since 2024, he has been Apostolic Administrator sede vacante et ad nutum Sanctae Sedis of the Diocese of Batticaloa. Since 2025, he has been Secretary General of the Bishops’ Conference of Sri Lanka.
Appointment of the Bishop of Yopal (Colombia)
The Holy Father has appointed as Bishop of Yopal (Colombia) His Excellency Bishop Jaime Uriel Sanabria Arias, until now Titular Bishop of Burca and Apostolic Vicar of San Andrés y Providencia.
Curriculum Vitae
His Excellency Bishop Jaime Uriel Sanabria Arias was born on 17 April 1970 in the municipality of Clénaga-Boyacá, in the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Tunja. He completed his philosophical and theological studies at the Major Seminary of the same archdiocese and later pursued postgraduate pastoral courses in Rome and Mexico.
He was ordained a priest on 19 November 1994, incardinated in the Archdiocese of Tunja.
He has held the following roles: parochial vicar of Nuestra Señora de la Inmaculada Concepción in Ciénega; parish priest of San Antonio de Padua in Ventaquemada; Director of the Youth Department of the Colombian Episcopal Conference; and Episcopal Vicar for Pastoral Action of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Tunja.
On 16 April 2016 he was appointed Titular Bishop of Burca and Apostolic Vicar of San Andrés y Providencia (Colombia), receiving episcopal ordination on 22 May of the same year.
