1. Oblates arrived
  2. First seed

The mission of Point Pedro, at the early part of the history of the Oblates in Sri Lanka, comprised of the regions of Vadamaradchy, Tenmaradchy, Pacchilai­palli and Mulleitivu. Point Pedro was situated on the extreme north of the island. This mission had very less Catholics, and was surrounded by an immense multitude of non-Christians. The people were all Tamils.

The mission of Point Pedro was one of the three missions in the Jaffna peninsula, which was situated in the Northern Province. The Northern Province, Eastern Province, North-western Province are the three, out of the six provinces into which the civil administration of then Ceylon was divided, formed together the Northern or Jaffna Vicariate. The Northern Province had the area of 5,427 square miles and the total population was 315,000 in 1861. Each province was divided into various missions.

According to a report on ‘The Various Missions of Ceylon’ sent on 12 February 1844 to propaganda Fide by the Vicar of Ceylon, Bishop Caetano Antonio, a Goan Oratorian, the mission of Point Pedro had four regions. The regions of Vadamaradchy, Tenmaradchy, and Pacchilaipalli had 3204 Catholics; and the region of Mulleitivu had 603 Catholics. In the region of Vadamaradchy there were eight churches, of which one was built with stones and covered with tiles; all the others were built, partly of stones and partly of clay, but all were covered with the leaves of palms, without doors and windows, and open in front. Two were dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary; two to St. Anthony, two to St. Francis Xavier, one to St. Sebastian, another to St. Joseph. The first church of this mission was distant from the last of the mission of Valikamam by four miles. In the region of Tenmaradchy there were nine churches, of which one was built of stones and covered with tiles. The others were all built partly of stones and partly of clay, and they were covered with the leaves of palms, without doors and windows, but open in the front. Of which two are dedicated to St. Anthony, two to the Blessed Virgin Mary, one to St. Sebastian, another to St. Nicholas, another to St. Anne, another to St. Michael the Archangel, another to St. James. One was distant from another by one mile, two miles, three miles, and four miles. In the region of Pacchilaipalli there were six churches built of clay and covered with the leaves of palms without doors and windows but open in the front, and they were very small. One was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, three to St. Anthony, one to St. Philip Neri and another to St. Sebastian. In the region of Mulleitivu there were three churches built of clay and covered with the leaves of palms. One was distant from another by two miles, and from the other which was in the interior, by fourteen miles. One was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, two to St. Anthony. They were without windows and doors and were open in the front. Between the mission of Pacchilaipalli and Mulleitivu was a space of ten miles, full of forests and wild animals. Mulleitivu was 40 miles from Point Pedro. Point Pedro was 21 miles from Jaffna. From the mission of Mulleitivu as far as the mission of Trincomalee was a great space deserted and full of wild animals and forests.

Oblates arrived
It was in November 1847 the missionaries of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate arrived in Sri Lanka on the invitation of the newly appointed Vicar Apostolic of Jaffna Bishop Orazio Bettachini, an Italian Oratorian. The first band of four Oblates under the superior-ship of Fr. Étienne Semeria, o.m.i., landed in the vicariate of Jaffna, for which they were destined to, on 10 March 1848.

It was in 1849 that Fr. Félix François Leydier, o.m.i., who just arrived in the country newly and Fr. Joseph Alexandre Ciamin, o.m.i., who was one in the first group of four Oblates came first to the mission of Point Pedro. It was the arrangement between the two missionaries that one would reside at Point Pedro and look after that extensive mission and the other would be in the region of Mullaitivu. Thus, Fr. Leydier took charge of Point Pedro and Fr. Ciamin of Mullaitivu. In September 1850, Bishop Bettachini decided to remove Fr. Ciamin from Mullaitivu and to send him to the mission of Mantotta where he had been before 1849. Fr. Léon Charles Mauroit, o.m.i., replaced him and went to be with Fr. Leydier. Fr. Leydier looked after the regions of Vadamaradchy, Pacchilaipalli and Mulleitivu, while Fr. Mauroit looked after the churches of Kilaly and Mirusuvil in Tenmaradchy region.

As it was the first mission for Fr. Leydier he took serious effort to learn the language. As a result he soon was able to preach and give religious instructions to the people. He was very committed to his mission. At the outset of his missionary career, Fr. Leydier made a resolution on 15 August 1850, the feast of the Assumption of Our Lady, signed with his own blood, to live a life of prayer and sacrifice. He ate very little, took his rice dry, slept on the hard floor, and daily scourged himself with the discipline. But, at the same time, he devoted himself to his ministry without rest or respite. His zeal for souls was equalled by the intensity of his faith. Fr. Leydier did not limit his apostolate to preaching and instruc­tion in the church and the mission house, but wherever he went, as a good shepherd, he went in search of his flock. He visited the families, listened to their stories, solved their problems, reconciled broken fami­lies and removed the scandals and injustices. He instructed the Chris­tians in their noble religion, and to the non-Christians he showed the goodness of his religion. He was very much interested in talking with the pagans and converting and winning them over to God. During the cholera epidemic in Mullaitivu he was happy that he had the consolation of baptizing a pagan on his deathbed. At Vathiry, another out-station, he felt sorry about the fate of the sinners. He spent hours in the confessional liberating the sinners from the slavery of their sins. After the sacred ministry of the confessional, the next urgent ministry to which Fr. Leydier devoted himself was care for the sick. In 1850, when cholera epidemic ravaged Jaffna, he who happened to spend few days in the city, never refused to go to the help of the dying. In 1951, when cholera broke out in Mullaitivu, he walked miles and miles through jungles in sun and rain to attend to the poor victims and to administer the last Sacraments. He worked hard without any rest, not caring even for his health.

First seed
Tuleikuttendel was a small village in the mission of Point Pedro, noted for its crimes and violence. Like a divine punishment, cholera appeared in the village in a most virulent form. Fr. Leydier was soon there. Many people had already died and a few victims were still alive. The people, repentant in their terror, assisted at his Mass, with ropes round their necks and crowns of thorns on their heads. After Mass, Fr. Leydier himself, bearing the same symbols of penitence, pronounced on behalf of the village a solemn act of reparation. No fresh cases of cholera occurred thereafter, and those already infected by the disease recov­ered their health.

In early 1851, Fr. Leydier went again to Mullaitivu and remained alone for days in that poverty-stricken and cholera-stricken region. In the month of May, he went to another out-station in Pacchilaipalli to a village hard hit by cholera, where he was supposed to remain till the end of August. He left Vathiry unaware that the germs of the disease had already entered his system. At Pacchilaipalli he worked hard, attending to the cholera victims, preaching in the church and hearing confessions till late into the night. When he was there he was called to another cholera stricken village, a considerable distance away. He walked to that village over the burning sands until he was exhausted. The heat and fatigue were too much for him. He reached his destination, but burning with fever, and more dead than alive. But he set to work, visiting the sick, instructing, preaching and hearing confessions. Fr. Mauroit learning that Fr. Leydier was seriously ill, sent him a horse to bring him to Vathiry where he was staying at that time. Fr. Mauroit offered him some light food but Fr. Leydier could not eat for his stomach could not retain anything. After reciting long evening prayer on his knees, Fr. Leydier stretched himself on a mat for a few hours’ rest. In the dead of night, he began to vomit. It is cholera. Fr. Mauroit heard his confession immediately and administered him the last Sacraments. By morning Fr. Leydier with his Oblate Cross pressed to his lips, burning not so much with fever as with love for souls, gave up his beautiful soul to God. It was 16 June 1851. He was the first Ob­late to die in Sri Lanka and he was only twenty-nine years old.

On his death Fr. Mauroit took charge of the mission of Point Pedro in 1851 and had to run it alone until 1853 when he was transferred to the mission of Jaffna. In September 1853, Fr. Frédéric Mouchel, o.m.i., came to replace him. But in the same year 1850 the region of Mullaitivu was separated from the mission of Point Pedro and attached to the mission of Jaffna. Fr. Mouchel looked after the mission until August 1855. Fr. Adrien Saint-Geneys, o.m.i., succeeded him in this mission and continued until 1860. They had to work hard during these years of 1854-1859 against the Goan schismatic priests who became active especially at Karaveddy where there were few followers of them. Some of the Padroadite Goan priests did not accept the transfer of the Church of Sri Lanka from the Padroado system to Propaganda by Pope Urban VIII and establishing it as an Apostolic Vicariate, detached from Cochin and coming under the direct jurisdiction of the Congregation of Propaganda Fide. The conflict between Padroado and Propaganda developed into a Schism in Sri Lanka and did immense harm to the Catholic Church. Some of the Padroadites returned to their country but some others remained and gave endless troubles to the missionaries sent by the Propaganda.

The mission of Mullaitivu, which was once separated from the mission of Point Pedro in 1853 and was attached to the mission of Jaffna, was again attached to the mission of Point Pedro in 1858. In 1860, Fr. Léon Pélissier, o.m.i., took over the mission of Point Pedro. There he had been remarkable in worked hard to liberate the people from their superstitious practices and diabolic cults as they also embraced some of these practices of Hindus who were around them. He also had to struggle with the Goan schismatics. Fr. Pélissier toiled hard to collect the necessary fund to erect the church of Point Pedro. The foundation was laid for St. Thomas’ church on 21 December 1860 and it was ready for worship on 15 August 1862. In 1873, he was transferred to the mission of Trincomalee.

According to the report sent by Bishop Semeria to Propaganda Fide on 03 September 1861 there were eight churches and seventeen chapels with 3,946 Catholics. It was 5,746 Catholics with Mullaitivu region.

The mission of Point Pedro is now a part of the Diocese of Jaffna. Bishop Semeria, in the Vicariate of Jaffna, was succeeded by Bishop Ernest Christophe Bonjean. o.m.i., in July 1868. The Oblate succession continued until the time Bishop Jerome Emilianus Pillai, o.m.i., who passed away on 17 July 1972. He was the last Oblate Bishop in the diocese. Hence, the presence of the Oblates still continues involving in various ministries in the diocese of Jaffna.

Jerome Velichor, o.m.i.