SSS Sri Lanka

Although Matale was canonically erected a Parish in 1873, the presence of a Catholic community there can be traced back to the beginning of the 18th Century. In 1844, Matale was made an Outstation of the Kandy Mission and it is on record that there was a small mud and wattle shed that served as a place of worship. Later having received a plot of land from the Government in 1856/57 the Priest who was in charge put up a brick building, which was expanded and improved in 1872. This structure was demolished in 1963 and the present church was completed in 1965.

Matale is surrounded by the Knuckles Range of Mountains and it had a total Catholic population of more than 8,400 in the 1970’s as per the statistics available in the Diocesan Archives. However, this has come down to 3144 in 2002 (Central Province Catholic Census – 2002) due to various reasons. The priests are compelled to cater to the needs of the faithful attached to St. Thomas’ Church – the Parish Church as well as to the needs of other faithful: mainly of the plantation, community belonging to the thirteen substations of the parish.

Fr. Winston Fernando (Bishop Emeritus of Badulla Diocese now) while putting his best effort to transform the faithful of Matale, was also able to complete the construction of the Sanctuary and the two side wings of St. Thomas Church during his period. He was able to repair and renovate many other churches in the substations. God has blessed this foundation with many of our priests serving as parish priests and assistants since then. Currently, Rev. Fr. Roger Fernando serves as the Parish Priest assisted by Rev. Frs. Anton Rohitha and Oliver Julian.