The delegates from three dioceses in Sri Lanka had a tight work programme when they met a fortnight ago at the Jesuit Fatima Centre in Kandy. They adopted an amended constitution of KOLPING Sri Lanka and elected a new Board of Directors and Finance Committee for the association, which has about 700 members.
The delegates also eagerly discussed the future development of KOLPING Sri Lanka and developed first project ideas in a workshop. General Secretary Dr Markus Demele travelled from Germany to attend the meeting. He congratulated the new team of volunteers and was happy about the general spirit of optimism. Mr Christopher will be the future President, and Fr. Sebastian will have the office of Praeses. With Mari Soosai, the director of KOLPING India, an experienced neighbour will support the Sri Lankan association in their next steps. This will hopefully give a new momentum to their project work after years of silence. The representative of the Bishops’ Conference and Protector of KOLPING Sri Lanka, Bishop Cletus Chandrasiri Perera OSB, who opened the meeting in Kandy with a mass, was also hopeful that the activities of the Kolping Families in Sri Lanka contribute in a beneficial way to the reduction of poverty and to participation in the life of the Church and society. “The spirit of optimism at the Fatima Centre was palpable. Everyone is eager to develop initiatives in the existing Kolping Families with new momentum and to inspire more people for KOLPING in the country,” Markus Demele reported from his trip.
