The Sri Lankan Church named the year 2017 as the year St. Joseph Vaz, who is the patron saint of the country. Accordingly, many events were organized in the Delegation in different levels. The Spirituality Council of the Delegation organized a symposium for all the members of the Delegation on the theme of: “ST. JOSEPH VAZ, A MODEL FOR THE (RELIGIOUS) MISSIONARIES.” The symposium was held on the 17th of July, 2017 at St. Claret Seminary, Kattuwa.
Rev. Fr. Alvin Peter Fernando, a Scripture professor at the National Seminary, Ampitiya presented a well-articulated keynote address on the main theme. Going along with the main theme, an article prepared by Fr. Joseph Jeyaseelan CMF under titled: ‘Imitating St. Joseph Vaz as a minister of Reconciliation in post- war Sri Lanka’ was read out at the symposium and Fr. Jeyaseelan himself was available (from the US) through the Skype to respond to questions and clarifications. Student Franklyn Fernando made a good presentation based on a comparative study done under the theme of: “Featuring Sts. Joseph Vaz and Anthony Claret as models to face present day challenges”. Fr. Milfer Vaz CMF enlightened the audience with a practical presentation on: “The missionary styles of St. Joseph Vaz still valid for the missionaries of today”.
A harvesting session with a group discussion was also conducted in order to personalize all what had been presented.