Fr. Benedict Joseph, the first parish priest of Eldeniya and a trailblazer in Catholic communications in Sri Lanka, passed away on September 11. He was 85.
Fr. Benedict was ordained on December 19, 1970, at St. Lucia’s Cathedral in Kotahena by the late Thomas Cardinal Cooray. He went on to serve as the inaugural parish priest of Eldeniya, remembered by parishioners as a respected shepherd whose ministry combined faith and service to the community.
Beyond his pastoral duties, Fr. Benedict dedicated his life to the world of Catholic media. He became a household name in Sri Lanka as editor of Gnanartha Pradeepaya, the country’s oldest Sinhala Catholic newspaper, and later as director of the Catholic Press and the Social Communication Centre in Borella.
A teacher, consultant, and “treasure trove of media experience,” he was sought out by journalists and communicators in Sri Lanka and Asia for guidance. Colleagues often turned to him for advice across print, radio, television, and cinema, fields in which he left a deep mark.
Fr. Benedict pioneered religious broadcasting in the country, producing Sri Lanka’s first televised Studio Mass and introducing Supuwatha, a bi-monthly program that reflected on national and international events in the Church. His productions extended to Rupavahini, ITN, SLBC, and Radio Veritas Manila. He also organized the annual SIGNIS/OCIC Film Awards, nurturing a culture of faith-inspired cinema for decades.
His creative contributions included a movie and a serialized television drama on the life of St. Joseph Vaz, Sri Lanka’s first saint. He believed media could be a channel for storytelling rooted in the Gospel and used it to reach ordinary households with messages of hope and faith.
Fr. Benedict’s influence extended beyond Catholic circles. In the 1980s and 1990s, he served on several national cultural and media bodies, including the Sinhala Dictionary Advisory Committee, the Catholic–Christian Advisory Committee, the Ministry of Cultural Affairs’ committees, and the Tele-drama Script Committee. He was also part of the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation’s Advertisement Inquiry Board, a panel member for ITN’s program preview team, and a member of the Sri Lanka Kala Mandalaya.
In 1995, he played a key role as Chief Media Coordinator during the visit of Pope St. John Paul II to Sri Lanka, an assignment that underscored his ability to bridge Church and national media. He also represented the country at numerous international Catholic media conferences, where his work was recognized as a model of innovation and dedication.
Known for mentoring younger communicators, Fr. Benedict shaped generations of Catholic journalists, filmmakers, and broadcasters across the region. His legacy, colleagues say, lies not only in the programs he produced but in the people he inspired to carry the Church’s mission through media.
Final rites were held on September 13 at Borella Cemetery, where the Catholic community paid tribute to a priest whose life was inseparably bound with the growth of Catholic media in Sri Lanka. — with reports from Radio Veritas Asia
