Book Launch "Remains of Dark Days: The architectural Heritage of Oratorian Missionary Churches in Sri Lanka"

July 19, 2019 | 19.15h | Church of Telheiras, Lisboa

With the first Portuguese contacts with Sri Lanka in the early sixteenth century, Catholic missionaries came in their quest to convert local populations. The loss of the island to the Dutch in the mid-seventeenth century began a black period for Sinhalese Catholics, hard-hounded and left to their fate. At the end of the seventeenth century, Father José Vaz, from the Oratory Congregation of Saint Philip Néri, made his way to Sri Lanka and took on the mission of spiritually assisting the Catholic communities of the island, founding countless missions and churches, supported by others oratorian Goan.

Many of these churches disappeared or were transformed, but many have come to this day. What makes them unique is that they represent the only typology of known Oratorian church and they were developed by Goan missionaries under Portuguese influence. However, a number of them are distorted by renovations and extensions or are being demolished to make way for new churches.

In view of the imminent danger of the disappearance of a unique and relevant patrimony for Portuguese culture in the world, it is imperative to know the churches that still resist, before they disappear. In this sense, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation supported the research project "Oratorians in Ceylon: Survey of oratorian churches with Portuguese influence in Sri Lanka", under which the book "REMAINS OF DARK DAYS: The architectural heritage of Oratorian missionary churches in Sri Lanka" will be launch, and a conference will be held with its authors, Sagara Jayasinghe, Joaquim Rodrigues dos Santos, and Hélder Carita. The event will take place on July 19, 2019 (Friday) at 7:15 pm in the Church of Telheiras (Lisbon).