The sung Latin Requiem Mass in memory of the late Archbishop, Most Rev. Dr Nicholas Marcus Fernando, which was arranged to be held on April 16, 2021 at 6 p.m. at St Mary’s Church Negombo, has been postponed to May 14, 2021 at 6 p.m, at the same venue. This postponement has been decided upon by the organizers owing to the Covid-19 restrictions currently in force. 

Missa Pro Defunctis – the solemn Requiem Mass in accordance with the old Roman Latin Rite is to be presided over by His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, Colombo’s Archbishop, his auxiliaries and several bishops together with over 200 priests.  

The late Archbishop, in his Last Will and Testament, had specifically requested that his funeral Mass and the final Rites be conducted entirely in Latin. His death on April 10, 2020, and the final ceremony thereafter, had to be curtailed owing to the rising Covid 19 pandemic and therefore, his last wish was left unfulfilled.   
To commemorate his first death anniversary, the Archdiocese of Colombo has deemed it fit to fulfil the late Archbishop’s final request by conducting a solemn sung Eucharistic Celebration based on the traditional Latin Rite, thereby revealing the mystical charm of the Gregorian chants. 

 
A vibrant choir of over 100 men and women, all being past students of Ave Maria Convent, Maris Stella College, Loyola College, St. Jude’s College in Negombo and young seminarians from St. Aloysius’ Seminary Borella, young men and women from the Parish youth choirs, banding themselves together as the “Pueri Cantores Choir”, have been trained under the guidance of an exacting choral director Francis D’ Almeida.  

 In order to accompany them, a talented orchestral ensemble is ready to present together, sacred songs written in Sinhala, English and Tamil to the extent the liturgy permits such a diversity. For the choristers and the faithful alike, this sacred event will offer a rich experience of the incomparable beauty and piety of the Roman Catholic liturgy.   
The entire Mass and final Funeral Rite will be set in the sombre yet sadly sweet style of the Gregorian tradition. However, at the culmination, the great choir along with the orchestra will explode into the glorious strains of Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus”, changing the scene into celebratory exultation for the life and toil of a noble servant of God, Archbishop Nicholas Marcus Fernando.