A Benedictine monk and priest, who was a long-time school teacher, principal and “much sought after” professor of canon law in his native Sri Lanka has recently celebrated 50 years of ordination to the priesthood, reports Catholic Outlook.
Fr Clement Gnanapragasam OSB, who is a member of the Benedictine Monastery in Arcadia, on Sydney’s north-western outskirts, celebrated the milestone on April 12 in front of friends, fellow clergy and parishioners at a Mass at St Madeline Sophie Barat Parish in Kenthurst, where he has been Assistant Priest for almost 12 months.
During the Mass several people spoke about Fr Clement’s contribution to the life of the Church, and the Benedictine community in Sri Lanka and Australia, over nearly six decades. He joined the Benedictines 59 years ago.
Fr Shamindra Jayawardana, the Abbot General of the Benedictine congregation in Rome and previously the Conventual Prior of Sri Lanka, and a former student of Fr Clement, spoke warmly of the huge influence that he had had on the Benedictine community.
From working in parishes as a priest, to being a schoolteacher, principal, director of the junior seminary and professor of canon law for 30 years, Fr Clement was “an all-rounder,” Fr Shamindra said.
“He has done everything. I don’t know whether there’s anything he has not done.”
He was “a much sought after person in matters of canon law, especially for all the bishops in Sri Lanka”, Fr Shamindra said. He had served as Judicial Vicar, or chief judge, on the Diocesan Tribunal in the Sri Lankan city of Kandy, as well as Defender of the Bond, a role that adjudicates on marriage matters.
His expertise in canon law also took him to other countries where he conducted investigations, and served as Associated Judge in the Tribunal of the Diocese of Fresno in California for a year. In Australia he is also a member of the Canon Law Society, and the Diocesan Tribunal of Parramatta.
But despite his many achievements, Fr Clement was “a simple priest who has never grumbled for luxuries. He has faithfully observed his vow of poverty,” Fr Shamindra said.
“I see him as a humble priest, always ready to learn from anyone and from any situation. Though I was once his student and later his superior…he has never given the slightest impression before me of knowing everything…Instead he has cooperated generously and supported me in my ministry as the superior in our province in Sri Lanka.”
The congregation watched a video message from Fr Clement’s brother Damian, who said how proud his family was of him, and that they thanked God for fulfilling “my brother’s ambitions and interests” over the past 50 years.
Sally Coppini, the chairperson of the parish council, told the congregation of Fr Clement’s contribution to the Kenthurst parish, especially his “gentle spirituality that has touched so many hearts”.
“Your deep passion for the liturgy is evident in every Mass you celebrate – reverent, prayerful and filled with meaning,” she said.
“You remind us that the liturgy is not just something we attend, but something we enter into with our whole hearts.”
Fr Clement thanked all those who had spoken, as well as paying tribute to his family, friends, former students and fellow Benedictines for the priestly life he has lived. He especially thanked Parish Priest Fr Giovani Presiga and the parishioners at Kenthurst Parish. But despite all he had achieved, there was one thing that had alluded him.
“As my superior said, I do everything. One thing I cannot understand … I can’t understand the Aussie language,” he joked.
Looking back at his priestly life so far, he told Catholic Outlook that he felt that a divine force had been driving him.
“There were struggles in my life as a youngster trying to understand the ‘call’,” he said, including the turbulent times after Vatican II, with “changes in the life of priests and the liturgy”. But he had stuck at it.
“My devotion to Mother Mary with the praying of the holy rosary led me thus far,” he said. “Of course, I grew up in a family that was very much devoted to prayer life, family rosary and frequent attendance to holy Mass and other sacraments.
“Today I feel very much content to realise the amount of water that has passed under the gold bridge of my priestly life.”
This article by Antony Lawes was published in Catholic Outlook, the publication of the Diocese of Parramatta.