Pope taps Vatican official, Archbishop Ranjith, to head Colombo, Sri Lanka archdiocese

Pope taps Ranjith to head Colombo archdiocese

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican says Pope Benedict XVI has named a Vatican official, Monsignor Albert Malcolm Ranjith, to head the Colombo, Sri Lanka archdiocese.

Ranjith takes the seat from the retiring Archbishop Oswald Thomas Colman Gomis at a delicate time in Sri Lanka’s history, with a brutal 25-year civil war between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels ending last month.

In one of his first appointments since becoming pope, Benedict in 2005 named Ranjith to the No. 2 spot in the Vatican’s main liturgy office.

The Vatican said Tuesday he will be replaced there by a longtime Benedict collaborator, Archbishop Joseph Di Noia, currently undersecretary in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

There are about 1.3 million Catholics in Sri Lanka.