Noel Emmanuel

Christian Noel Emmanuel (born 25 December 1960) is a Sri Lankan Tamil priest and the current Roman Catholic Bishop of Trincomalee.

Rt Rev. Noel Emmanuel
Bishop of Trincomalee
Church	Roman Catholic Church
Province	Colombo
Diocese	Trincomalee
Installed	3 June 2015
Predecessor	Kingsley Swampillai
Personal details
Born	(1960-12-25) 25 December 1960 (age 64) Trincomalee, Ceylon

Early life and family

Emmanuel was born on 25 December 1960 in Trincomalee in eastern Ceylon.^[1][2][3] After school he joined St. Joseph's Minor Seminary before studying philosophy at the National Seminary of Kandy (1978–81).^[2][3] He then did regency with pastoral work (1981–82) before entering St. Paul's Major Seminary, Triruchirappally (1983–86).^[2][3]

Career

Emmanuel was ordained as a deacon and priest on 12 March 1985 and 21 May 1986 respectively.^[1][2][3] He then held various positions: assistant priest in the Cathedral Parish, Batticaloa (1986–88); parish priest of the Church of Iruthayapuram, Batticaloa (1988–89); parish priest of the Church of Our Lady of Good Health, Akkaraipattu (1989–93); and Director of the Catechetical, Biblical and Liturgical Apostolate, Batticaloa (1993–99).^[2][3] Between 1999 and 2001 he studied at the Pontifical Urban University.^[2][3] On returning to Sri Lanka he served as professor at the National Seminary in Kandy (2001–11).^[2][3] In 2011 he was appointed episcopal vicar of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trincomalee-Batticaloa.^[2][3] He became general treasurer of the diocese in 2012.^[2][3] On 3 June 2015 he became Bishop of Trincomalee.^[1][4]