Ranjith was born Patabendige Albert Malcolm Ranjith on 15 November 1947 in Polgahawela, in what was then British Ceylon, the eldest and only boy of four children.[2] He has attributed his first interest in becoming a priest to the example set by a French missionary priest assigned to his parish. He studied in Rome, earning a degree in theology from the Pontifical Urban College and a licentiate from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in 1978, followed by postdoctoral work at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.[1]
Pope John Paul II appointed him auxiliary bishop of Colombo, Sri Lanka, and titular bishop of Cabarsussi on 17 June 1991. He received his episcopal consecration on 31 August 1991[4] from Nicholas Fernando, Archbishop of Colombo.
In 1994, Ranjith led a commission that denounced the theological work of Sri Lankan theologian Tissa Balasuriya. He charged that he had questioned original sin and the divinity of Christ, as well as supporting women's ordination. Ranjith was supported in this position by Cardinal Ratzinger.[1]
He was responsible for coordinating the visit of Pope John Paul to Sri Lanka in January 1995.[1] On 2 November 1995 Pope John Paul named him the first bishop of the newly created Diocese of Ratnapura, Sri Lanka.[4]
He was appointed titular archbishop of Umbriatico and the Apostolic Nuncio to Indonesia and to East Timor on 29 April 2004.[5] His appointment was unusual in that, unlike almost all nuncios, he was not a graduate of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy. Ranjith was the first Sri Lankan to be appointed an apostolic nuncio.[1]
Ranjith was appointed secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments on 10 December 2005.[6] He developed a reputation as a liturgical conservative. He held that receiving communion in the hand was a "illegitimate" practice never envisioned by the Second Vatican Council. He criticized bishops who did not promptly make provision for the celebration of Mass in Latin when Pope Benedict authorized it in 2006, calling it "rebellion against the pope".[1]
He once said, "I'm not a fan of the Lefebvrians ... but what they sometimes say about the liturgy they say for good reason."[7]
Ranjith is fluent in ten languages namely; Italian, French, German, Hebrew, Greek, Spanish, Latin, English, Sinhala and Tamil.
On 7 October 2009, Ranjith issued liturgical guidelines for his diocese. These included a recommendation for "all faithful, including the religious, to receive Holy Communion reverently kneeling and on the tongue", as well as laymen being forbidden from preaching.[11]
Cardinal
On 20 October 2010, Pope Benedict XVI announced he would make Ranjith a cardinal at a consistory scheduled for 20 November 2010.[12] He was given the rank of cardinal priest and assigned the titular church of San Lorenzo in Lucina.[13]
^"Rinunce e Nomine, 29.04.2004" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 27 April 2004. Archived from the original on 16 November 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
^"Rinunce e Nomine, 10.12.2005" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 10 December 2005. Archived from the original on 9 July 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
![Albert Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don[1]'s coat of arms](File:Coat_of_arms_of_Malcolm_Ranjith.svg)
