Noel Emmanuel

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 Trincomalee, Ceylon

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

Early life and family

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

Career

Emmanuel was ordained as a deacon and priest on 12 March 1985 and 21 May 1986 respectively. 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). Between 1999 and 2001 he studied at the Pontifical Urban University. On returning to Sri Lanka he served as professor at the National Seminary in Kandy (2001–11). In 2011 he was appointed episcopal vicar of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trincomalee-Batticaloa. He became general treasurer of the diocese in 2012. On 3 June 2015 he became Bishop of Trincomalee.