Hundreds of Sri Lankan Catholics gathered under one roof in Marayong recently for a moment that carried both the ache of goodbye and the promise of what comes next.
At the heart of the occasion was a symbolic passing of the baton between outgoing priest Fr Treesen Silva, chaplain to the Sri Lankan community, and incoming chaplain Fr Terrance Prasanga. The farewell on 5 September began with Mass at Our Lady of Czestochowa, Marayong, led by Fr Treesen and filled with prayer and song in three languages: English, Sinhala and Tamil.
In his final homily, Fr Treesen returned to a message that had shaped his ministry: that community is built through honesty, reconciliation and an open door. If someone had done wrong, he said, the answer was not to talk around the problem, but to go to that person directly and work through it together.
He reminded parishioners that Jesus had called them to open their doors to everyone, a principle Fr Treesen said had guided his own ministry. “That was my prime duty, to take you together as a Sri Lankan community,” he said.
His final request was simple: “Pray for each other and for everyone.”
Fr Treesen during the Mass. Image: Supplied
In place of the usual two collections, he asked parishioners to contribute to a special collection for District General Hospital Negombo, in Sri Lanka. They dug deep, raising $2,400 for Fr Treesen to take home with him to the Archdiocese of Colombo for the purchase of vital medical equipment.
Looking around the church, Fr Treesen described the farewell as “a beautiful celebration of love”.
In the final moments of the Mass, he moved among the congregation, sprinkling holy water over his flock one last time – a quiet, poignant blessing before goodbye.
A farewell and a new beginning
Following the Mass, solemnity gave way to celebration.
Some 270 guests filled the nearby hall for a farewell led by Sri Lankan NSW Catholic Association committee member Aubrey Joachim. Among them were parishioners from St Patrick’s Parish in Guildford, where Fr Treesen had served as Assistant Priest, who came to thank a shepherd who had become a friend.
Soon, the beat of Kandyan drums brought the rhythms of Sri Lanka into the room.
Special guest Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv was ceremoniously drummed into the hall, an entrance that delighted him as much as those watching.
“In all of my 37 years as a priest and even 15 years as Bishop, I’ve never been welcomed in such a way; I’m just so overwhelmed,” Bishop Vincent told the crowd.
“It’s a farewell for Fr Treesen and a welcome for Fr Terrance, so I’m like John the Baptist, you know, preparing the way,” Bishop Vincent joked.
Guests at the farewell dinner after the Mass. Image: Supplied
Beneath the laughter was an acknowledgement of just how difficult the goodbye had become.
Bishop Vincent thanked Fr Treesen for his three-and-a-half years of service to the Sri Lankan Chaplaincy, describing him as “very caring and very dedicated to his ministry”.
“So much so that when the people heard the news of his impending departure they came up with a petition,” he said.
Bishop Vincent gently reminded the crowd that, in the life of the Church, affection and good intentions do not always determine what happens next. “We priests go where we are needed, where our superiors send us … it’s obedience, rather than sacrifice,” he said.
Then, turning towards the community’s next chapter, Bishop Vincent welcomed Fr Terrance to the Diocese: “Fr Terrance, you have big shoes to fill but I’m sure you are up to the task and, heartily, I welcome you to the Diocese.”
“As you can see this is a small but very vibrant, loving and committed Catholic community.”
Bishop Vincent also spoke of his own connection with Sri Lanka, having visited the country four times, including Colombo, where Fr Treesen will return. Reflecting on his own childhood during the war in Vietnam, he said he had “a lot of empathy for the people of Sri Lanka”.
“I want to pay tribute to you, the people of Sri Lanka,” he said. “You have really enriched this country and the Church of Australia with your faith, which has been tested in the crucible of suffering.”
It was then Fr Treesen’s turn to address the crowd. He thanked Bishop Vincent, alongside the parishioners who had become part of his life in both Marayong and Guildford, along with the Tongan community and his Sri Lankan brothers and sisters.
He gave special thanks to Fidel Moldrich, outgoing President of the Sri Lankan NSW Catholic Association, before turning to the children and urging them never to be ashamed of their faith. To their parents, his message was equally clear: keep Christ at the centre of family and community life.
A warm welcome
For incoming chaplain Fr Terrance Prasanga, the evening marked the beginning of a journey Fr Treesen himself had made only a few years earlier: arriving in Australia from Sri Lanka to serve a community far from home.
Traditional Sri Lankan drummers performed at the farewell. Image: Supplied
Born in Hanwella, Sri Lanka, Fr Terrance entered St Aloysius Minor Seminary in 1998 and was ordained in 2011 by Cardinal Ranjith. His ministry has included parish and education roles in the Archdiocese of Colombo.
Fr Terrance thanked Mother Mary for protecting and guiding him and bringing him closer to her Son, before expressing his gratitude to Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo, for entrusting him with the care of Sri Lankan Catholics in Australia. He also thanked Bishop Vincent and the Diocese of Parramatta for their welcome and the opportunity to serve.
“I will try my level best to continue the work that’s been done,” Fr Terrance said. “It is a great joy for me to meet Catholic Sri Lankans in Australia. Your warm welcome has made me feel at home.”
That warmth was also at the heart of the tributes paid to the priest whose work he now inherits.
A chaplain who became family
Aubrey Joachim described Fr Treesen as a man who had become deeply woven into the life of the community.
Tongan members of St Patrick’s Parish, Guildford, pay tribute of Fr Treesen. Image: Supplied
“Fr Treesen truly emulated his spiritual role model, Jesus Christ,” he told the room.
“He was a man of the people, always among his flock … a truly down-to-earth friend.”
Aubrey described Fr Treesen as a wryly humorous “good listener” and “excellent judge of people” who “recognised and respected people for who they truly were” and had a knack for bringing them together, often assuring worried event organisers, “Don’t worry, I will get you three more tables,” and somehow doing exactly that.
That same gift shaped his work with young people, from founding the Kingdom of Heaven Scripture initiative to scripting and directing the Children’s Nativity Play and Palm Sunday Passion Play.
“The Sri Lankan Catholic community you leave behind is richer in their spiritual experience having had your guidance.”
And it was clear from conversations around the room that Aubrey’s tribute was widely shared.
Colebee resident Sylvester Rajanayake described Fr Treesen as “one of the most excellent people” he had known and someone for whom “everyone is like family”. He said Fr Treesen had taught the community about sharing and love, with homilies that always carried a meaningful message.
The tributes also revealed the many sides of Fr Treesen beyond his priestly ministry: a fast bowler and hard-hitting batsman at cricket, a good singer, a talented sculptor and the creator of a regular spiritual social media blog.
A traditional Tongan tauʻolunga dance added another joyful cultural note. Introducing the solo dancer, Tongan parishioner Pela-Tonga Veamatahau captured the spirit of the evening:
“We are loud, we are joyful and we are so ready to welcome you [Fr Terrance] into our big Tongan family.”
About 270 guests attended the farewell. Image: Supplied
But the welcome came with tears. Thanking Fr Treesen for all he had done for the Tongan community, she described him as “always being a shoulder to lean on”.
As the dancer performed, guests placed money on her in the Tongan tradition of showing appreciation, with the collection affectionately dubbed “petrol money” for their much-loved departing priest.
The next generation
For all the sadness of Fr Treesen’s departure, the evening also pointed firmly towards the future. That future was visible in the many young faces around the room, part of a growing generation of Sri Lankan Catholics he had worked hard to bring into the life of the community.
Among them was 23-year-old Siluni Fernando, who credited Fr Treesen with helping bring the young people together and form their youth group, now 30-strong.
When Fr Treesen arrived in the Diocese of Parramatta at the beginning of 2023, he became its first chaplain dedicated to the Sri Lankan Catholic community.
He stepped into a community already growing strongly. Today, Western Sydney and the Blue Mountains are home to more than 2,600 Sri Lankan-born Catholics, the largest population in NSW.
Fr Treesen and Fr Terrance. Image: Supplied
Australia also brought a first for Fr Treesen himself.
After 14 years as a priest, he experienced parish life for the first time, serving as Assistant Priest at St Patrick’s Parish, Guildford, alongside Parish Priest Fr Peter Blayney. It was a relationship Fr Treesen spoke of with deep gratitude.
Unable to attend, Fr Peter sent a message saying Guildford had been “greatly blessed” by Fr Treesen’s ministry and pastoral care, adding:
“For me personally, he has been an easy and good companion … I, too, will miss him.”
A Lasting Legacy
Fr Treesen leaves Australia with both a heavy heart and some very heavy luggage.
There have been plenty of farewell gifts from grateful parishioners, among them handmade cards from the young members of the Kingdom of Heaven Sunday School, a project especially close to his heart and built around bringing children closer to God.
But while Fr Treesen will carry those gifts home to Sri Lanka, he has left gifts of his own behind.
There is the imprint he has made on the hearts of the people he served. And there is something rather more tangible: an intricate hand-carved wooden sculpture of Australia’s first saint, St Mary MacKillop, which he presented to the Sri Lankan community at his farewell celebration.
In many ways, it was a fitting parting gift from a priest whose farewell was filled with faith, culture, laughter and more than a few tears — and whose own legacy will remain long after his plane takes off.
This farewell Mass and celebration is an example of the Diocesan Pastoral Plan priorities of Prayer, Mission and Formation. Visit Synodality to learn more.
