Fr Marcus Anandanpulle OMI 10/04/1948 – 07/08/2009
Having spent a number of years of his priestly life working as a Hospital Chaplain in the provinces of Sri Lanka and the Philippines, on August 7, a day after his 34th anniversary of ordination, it may have been poignant that Fr Marcus Anandanpulle OMI died in Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital in London. Fr Marcus had returned to his home province of Colombo earlier this year after having worked in various ministries in the Australian Province since 2001 and was in London to visit relatives.
Born in Welihena, Sri Lanka in 1948, Fr Marcus entered the novitiate at Mount Eden in Kalutara in May 1966. Co-novice and current Sri Lankan Provincial, Fr Clement Waidyasekara remembers Fr Marcus as a young man of deep faith who spent many hours in prayer. The two young men were together at the Oblate Scholasticate in Kandy in 1968, however the climate there worsened Fr Marcus’ existing asthma condition.
“I remember spending long nights on several occasions with him by his bedside since at times he was finding it difficult to breathe”, Fr Waidyasekara recalled.
As a result Fr Marcus was transferred to the Philippines in 1971 to complete his studies and was ordained on August 6 1975 at Fatima Church in Colombo. His first appointment was as Assistant Priest at St Peter and Paul in Ragama. The following year he began a two-year obedience as Hospital Chaplain at Archbishop’s House in Colombo.
Fr Marcus then worked as Assistant Parish Priest at St Lucia’s Cathedral in Colombo for another two years. His interest in hospital chaplaincy remained and in 1980 he was sent to Ottawa in Canada to study pastoral counselling at St Paul’s University with a view to enhancing his hospital ministry. In 1982, Fr Marcus returned to Archbishop’s House in Columbo where he would remain as chaplain until 1992 later moving to the Philippines to minister as chaplain at the Notre Dame School in Manila. In 1994 he returned to Tewatte in Sr Lanka where he ministered as chaplain to the Rosarian Nuns and the local hospital until 1997.
Fr Marcus’ next move was to St Sebastian’s in Hultsdorf on the west coast of Sri Lanka. It was his first appointment as Parish Priest. In August 1999, he commenced as hospital chaplain at the Emmaus Hospital in Ragama, Tewatte.
In 2001, at his own request, Fr Marcus was assigned to the Australian Province where his first placement was at Our Lady of Lourdes in Lesmurdie, Western Australia. He joined the community at St Patrick’s Basilica in Fremantle for six months in 2002 before transferring to St David’s in Tea Tree Gully in South Australia.
In 2003, Fr Marcus moved to Melbourne, Victoria where he ministered at St John Vianney’s in Mulgrave until 2006 when he returned to St David’s for another year. The following year Fr Marcus was appointed to St Eugene de Mazenod Parish in Burpengary Queensland for six months before moving back to Melbourne to work as the Parish Priest of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception in Sunshine. At the beginning of 2009, Fr Marcus left Australia to return to his home province in Colombo hoping to serve once again in Sri Lanka.
“Fr Marcus provided much needed assistance in his early days in the Australian Province”, explained Australian Oblate Provincial Fr Harry Dyer OMI, ,
“Fr Marcus was always prepared to pack his bag to go and help in an Oblate parish when one of the local Oblates was on holidays or sick. Fr Marcus was a community man and enjoyed the discussions that living in different Oblate houses would offer. Although working mainly in the parish scene, Fr Marcus always had a keen interest in the College system in Australia and would take any chance to go and minister to the boys in the college, especially those from Sri Lanka.
“It was a tremendous shock for all of us to hear of the sudden death of Fr Marcus as he was intending to return to the Australian Province to continue his ministry after dealing with some matters in Sri Lanka. Many prayers and celebrations of the Eucharist were offered for the repose of his soul and for the members of his family during this sad time.” Fr Dyer reflected.
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