Splendorous Choral Mass for the services of vocal pedagogy guru

The combined choir

By Rozario Joseph

As dusk fell upon the environs of Colombo on the evening of 24t April 24 2026, the harmonious voice of over 150 past and present singers from several schools rose high within the portals of All Saints’ Church, Borella. 

The boys and girls as well as young adults, all mentored by Francis D’Almeida, began the entrance hymn ‘From the Sun’s Rising unto the Sun’s Setting’, as the Archbishop of Colombo, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, assisted by Rev. Fr. Victor Silva and Rev. Fr. Freely Muthukudaarachchi, reached the altar to commence the Eucharistic Celebration (Holy Mass). Indeed, it was a service of Thanksgiving for Francis who had relentlessly served the youth of Sri Lanka as a choral director, basketball Coach, trade union leader and a team builder.

His relatives, friends, associates, contemporaries as well as past and present pupils participated to enliven the celebration.

The singing involved compositions in Sinhala, Tamil, English, Latin, Greek and Italian, whilst the exuberant singers, backed by a chamber orchestra which provided elegant accompaniment right throughout, rendered their voices in harmonious finesse and praise. Adding to the effectiveness were the contributions made by several experienced conductors, coming from within the ranks.

What emerged as unique was the inclusion of several well-selected Gregorian chants to appropriately enhance the intensity of the Liturgy of the Mass, which included the Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus and Agnus Dei from the Missa de Angelis.

Francis D’Almeida with  wife Chrysanthi

The Rt Rev Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith with Francis D’Almeida

The Homily of His Eminence, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith was not in the least pedantic, but covered key homely truths including the virtues of courage and commitment needed to serve others selflessly. The Cardinal traced back his relationship with Choral Director Francis from his own seminary days. He commented that Francis had collaborated with him closely in promoting Sacred Music in the Archdiocese of Colombo in its highest possible form.

Thereafter, the celebration acquired even greater solemnity by the rendition of several pieces of sacred music, also in its polyphonic form. The communion distribution was enriched by the peerless rendition of Panis Angelicus by Cesar Franck, and as well as the melodious Sinhala hymn – Jeewaye Aaharaya – enveloped in appealing harmony.

The organisers thereafter urged Francis to speak to the congregation. In his interesting presentation, he placed his own close ties with Cardinal Ranjith from his seminary days, remarking that in those days His Eminence always displayed a charming smile. He highlighted the relentless support His Eminence and the Heads of Archdiocesan Schools gave him to develop and promote Latin Sacred Music, which tragically had been discarded from Liturgy since the mid-1960s. He estimated that over 18,000 singers had benefited from these programmes, pushing Latin Sacred Music as chants and in polyphonic versions. For him, he said, education meant ‘drawing out’ (educare), to enable and to create awareness in addition to self-esteem. He also advocated the need for humour when developing knowledge and skills among educators.

Jubilee Anthem in Italian

The Mass ended with the Marian Hymn – As I Kneel Before You… Ave Maria, accompanied on the Harp. How appropriate was it as All Saints’ Church Borella has now become a famous shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Perpetual Help. The memorable concelebration culminated with the mass choir rendering the exuberant Jubilee Anthem in Italian – Gloria a Te, Christo Gesu – with much gusto.

This rare event would not have been possible if not for the untiring organising efforts of Navindra Abeyesekara, Romane Fonseka, Nishantha Warnakulasuriya, Vindula Perera, Ashwini Benedict, Krishan Rodrigo, Carllin Perera, Rev. Fr. Prasad Harshana, Christle Salgado, Kishan Perera, Michael Sathasivam and Dr. Lakmika Perera, as well as the involvement of singers, instrumentalists and audio engineers from Unique Sounds.

Undoubtably, the Parish Priest of All Saints’ Church Borella deserves much appreciation for unreservedly providing the use of the church.

To conclude, let us remember that musical harmony is God’s exquisite gift to mankind, much needed right now in a divided and conflict-ridden world.