English Mass - Saturday Evening 17.30
Sinhala Mass – Sunday Morning 05.30
Sinhala Mass – Sunday Morning 07.30
Sinhala Children’s Mass – Sunday Morning 09.15
Tamil Mass – Sunday Morning 11.00
Infant Baptisms – 2nd and 4th Sunday of Every Month
Adult Baptisms – 1st Friday of the Every Month
Wedding Anniversary Masses – 2nd Friday of Every Month
Every Thursday distributors of the Holy Communion for the Sick and Ageing
Rev.Far. M.A.N.Tharaka Fernando
Rev.Far. Anthony Ranjith
Rev.Far. Shrintha Niroshan
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church Palliyawatta is recognized as a Roman Catholic Parish in the Colombo Diocese at Wattala Deanery.
The parish consisted of two more substations. One is at Hekitta dedicated to St. Lazarus and the other at Dickowita dedicated to St. Anthony.
The Catholic Community at Palliyawatta enjoys an immense pleasure in the Roman Catholic Faith for more than 450 years.
The church dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, though is not old as the Catholic community but it stands for more than 175 years as a true symbol of love and affection of the people to our Lady.
The pastoral care of the Parish is given to the Salesians of Don Bosco for than 25 years. They are formally known as the members of Society of St Francis de Sales and are recognised in the Church as a clerical religious institute of pontifical right.
Walking in the path and light of Don Bosco the Salesians in the parish provide spiritual, physical, psychological formation in order to build a well-balanced person who is Good Christian and Honest Citizen.
Thus they make Palliyawatta not just a church but also a home, school and a playground for the all especially for the youth and help them to face the future with confidence.
In 1552 King Dharmapala received baptism and embraced Christianity together with 70,000 coastal community that included Christians from Palliyawatta.
During the time of Portuguese the Catholics here at Palliyawatta were belonging to Modera Parish. (Christian community at Modera)
The time from 1543 to 1658 the coastal areas in Sri Lanka were under the care of the Franciscan missionaries from Portugal.
In the year 1658, the Dutch captured the areas under Portuguese. As a result the church at Modera was destroyed but a good Christian community persevered.
In the first week of March 1698 the Lankan Apostle Joseph Vass arrived here. He offered mass under a big Tamarind (siyambala) tree, located near the Kelani River and the Hamilton Canal.
The Ivory statute of Our Lady of Mount Carmel donated by Joseph Vass is a living testimony of the faith of the people at Palliayawatta (Wellapalliya Parish).
In the time of Dutch persecution from the year 1698 to 1796 Fr. Joseph Vass together with the other missionaries belonging to the Oratorian Congregation worked secretly for the good of the people.
