{"id":7841,"date":"2026-02-24T10:05:21","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T10:05:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ranjithrodrigo.com\/official\/?p=7841"},"modified":"2026-04-30T12:11:49","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T12:11:49","slug":"ranjith-rodrigo-participates-in-the-blessing-of-renovated-st-josephs-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ranjithrodrigo.com\/official\/ranjith-rodrigo-participates-in-the-blessing-of-renovated-st-josephs-church\/","title":{"rendered":"Ranjith Rodrigo Participates in the Blessing of Renovated St. Joseph\u2019s Church"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"rr-post-container\" style=\"font-family: 'Inter', sans-serif; line-height: 1.6; color: #333;\">\n<p style=\"font-size: 1.1em; font-weight: 500; color: #1a1a1a;\">Marking a spiritual milestone for the Negombo community, <strong>Honorable Ranjith Rodrigo<\/strong> recently participated in the solemn blessing and unveiling ceremony of the renovated <strong>St. Joseph\u2019s Church in Thillanduwa<\/strong> (popularly known as Malwatta Palliya).<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<style type='text\/css'>\n\t\t\t\t#sc_gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t#sc_gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\t\twidth: 16.66%;\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t#sc_gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t#sc_gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t\/* see sc_gallery() in functions\/theme-shortcodes.php *\/\n\t\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='sc_gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-7841 gallery-columns-6 gallery-size-thumbnail file'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<a 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https:\/\/mluwsmmu62ar.i.optimole.com\/cb:LMwf.745\/w:250\/h:250\/q:mauto\/rt:fill\/g:ce\/f:best\/https:\/\/ranjithrodrigo.com\/official\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ranjith-Rodrigo-Spearheads-Grassroots-Development-with-New-FFSL-Mini-Pitch-in-Negombo-5.jpg 250w, https:\/\/mluwsmmu62ar.i.optimole.com\/cb:LMwf.745\/w:85\/h:85\/q:mauto\/rt:fill\/g:ce\/f:best\/dpr:2\/https:\/\/ranjithrodrigo.com\/official\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ranjith-Rodrigo-Spearheads-Grassroots-Development-with-New-FFSL-Mini-Pitch-in-Negombo-5.jpg 85w, https:\/\/mluwsmmu62ar.i.optimole.com\/cb:LMwf.745\/w:80\/h:80\/q:mauto\/rt:fill\/g:ce\/f:best\/dpr:2\/https:\/\/ranjithrodrigo.com\/official\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ranjith-Rodrigo-Spearheads-Grassroots-Development-with-New-FFSL-Mini-Pitch-in-Negombo-5.jpg 80w\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl>\n\t\t\t\t<br style='clear: both' \/>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n<div style=\"clear: both;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background: #fdfaf4; border-left: 5px solid #d4af37; padding: 20px; margin: 25px 0;\">\n<h4 style=\"margin-top: 0; color: #b8860b;\">Preserving a Historic Landmark<\/h4>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0;\">Established in 1868, St. Joseph\u2019s Church stands as a pillar of faith in Negombo. The 2024 renovation project focused on restoring the Gothic architectural features and enhancing the church&#8217;s capacity to serve its growing congregation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3>A Sacred Celebration of Faith<\/h3>\n<p>The event was a vibrant display of devotion, coinciding with the parish&#8217;s annual festivities. Hon. Ranjith Rodrigo joined religious leaders and parishioners in the following ceremonial acts:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"list-style-type: none; padding-left: 0;\">\n<li style=\"margin-bottom: 8px;\">\u26ea <strong>Official Unveiling:<\/strong> Unveiling the commemorative plaque marking the renovation completion.<\/li>\n<li style=\"margin-bottom: 8px;\">\ud83d\ude4f <strong>Blessing Ceremony:<\/strong> Participating in the Holy Mass and the traditional blessing of the church&#8217;s new fa\u00e7ade.<\/li>\n<li style=\"margin-bottom: 8px;\">\ud83e\udd1d <strong>Community Fellowship:<\/strong> Engaging with the local community to discuss the continued preservation of religious heritage sites in Negombo.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Commitment to Heritage<\/h3>\n<p>For Ranjith Rodrigo, supporting local religious institutions is a core part of his community leadership. The renovation ensures that this historic site\u2014noted for its miraculous blessings and Roman Catholic architecture\u2014remains a serene sanctuary for future generations.<\/p>\n<p style=\"border-top: 1px solid #eee; padding-top: 20px; font-style: italic;\">The beautifully restored St. Joseph&#8217;s Church is now open for all devotees, continuing its legacy as a miraculous place of worship in the heart of Malwatta, Negombo.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Marking a spiritual milestone for the Negombo community, Honorable Ranjith Rodrigo recently participated in the solemn blessing and unveiling ceremony of the renovated St. Joseph\u2019s Church<span class=\"excerpt-hellip\"> [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7891,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rs_blank_template":"","rs_page_bg_color":"","slide_template_v7":"","rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","two_page_speed":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,584,37,539,583],"tags":[588,587,581,589,577,585,586],"class_list":["post-7841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-negmbo","category-ranjith-rodrigo","category-ranjith-rodrigo-personal-events","category-sri-lanka","tag-church-renovation","tag-malwatte-palliya","tag-negombo","tag-negombo-religious-events","tag-ranjith-rodrigo","tag-st-josephs-church","tag-thilanduwa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ranjithrodrigo.com\/official\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ranjithrodrigo.com\/official\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ranjithrodrigo.com\/official\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ranjithrodrigo.com\/official\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ranjithrodrigo.com\/official\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7841"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/ranjithrodrigo.com\/official\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7841\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7896,"href":"https:\/\/ranjithrodrigo.com\/official\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7841\/revisions\/7896"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ranjithrodrigo.com\/official\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ranjithrodrigo.com\/official\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ranjithrodrigo.com\/official\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ranjithrodrigo.com\/official\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}