Marcelline Jayakody
Marcelline Jayakody (Sinhala: මර්සලින් ජයකොඩි පියතුමා) (3 June 1902 ─ January 15, 1998) was a Sri Lankan Catholic priest, musician, lyricist, author, journalist and an exponent of indigenous culture. He belonged to the Catholic Religious Congregation of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI). He is attributed with the epithet 'පන්සලේ පියතුමා' (Pansale Piyathuma - Priest in the Temple).
Marcelline Jayakody
- Name
- Fr.
- Born
- 3 June 1902
- Birthplace
- Sri Lanka
- Died
- 15 January 1998
- Education
- Roman Catholic Boys' School in Madampe, St.
- Occupation
- Catholic priest, musician, lyricist, author, journalist and patriot
- Honours
- Ramon Magsaysay Award
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In this article
Biography
Biography
Ittapane Dhammalankara Thera authored a book on Jayakody's life, මල් පැලේ උපන් පන්සලේ පියතුමා, (Malpale Upan Pansale Piyathuma), which is recorded as the first book in the world by a Buddhist prelate on a Catholic priest.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Fr. Marcelline Jayakody • Other Names — Malpale upan Pansale Piyathuma, Modern Gonsalvez • Born — 3 June 1902 • Birthplace — Sri Lanka • Died — 15 January 1998 • Education — Roman Catholic Boys' School in Madampe, St. Joseph's College, St. Aloysius Seminary, Borella • Occupation — Catholic priest, musician, lyricist, author, journalist and patriot
Passion Play of Duwa
Passion Play of Duwa
Jayakody served as the head priest in Duwa, Sri Lanka in 1939. Duwa is the Passion Play Village of Sri Lanka. Originally, the play used traditional puppets as actors. Jayakody wrote the original script for a passion play, influenced by Fr. Jacome Gonsalves, and composed new hymns to the traditional "Pasan". He next introduced live male and female actors instead of puppets. Eventually there were over 250 live actors taking the place of puppets in his adaptation of Dorothy L. Sayers's The Man Born to Be King (Dukprathi Prasangaya in Sinhala). The Duwa passion play was considered as the greatest passion show in Asia at that time.
Awards
• In 1979, his poetry book Muthu (Pearls) won the National State Literary Award (the first Catholic priest to have won a state award). • In 1982, he was honoured with the title "Kalasuri" by the state, and "Kithu Nandana Pranamaya" by the Catholic Church for his contributions to arts and culture for over six decades. • In 1983, he won the Ramon Magsaysay Award, considered the Asian Nobel Prize, (along with, a medal and a citation) in Manila, Philippines in the category of Journalism, Literature, and the Creative Communication Arts (JLCCA) as appeared on the List of Ramon Magsaysay Award winners.
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Marcelline Jayakody, revision 1372638466 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.dailynews. Fr. Marcelline Jayakody – vibrant Catholic priest and patriot. 2003.
- 2.featur07. www.infolanka.com.
- 3.Fr. Marcelline Jayakody මර්සලින් ජයකොඩි පියතුමා. අපේ කට්ටිය. 2014-03-21.
- 4.passionplay.lankasites. Duwa is The Passion Play Village.
- 5.passionplay.lankasites. In commemoration of Rev. Fr. Marceline Jayakoddy.
- 6.sundayobserver. Dabbling with mystic themes. 2009.
- 7.sundaytimes. Duwa Passion play' at Bishop's. 2000.
References
Citations
References
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Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 25 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
39,529 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Marcella HazanAuthor
- Marcella PolainAuthor
- Marcelle AuclairAuthor
- Marcelle TinayreAuthor
- Marcello FabbriAuthor
- Marcello Ferrada de NoliAuthor
- Marcello FoisAuthor
- Marcello LandiAuthor
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