The first Archbishop of Colombo, the Most. Rev. Dr. Christopher Bonjean OMI was a Frenchman who had come as a missionary to India in 1847 and came to Jaffna in 1856 and joined the Oblates of Mary Immaculate.
He had become Bishop of Jaffna in 1868 and transferred to Colombo, where in 1886 he became the Archbishop of Colombo.
He is now considered as the Father of grant-in-aid schools because of his contributions to develop them. His passion for education laid a firm foundation for a longstanding landmark in this country. He retired being the Archbishop of Colombo in 1892.
