“They opened up avenues for people to find spirituality needed for coexistence, which we need so much today,” the Prime Minister said.

The awards ceremony organized by the Department of Christian Affairs, was also attended by Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith of Colombo, his predecessor retired Archbishop Oswald Gomis and Archbishop Joseph Spiteri, apostolic nuncio to Sri Lanka.

The six Christian artists who received awards for their lifetime contribution to literature and music were Archbishop Emeritus Oswald Gomis for Sinhala literature, Oblate Father Michael Silva for Sinhala music, Francis De Almeida for English music, Sebastian Jesudas for Tamil literature and Maduthinpillai Jesuthasan for Tamil music. Manel Abeyratne, who was not present, was cited for English literature.

In addition to the awards presentation for Christian writers, about 65 school students received awards for singing, essay-writing and speaking competitions in Sinhalese, Tamil and English.

“We need to identify children’s talents and encourage them to find spirituality in culture. I am happy to see children of different dialects gather in the competition. The Catholic Church has always taken the lead in such national events,” Archbishop Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith said.