Project description
Studying neglected missionary churches of colonial Sri Lanka
Neglected missionary churches built by European congregations in colonial Sri Lanka highlight a gap in the country’s architectural heritage, reflecting transcultural exchanges between European and indigenous traditions amid local ethnic divides. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the RELiCS project is exploring neglected missionary churches in colonial Sri Lanka, expanding beyond existing missiological narratives. It will focus on French Oblate congregations, Italian Oratorians, Spanish Cistercians, and Sylvestrine Benedictines. Building on past research into Portuguese and Goan Oratorian churches from 1543 to 1836, the project will investigate how these congregations managed colonial modernity and cultural hybridity. The findings are expected to advance scholarship on transcultural architecture, support post-conflict reconciliation, and foster sustainable community-based heritage tourism.
Objective
This fellowship, RELiCS, addresses a critical gap in the architectural and transcultural heritage of Sri Lanka by delivering the first comprehensive analysis of neglected missionary churches built by various European congregations outside the dominant ecclesiastical channels of colonial Sri Lanka, i.e. Portuguese-Catholic (1505–1658), Dutch-Reformed (1658–1796), and British-Anglican (1796–1948). Going beyond current missiological narratives, it examines the underexplored legacy of churches built under the Roman Curia of Propaganda Fide, mainly by Italian Oratorians and Sylvestrine Benedictines, Spanish Cistercians, and French Oblates. These congregations, active amid shifting colonial regimes and rooted ethnic divides among local Sinhalese and Tamil populations, created ecclesiastical spaces that embodied transcultural exchanges between European and indigenous traditions.
Building on my doctoral research on earlier Portuguese and Goan Oratorian churches (from 1543 to 1836), this fellowship investigates how later European congregations negotiated colonial modernity, cultural hybridity, and social and economic constraints. Methodologically, RELiCS integrates archival research in Italy, consolidates existing architectural datasets, and curates fragile records, drawings, 3D images, and exhibitions incorporating bilingual outreach in Sinhala and Tamil.
Hosted at the University of Pavia as the beneficiary and the 'Thesaurum Fidei' project of the Archdiocese of Lucca as the non-academic placement, RELiCS will enhance my skills in digital humanities, curatorial practice, and international heritage diplomacy. Expected outputs include peer-reviewed articles, conference presentations, and a digital open-access platform. By digitally preserving and reinterpreting this neglected 19th-century European missionary heritage, RELiCS advances scholarship on transcultural architecture, supports post-conflict reconciliation, and promotes sustainable community-based heritage tourism.
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Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
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Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Funding Scheme
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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27100 Pavia
Italy
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.