Bishop of Ratnapura
Rt. Rev. Dr. Anton Wyman Croos was born on 8 November 1967 in Chilaw, in the diocese of the same name. As a young man, having said 'Yes' to God's call, he carried out his studies in philosophy and theology at Our Lady of Lanka Major Seminary in Kandy. He was ordained a priest on 16 September 2000, for the clergy of Chilaw. After ordination, he first held the role of parish vicar of Saint Anne’s Shrine, Talawila (2000-2002), and then he continued to serve as a parish priest of Saint Mary’s, Mampuri (2001-2009), director of the diocesan pastoral centre Saint Joseph Vaz (2009-2010), and parish priest of Saint Francis Xavier, Kattaikadu (2010-2011). He was awarded a licentiate in pastoral theology and in Christology from the Pontifical Theological Faculty of Southern Italy – San Tommaso d’Aquino Section in Capodimonte, Naples, at the same time he held the office of chaplain of the Sri Lankan community in Naples (2011-2014). He then took over his role as the diocesan director of Caritas (2015-2019). Since 2019 he has held the office of diocesan director of lands and estates, and episcopal vicar for the religious of the deanery of the regions of Chilaw and Puttalam.