RELiCS · Researching European Legacy in ‘Cultural Sanctum’: Digitally Preserving Neglected 19th-Century Missionary Congregations’ Architecture and Its Transcultural Heritage in Sri Lanka.

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.