Fr. Roger Fernando

Pastor
Phone: 208-344-8311
Email: Click Here to Email

Fr. Roger Fernando is originally from Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is an island in Indian Ocean that is primarily Buddhist, and only 7.5% of Catholic population. Yet he was raised in a devout Catholic home.
Young Roger, made his final decision to become a Priest when he was in 8th grade. College and early seminary studies were in Sri Lanka at St. Joseph Vaz College and St. Xavier College. He studied classics at St. Paul’s Seminary, Philosophy and Theology at the National Seminary of Our Lady of Lanka in Sri Lanka. He was ordained as a Priest on August 18, 1975 in the Diocese of Chilaw, Sri Lanka. He served as Associate Pastor and then Pastor of Sri Lankan parishes until 1980. At which time he was sent to Rome for advanced studies at Angelicum, the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, Italy.
After completion of his studies at Angelicum, was appointed as the Rector of the St. Paul’s Seminary in Sri Lanka, where he increased the vocation enrollments more than double compared to past few years. In 1989, Fr. Roger was appointed and served 13 years as the Procurator General of the Diocese of Chilaw.
After his 25th Jubilee as a priest, and after two terms as the Procurator, he sought permission to serve in the United States. In 2001 he joined the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, California, and served as Parochial Vicar in West Covina. Seeking a cooler climate, he joined the Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon and served in several parishes in the metro area and suburbs.
Later, he moved to the Diocese of Baker and served in several parishes. Last few years he served at Blessed Sacrament Parish, Ontario Oregon prior to joining the Diocese of Boise in 2019. His post prior to joining Sacred Heart was at St. Ann's in Bonners Ferry.