The 53-year old priest has been appointed the third auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese, which is headed by Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith.
Father Pillainayagam was born on September 23, 1966, in Jaffna. He completed primary and secondary studies in Colombo and Jaffna.
He studied philosophy at the St. Francis Xavier Major Seminary in Jaffna and theology at the National Seminary of Kandy. He obtained a Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics from the University of Jaffna, a Masters in Education from the University of Middlesex (United Kingdom) and a Masters in Philosophy from the University of Jaffna.
Father Pillainayagam is currently the vice-rector of St. Joseph's College in Colombo and director of the Tamil Theologate. He also served as the Vice-Rector of St. Peter's College from 2012 - 2014.
