Aloysius Pieris, a Sri Lankan Jesuit priest and theologian, died on March 21, 2026.
He was born in Ampitiya, British Ceylon, present-day Sri Lanka, on April 9, 1934, and studied at St. Aloysius’ College, Galle.
He took his Jesuit vows in 1953 and later earned theological degrees from Sacred Heart College in Shembaganur, India, the Pontifical Theological Faculty in Naples, and Tilburg University. Pieris was the founding director of the Tulana Research Centre for Encounter and Dialogue and was a Buddhist scholar and fluent in more than twenty languages.
Aloysius Pieris SJ (9 April 1934 – 22 March 2026) was a Sri Lankan Jesuit priest, theologian, intellect, Buddhist scholar and the founding director of the Tulana Research Centre for Encounter and Dialogue.