Catholics honor Our Lady of Lanka, pray for good health

Aug 31, 2016

COLOMBO: About 200,000 Tamil and Sinhalese Catholics attended the annual blessing of the sick at the National Basilica of Our Lady of Lanka at Tewatta in Colombo Archdiocese on Aug. 28.

Mary Elisabeth, 49, a government teacher said she and her family attend the blessing of the sick with relatives every year.

"Sinhalese and Tamil worshippers come every year and spend the whole day praying together free from frustrations and worries," she told ucanews.com.

"Thousands of people who face problems have received blessings for their families for good health and those who are sick," she said.

Pilgrims came from far and wide. Many slept overnight in tents in order to attend Masses that began at five in the morning in English, Tamil and Sinhala languages.

The service for the blessing of the sick was held with the recitation of the rosary in the afternoon.

Cardinal Robert Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments who attended the event on invitation of Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith of Colombo said that he was very proud of the Sri Lankan people’s faith.

"When Pope John Paul II visited Asia he was attracted by the spirituality of the Asians," said Cardinal Sarah addressing thousands of sick people.

"I felt the same sentiment during the Eucharistic procession today and I saw your faces looking on with such good faith!"

"I was very touched and thank you for your profound spirituality," he said. "I feel that the future of the church is in Asia."

Cardinal Ranjith said the gathering should thank God for the precious gift of the Blessed Mother.

"Every Catholic should follow the life of Mother Mary and improve their faith in God," said Cardinal Ranjith while addressing the gathering. "Mother Mary obeyed and had a strong faith in God."

The national Marian basilica holds a special place for Sri Lankan Catholics. The origins of this shrine date back to the beginning of the last century when a small shrine to Our Lady of Lourdes was erected by a few Catholic laymen in 1911. It was later enlarged to accommodate the increasing number of pilgrims.

In 1939 the shrine gained prominence because of a vow the then Colombo Archbishop made that if the country was spared the horrors of war, he would build a shrine under the title of Our Lady of Lanka.

Pope Paul VI in 1973 endowed the church with the title of a Minor Basilica and it was consecrated as Our Lady of Lanka.

Colombo Archdiocese organizes an annual blessing of the sick at the Basilica of Our Lady of Lanka every last Sunday in August.--Ucanindia.com