“Supuwath Arana” is a Psycho-Spiritual, Social, and Integral Holistic Formation Center under the archdioceses of Colombo, situated at Seeduwa. This institution caters to a large section of our community irrespective of their beliefs and faiths.Being a non-profit organization all programs held by the centre are conducted free of charge. The Centre provides guidance to School Children, Youth, Parents, Animators, Teachers, professionals and Families, to become more divine, powerful, enthusiastic and responsible, human beings. Day to day issues, youth problems, family conflicts, marriage guidance, and social problems are addressed at the centre.

 Negombo has been influenced greatly by the Christian faith from the time it was occupied by the Portuguese. It is often called “Little Rome” in view of the large number of churches in the city. Construction of the church was started in 1874 and completed, after a long gap, in 1922. The art and architecture of this church and a few similar other churches in Sri Lanka demonstrate the cultural amalgamation of the European practice with Sri Lankan art and architecture during the early years of the 20th century.

 For centuries our island had been a flourishing maritime domain, which attracted traders of many faiths. The influence of the Portuguese was the primary influence of Catholicism to the island. One of the most venerated shrines among Catholic devotees is the Shrine of St. Anne at Thalawila.

Every place of worship has a story of inspiring faith, from humble beginnings to steadfast religious congregations. There are two legends associated with this church in Thalawila. “A shipwreck and a divine dream”

Montefano is the mother house of the Sylvestro-Benedictine monks in Sri Lanka. Situated on the outskirts of Kandy, in a typical rural setting, MonteFano stands in perfect harmony with its surroundings. Simple, yet majestic in appearance, it does lend enchantment to the landscape. Its remoteness from the city provides the seclusion and peace necessary for prayer and study which the monk seek and its salubrious climate and fertile soil keep the inmates healthy and vigorous.

 

St. Lucia’s Cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Colombo in Sri Lanka. The Cathedral is located at Kotahena, in the north east of Colombo, on 18,240 sq. ft. of land, and is dedicated to Saint Lucy. It traces its origins to a small structure for worship built during Dutch occupation.

The church’s origins relate to the early Dutch colonial period when Catholicism was banned from the island, with Catholic priests carrying out sermons from hiding places. Fr. Antonio disguised himself as a local merchant, finding refuge with a local fishing community at Mutual. According to local legends the community sought his help to stop the sea eroding their village, and Fr. Antonio planted a cross and prayed at the beach, resulting in the sea receding and the community converting to Catholicism. The Dutch authorities then allocated him some land to carry out his sermons, whereupon he built a mud brick chapel dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua. Fr. Antonio is buried within the church.

In 1806, the chapel was enlarged, and in 1822 one of the members of the Congregation went to Goa and brought back a statue of St. Anthony, which still resides on one of the church’s altars. Construction of a new church commenced in 1828 and it was consecrated on 1 June 1834. The church was built in the Neoclassical style.

Our Lady of Lanka began its life in 1911 as a tiny chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes (Mary Immaculate), France. It was built by the local pastor Fr. A. Kieger and a few Catholic laymen, and was a part of the parish of Ragama at the time. Years later in 1917 another pastor of the chapel Fr. A. Collorec had a grotto built for Our Lady of Lourdes, with the assistance of some Catholic workers from Colombo. With time the place became more popular, as the local Hindus and Buddhists started attending the services as well. This led to the chapel being expanded into a church in the 1930s.

During the outbreak of the Second World War, Archbishop Masson made a vow. Masson knew that Ceylon was pretty much smack-dab right in the center of the world, literally. If any of the major powers at the time decided to use the island; they definitely would gain a huge advantage and may even be able to win the war. But at what cost? The island and its people would be destroyed by the wars of the larger countries. So prayed to God and vowed that if Ceylon were to be protected from major conflict, he would build a Votive Basilica under the title Our Lady of Lanka. His wish came true and Ceylon was indeed spared from any major warfare. The Archbishop was delighted and in 1946 he obtained approval from the then Pope, Pius XII, for the construction of a basilica in honor of Our Lady of Lanka.

Madhu is a mystic jungle shrine dedicated to Mother Mary lying on a remote area in Mannar. The church is one of the few churches which is visited by Buddhists as well as Hindus from all over the country. The history of Madhu is interesting. The Portuguese invaded Sri Lanka in 1505 and missionaries started poring in to the country to convert the Buddhists and Hindus in to Catholicism by various means. Many on the coastal region converted to this new religion for favors from the new masters.

Many Tamils from the North too fell in the hands of the catholic missionaries. In 1640 the Dutch took control of the coastal regions of and started spreading their form of Christianity in form of Dutch Reformed Church. In 1670, the Dutch took Mannar under their control and some  20 Catholic Tamil families from Mantai fled inwards with a statue of Mary from the coastal town and settled down on an area called Marutha Madu which was then a small village on the Royal Ramessaram-Kandy route and a custom house for the Kandyan King.  Later a group of about 700 Tamil Catholics fleeing from Jaffna also joined this group.

During this period, Madhu was Devale dedicated to Goddess Pattini which probably has been existing since the Anuradhapura Kingdom. Godess Pattini is worshiped by Sinhalese and Tamils irrespective of the religions in Sri Lanka. At some point of time a church was built on the ground of Pattini Devale and the devale disappeared without a trace. With the invasion of the English and the subsequent defeat of the Dutch from the coastal areas the Catholic prosecution stopped and the annual possession of Madhu was started in 1870. In 1876 foundation stone of the current church was laid down.

In a small town in the foothills of the Central Highlands lies a church that not only contains a statue believed to have miraculous powers, but also plays a significant role in both the historic and cultural activities of the surrounding area and its inhabitants.

The current St Anthony’s Church, Wahakotte, was completed in 1938, its Gothic revival style designed by the Italian monk Augustine, to replace a smaller church built in the 1920s. However, while no church existed in Wahakotte before this time, the people of the area had been converted to Roman Catholicism en masse by the Portuguese in the 16th Century.

Father Joseph Vaz was born on April 21, 1651, in India. He was humbly declined the offer to be the first Apostolic Vicar of Ceylon. But whether a bishop or not, Joseph Vaz administered the Church in the whole country as a bishop would have done. He died January 16, 1711. He had spent 24 years of untiring labors in the mission of Ceylon. He left a marvelous legacy: 70,000 Catholics, 15 churches and 400 chapels. He translated into Singhalese and Tamil, the local languages, various prayers, and a catechism. After his death, his example and methods of apostolic work made him a continuing inspiration for the priests in Sri Lanka. When the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate came to Sri Lanka in 1857, they were able to build on and continue Fr. Vaz´s apostolic work.