St. Anthony's Shrine, Kochchikade

St. Anthony's Shrine
Shown within Colombo Municipality
Basic information
Location Kotahena, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Geographic coordinates 6°56′48.8″N 79°51′21.9″E / 6.946889°N 79.856083°E / 6.946889; 79.856083Coordinates: 6°56′48.8″N 79°51′21.9″E / 6.946889°N 79.856083°E / 6.946889; 79.856083
Affiliation Roman Catholic
Status Active
Architectural description
Architectural style Renaissance and Baroque
Groundbreaking 1806
Completed 1828[1]
Direction of façade East

St. Anthony's Shrine is a famous Roman Catholic church in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Colombo in Sri Lanka. The church is located at Kochchikade, Colombo 13, and is dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua. The church is declared as national shrine.[2]

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, who found refuge with a local fishing community at Mutwal. 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 where he built a mud brick chapel dedicated to St. Anthony of Padula. 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. In 1938 the church was improve and enlarged, with the addition of a chorister’s gallery, large wings on side, and a mission house and meeting room behind the main altar. The enlarged church was consecrated on 16 February 1940.

A tiny piece of St. Anthony's tongue is enshrined in a special reliquary which is located in a glass case together with a statue of the saint, at the entrance to the church.

Five rupees worth of postal stamps were issued by the Sri Lankan government to commemorate 175th anniversary of the church on 13 June 2010.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Sanctuary for the faithful" (PDF).
  2. ↑ "St. Anthony's – Kochchikade". Ministry of Christian Affairs Sri Lanka.
  3. ↑ "St. Anthony's Shrine Kochchikade MNH (Item: #SL588)". Retrieved 2017-12-22.


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