Liyanage Roshani lights candles to honor St. Anthony of Padua at a shrine dedicated to the Portuguese saint at Kochchikade, Sri Lanka. (Photo supplied)
Like many Sri Lankans, Liyanage Roshani has various reasons to believe St. Anthony of Padua is a miraculous saint who can solve any problem.
"I lost my job in Italy, my husband wasted my dowry, my son was seriously sick, I lost my car, but everything turned around for me. I started a new shop and now have a good income," the 59-year-old Catholic mother of one told UCA News.
Her unwavering devotion to the Portuguese saint brings her to St. Anthony’s Church at Kochchikade, covered by the Archdiocese of Colombo, for a special weekly Mass every Tuesday.
"To express my gratitude, I make it a point to visit the holy place regularly,” she said.
The 19th-century church is a national shrine and is the most famous among more than 100 Catholic churches and shrines dedicated to the saint in 12 dioceses across the island nation.
It reportedly preserves a tiny portion of the uncorrupted tongue of the saint known for his great theological knowledge and eloquent preaching.
While St. Anthony’s feast falls on June 13, the shrines host annual pilgrimages throughout the month, drawing tens of thousands of devotees — Christians, Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims.
At the Kochchikade shrine, people flock to seek the saint’s blessings during hardships and accomplishments.
Roshani has been visiting the shrine for about two decades.
During visits, she distributes buns and food packets to the needy. She also offers saint flags, small statues, picture cards, and large candles as tokens of gratitude for his intercession on behalf of her family.
Like her, other devotees from various walks of life also offer gold chains, garments for the poor, make donations, and engage in acts of charity as part of their reverence to the saint.
The scars of violence
Many believe the popularity of St. Anthony’s Church in Kochchikade made it a target of the deadly suicide bombings that rocked Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday in 2019.
Suicide bombers allegedly affiliated with a local Islamic extremist outfit attacked three Churches and three luxury hotels, leaving at least 279 people dead and over 500 injured. A total of 54 worshipers were killed at St. Anthony’s Church.
It was the worst attack against Christians in a country that endured a decades-long civil war that ended in 2009.
While the scars of the bombings remain unhealed and justice is delayed, devotees like Roshani continue to flock to the shrine.
A commemorative plaque with names of the victims of the Easter Sunday atrocities can be found in the church.
In June, Catholics also flock to St. Anthony shrines in other parts of Sri Lanka.
Lucy Perera, 76, traveled 212 kilometers in a rented vehicle from Negombo to Wahakotte in Kandy diocese with 12 fellow pilgrims on June 22 to visit St. Anthony's Church there.
She had visited the shrine numerous times with various intentions, including children’s marriages, grandchildren’s examinations, and a host of other personal life challenges.
This time, she was accompanied by her adult children, whom she told the shrine is a legacy of St. Joseph Vaz (1651-1711), an Indian missionary priest credited for the growth of Catholicism in Sri Lanka during the Dutch colonial period (1658-1796).
The predominantly Protestant Dutch occupied Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka) by defeating the Portuguese forces, banned Catholicism and persecuted Catholics.
The arrival of the Portuguese in the early 16th century marked the advent of Catholicism in Sri Lanka.
Joseph Vaz lived among local farmers by disguising himself as a laborer in a small hut on a hill. He also set up a small place of worship that attracted both Catholics and people of other faiths.
Legend says the religious site was once attacked by “enemies,” all the valuables were plundered except for a six-inch (13-centimeter) wooden statue of St. Anthony, which villagers hid in a pot of rice.
"By hiding the statue, the villagers protected it from harm and preserved its sacred presence for future generations to revere,” Perera said.
The humble beginning
St. Anthony's shrine in Kochchikade came into being thanks to another Indian missionary priest, Father Antonio Kochchial, who also arrived in Sri Lanka during Dutch rule along with Joseph Vaz.
Kochchial oversaw the Catholic mission in the Colombo region.
Due to restrictions on Catholicism, he disguised himself as a merchant. According to Church sources, he started living with a fishing family in Maliban Street, then the site of the city's fish market.
He evangelized among the fisher folks and held secret religious gatherings with Catholics from the fishing community.
As his popularity among the local community grew, he set up a mud chapel on the sea shore to honor St. Anthony of Padua, his patron saint. Later, a new concrete church replaced the old structure.
The priest was buried at the church as per his final wish.
During annual feasts, St. Anthony devotees in Kochchikade, Kandy, and other places participate in activities, including novena (nine-day) prayers, Masses, and street processions.
They also prepare traditional milk rice for distribution among the poor and decorate the streets with pandals and lights.
During the solemn street procession, the highlight of the feast, thousands walk with a chariot-shaped carriage carrying the decorated statue of the saint, accompanied by devotional prayers and hymns.
While Anthony is a household Christian name, various streets, schools, and shops are also named after the saint.
The saint has become a part of cultural practices among Sri Lankan Catholics. Songs and hymns dedicated to him are widely popular.
In Catholic-majority areas like Negombo, statues of St. Anthony are common on street corners.
During pilgrimages, St. Anthony churches and shrines become community gathering centers. Community fairs draw thousands of people from various faiths.
Father Kamal Niroshan N. Fernando, parish priest of St. Anthony's Church, in Weliveriya, in Western Province, said St. Anthony's reputation as a saint of miracles and the finder of lost items made him the most popular saint in Sri Lanka.
“As saints are very close to God, they can intercede for you and present your requests before God,” the priest said during annual feast celebrations on June 16, three days after the actual feast.
