Sri Lanka: Galle Diocese prepares for Annual Feast of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Matara

Galle Diocese in Sri Lanka held the first preparatory meeting with government officials given the annual feast of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Matara, on July 10.

The National Shrine of Our Lady of Matara will host its annual feast in September.

Father Charles Hewawasam, vicar general of Galle Diocese and additional district secretary of Matara, chaired the meeting.

Since thousands of pilgrims are expected to attend the event, like in previous years, the diocesan church leaders and government officials must arrange all the safety and security measures for the feast.

The Church of Our Lady of Mahature was the previous name of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Matara. 

The Statue of Our Lady of Matara, which is revered for its miracles and depicts the Madonna and Child, is strikingly similar to early 17th-century Portuguese sculpture.

The sea has snatched the statue thrice, but it has always returned it to Matara.

The statue's provenance is unknown, although church officials assert it dates back four centuries. The statue has been broken, lost, and found again on numerous occasions; the most recent of them occurred after the 2004 Asian tsunami that wrecked the shrine and killed twenty-four Sunday Mass attendees. In 2007, the church commemorated its centennial.