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The celebration was presided over by the Archbishop of Colombo together with Card. Ranjith and the Archbishop of Goa, Card. Filipe Neri Ferrao. Pope Francis sent a message of closeness to the sick and to the pilgrims: “I invoke upon you the gift of courage and perseverance.” Buddhists, Muslims and Hindus also speak of the graces received from the Virgin.
Colombo () – On Sunday 25 August, a special solemnity marked the annual blessing of the sick at the Tewatta Basilica, which this year celebrates fifty years of its recognition as the national shrine of Our Lady of Lanka. As usual, Catholic and non-Catholic pilgrims from all over the country came, and many of them reported that they had “received physical and spiritual blessings”.
Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists also flock to ask for the intercession of Our Lady of Lanka. Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith of India and the Archbishop of Goa, Monsignor Fiilipe Neri Ferrao, who will be the President of the Federation of Asian Episcopal Conferences from next January, presided over the recitation of the rosary in the three languages of the country (Sinhala, English and Tamil) and the Eucharistic blessing alongside the Archbishop of Colombo.
On the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of the dedication of the National Basilica, Pope Francis sent a message that was read by the apostolic nuncio in Sri Lanka, Msgr. Brian Udangwe. In the text, the pontiff says that he has personally asked God for “the gift of courage and perseverance” for the sick pilgrims who come to Tewatta.
Addressing the pilgrims gathered for the “Day of the Sick”, the Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, invited them to thank God the Father for having prepared the situation of peace that today allows the people of Sri Lanka to gather in this place of worship. “We thank Almighty God for having offered us the Mother of God, who is full of love, and we entrust our country and all our brothers and sisters who live in it to the maternal love of God,” added the Cardinal.
Among the devotees of Our Lady of Lanka was a Buddhist family from the remote central province of Polonnaruwa who told that they make a visit every year on the day of the sick. “My husband had been having pain in his left leg for several months. One of our Catholic friends invited us to come to Tewatta and take part in the special day of blessing in 2018, and he was cured,” Vinishia Nissanka told .
“We are Catholics from the Diocese of Kandy. I too received a great miracle from Our Lady,” adds Mrs. Marita Perera. “Since 2000, after my third daughter was born, I suffered from severe stomach pains. I was treated by very famous doctors and spent a lot of money. For five years I attended masses and prayed the rosary with my family at the Basilica every month, and then I received the grace of being cured.”
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