High Commission of Sri Lanka in India

The Madhu Church in Mannar, considered by Catholics to be their holiest place in the island, attracted more than 100,000 pilgrims during the festival commenced in the second week of August. The Sylvan Shrine of Our Lady of Madhu in the Mannar District of Northern Province come alive once again with a record number of pilgrims visiting for first time in twenty years. The church festival of ‘Our Lady of Madhu’ started with the Government and the security forces making all efforts to cope with the large number of devotees who throng the church grounds during the festival time.

The security forces have now renovated the church buildings, cleared the grounds of all booby traps and land mines and the Government has restored water and electricity supply to the area. The devotees coming to Madhu were allowed to stay at the grounds from August 12 to August 16. Mannar Bishop Rayappu Joseph said that all possible measures were taken to provide the basic facilities to the devotees.

Madhu Church which has a history of over 400 years had been a hallowed place of worship for Catholics of Sri Lanka for several decades where generations of Catholics make it a point to make a pilgrimage at least once a year attending the monthly festivals. But the August 15th festival draws the biggest crowds because it is one of the most hallowed days for Catholics celebrating the day of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus Christ, into heaven and also because the school holidays facilitate entire families to make the trip. There had been occasions when attendance at August festival at times touching close to a million people before the out break of the North East conflict.

Madhu festival provides an occasion for families and people of all walks of life, communities, races the young and the old to spend a few days away from it all camping it out in the open, imbibing in a bout of spiritual reflection together with some sort of mental and physical relaxation as well.