, native_name_lang = Sinhala , image = File:Tewatte Basilica - Sri Lanka.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = Front view of the basilica , pushpin map = Sri Lanka , pushpin label position = above , pushpin map alt = , pushpin mapsize = , relief = , map caption = Location in Sri Lanka , coordinates = , location = Tewatte,

Ragama Ragama ( si, රාගම ta, ரா௧ம) is a suburb of Colombo, located in the Gampaha District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is governed by the Ja-Ela Pradeshiya Sabha. History In July 1874 a rail line, known as the Breakwater line, ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, country =

, language(s) = Sinhala

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

English

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, denomination =

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, previous denomination = , tradition = , religious institute = , bull date = , status =

Minor Basilica In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular ...

National shrine , founded date = , founder = Jean-Marie Masson , dedication = Our Lady of Lanka(Mary Immaculate) , dedicated date = , relics = , events = , past bishop = , people = , functional status = Active , heritage designation = , designated date = , previous cathedrals = , architect = Spanish architect Fr. Heras , architectural type = , style = , years built = , groundbreaking = , completed date = , capacity = , tower quantity = , tower height = , bells = , bell weight = , archdiocese =

Archdiocese of Colombo The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Colombo ( la, Archidioecesis Columbensis in Taprobane) is a Latin Metropolitan Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church, whose ecclesiastical province covers all Sri Lanka plus the Maldives (which are ...

, province =

Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: * Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provin ...

, district =

Gampaha District Gampaha District ( si, ගම්පහ දිස්ත්‍රික්කය ''gampaha distrikkaya'', ta, கம்பஹா மாவட்டம் ''Kampahā Māvaṭṭam'') is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administ ...

, archbishop =

Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don Albert Malcolm Ranjith ( Sinhala: පටබැඳිගේ දොන් ඇල්බට් මැල්කම් රංජිත්) (born 15 November 1947), often known simply as Malcolm Ranjith or Albert Malcolm Ranjith is a S ...

, bishop = , auxiliary bishop = Maxwell Silva
(2012–to date)
Anthony Jayakody
(2018 June–to date)
Ranjith Pillainayagam
(2020 July–to date) The Basilica of Our Lady of Lanka ( Sinhala: ලංකා අප ස්වාමිදුවගේ බැසිලිකාව ''Lanka Apa Swamiduwagay Bæsilikawa''/

: லங்கா மாதா பேராலயம் lanka matha peralayam) is a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

in Tewatte,

. Being thus in a somewhat distant suburb of

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

, it comes under the purview of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Colombo The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Colombo ( la, Archidioecesis Columbensis in Taprobane) is a Latin Metropolitan Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church, whose ecclesiastical province covers all Sri Lanka plus the Maldives (which are ...

and is a site of pilgrimage for Sri Lankan Catholics. The church is home to the venerated statue of Our Lady of Lanka.

History

Our Lady of Lanka started its life in 1911 as a small

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

dedicated to

Our Lady of Lourdes Our Lady of Lourdes (french: Notre-Dame de Lourdes) is a title of the Virgin Mary. She is venerated under this title by the Roman Catholic church due to her apparitions that occurred in Lourdes, France. The first apparition of 11 February 1858, o ...

(Mary Immaculate),

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It was built by a local pastor Fr. A. Kieger and a few Catholic

laymen In religious organizations, the laity () consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother. In both religious and wider secular usage, a layperson ...

, as a part of the parish of

at that time. In 1917 another pastor, Fr. A. Collorec had a

grotto A grotto is a natural or artificial cave used by humans in both modern times and antiquity, and historically or prehistorically. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high ti ...

built for Our Lady of Lourdes, with the assistance of Catholic workers from

. The growing popularity of the chapel led to the chapel being expanded into a church in the 1930s. However, its true rise to fame occurred due to the former Archbishop of Colombo, Jean-Marie Masson. During the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Archbishop Masson made a vowed that if

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

were to be protected from major conflict, he would build a Votive Basilica under the title Our Lady of Lanka. Ceylon was indeed spared from any major

warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

. The archbishop was delighted and in 1946 he obtained approval from the then Pope,

Pius XII Pius ( , ) Latin for "pious", is a masculine given name. Its feminine form is Pia. It may refer to: People Popes * Pope Pius (disambiguation) * Antipope Pius XIII (1918-2009), who led the breakaway True Catholic Church sect Given name * Pius B ...

, for the construction of a basilica in honor of Our Lady of Lanka. Masson died the following year and his successor Archbishop

Thomas Cooray Thomas Benjamin Cooray (Sinhala language: තෝමස් බෙන්ජමින් කුරේ), O.M.I. (28 December 1901 – 29 October 1988) was a Sri Lankan cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the Archbishop of Colombo ...

took on the responsibility of ensuring his predecessor's vision was realized; In 1948 the Pope Pius XII established the Mary Immaculate, to be known as Our Lady of Lanka, as the principal Roman Catholic

patroness Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

of the island. He then acquired a nearby rubber estate and had the basilica constructed on the amply sized land. Many shady local trees such as

Neem ''Azadirachta indica'', commonly known as neem, nimtree or Indian lilac, is a tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae. It is one of two species in the genus ''Azadirachta'', and is native to the Indian subcontinent and most of the countries in Afr ...

and Na were planted to give a place for future pilgrims to rest under. On February 4, 1950, the cornerstone for the basilica was laid. It was completed in 1974, a year after Pope Paul VI endowed the church with the title of

. On February 6, 1974, the consecration of the basilica and crowning of the statue of Our Lady of Lanka took place; making it the national basilica and a national shrine of Sri Lanka.

References

{{Churches in Sri Lanka Roman Catholic churches in Sri Lanka Basilica churches in Asia Roman Catholic churches completed in 1974 Churches in Colombo District Roman Catholic shrines in Sri Lanka 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Sri Lanka