Shrine of Our Lady of Madhu

Background Christianity in Sri Lanka is not well known before the 16th century although some local traditions claim that Saint Thomas the Apostle was active on the island. Portuguese missionaries from India, especially under the authority of Saint Francis Xavier, introduced Roman Catholicism to the Kingdom of Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka. The newly converted Christians were persecuted the Dutch. During this time the Catholics regrouped to form a church a few miles north in Manthai, installing a statue of Our Lady of Good Health in a shrine. About the same time another 700 Catholics migrated from the Jaffna peninsula into Wanni forests. When these two communities met in Madhu, they installed a new shrine with the statue. eventually led to the suppression of the Society of Jesus in Madhu by 1834. The building of the new church was initiated by Bishop Bonjean in 1872 and his successors built a facade, a spacious presbytery, a restful chapel of the Blessed Sacrament and a grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes. == Pontifical coronation ==

In 1920, Bishop of Jaffna, André Jules Brault sought Pope Benedict XV's sanction for the canonical coronation of the venerated image. Bishop Brault as well as the clergy and laity had petitioned the Holy See through the Cardinal Willem Marinus van Rossum, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. Cardinal Van Rossum personally presented the request to the Pope, who granted it in his audience of 7 April 1921. On 2 July 1924, the statue was officially crowned. == Consecration of the church ==

The church was consecrated in 1944 during World War II. In preparation for the consecration ceremony, a marble altar replaced the old wooden structure and the whole sanctuary was covered with white and blue marble. In spite of travel restrictions and difficulty finding transportation, more than 30,000 people came to the jungle shrine. == The penitential tour ==

The statue of Our Lady of Madhu has been taken for procession thrice to the parishes in Sri Lanka, in 1948, 1974 and 2001. The latter was as a spiritual effort to encourage Catholics in Sri Lanka to pray for peace and an end to the civil war. == Feast day at Madhu ==

In 1870, the new bishop arranged an annual festival to be celebrated on 2 July. However, in recent years the 15 August festival has drawn the biggest crowds as it is one of the most hallowed days for Catholics, the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into heaven, and it comes during school holidays when entire families can make the trip. == Church amidst civil war ==

Background The civil war on the island-nation of Sri Lanka lasted thirty years. Since 1983, there was on-and-off civil war, predominantly between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, also known as the Tamil Tigers), a separatist militant organization who fought to establish an independent state named Tamil Eelam in the north and east of the island. It is estimated that more than 68,000 people were killed since 1983. Refugee camps The shrine has housed thousands of refugees since 1990. Catholic bishops called for the Madhu area to be a demilitarised zone with guaranteed security for pilgrims and the 15,000 refugees taking shelter. When the violence escalated, the civilians sheltered in the premises had to flee further north; the statue itself had to be moved because of repeated shelling. In 2008, Sri lankan forces shelled on the church during the final war even though the place was a well known refugee camp. In 2009, the civil war ended with the government taking control. == See also ==