Saint Mary's Church, also known as Mahaweediya Palliya is an old church located in Negombo town. It was built during the British era (1815–1948 A.D.).
Saint Mary's Church (Negombo) S aint Mary's Church , also known as Mahaweediya Palliya (lit: Grand Street Church; Sinhala: මීගමුව ශාන්ත මරියා පල්ලිය), is a Roman Catholic church located in Negombo town in Gampaha District, Sri Lanka. History
Negombo was under the heavy influence of the Portuguese who arrived in Sri Lanka in the early part of the 16th century and as a result, the Christian faith was rooted across the region. Because of the large number of churches in the present Negambo town, it is often called "Little Rome" in the country (Ratnayaka, 2022). As is revealed by some historical sources, a shrine named "Church of the Mother of God" had been erected on the present church site during the Portuguese Period (1597–1658 A.D.) but that was destroyed during the Dutch period [(1658–1796 A.D.) De Silva & Chandrasekara, 2009]. However, it is said that British rulers (1815–1948 A.D.) built the church on the same site again (De Silva & Chandrasekara, 2009). As per sources, the constructi…
