St. Anthony's Shrine in Kochchikade, Colombo, built during Dutch rule, houses a miraculous statue of St. Anthony brought from Goa in 1822.
St. Anthony's Shrine (Kochchikade) St. Anthony's Shrine at Kochchikade, also known as Kochchikade Palliya (Sinhala: කොච්චිකඩේ පල්ලිය), is a popular Catholic church in Colombo District, Sri Lanka. Many people, both Christian and non-Christian, visit this shrine, particularly at the times of the annual feasts. History
The church was built during the colonial period as a place of worship for the catholic devotees who lived in the Colombo area (Rajapakshe et al., 2018). It is said that during the Dutch period (Dutch Ceylon: 1658 - 1796) the catholic religion had been proscribed in the territories held by Dutch and therefore, worshipping Catholicism had become a difficult thing. However, harassment faced by Catholics conduced the then-Dutch governor Willem Maurits Bruyninck (1739-1742) to allocate a plot of land (where the present church stands) for building a shrine for Catholics. On the received land, a small chapel was built by Fr. Kaithano Antonio (Rajapakshe et al., 2018).
The miraculous statue of St. Anthony which …
