The Basilica of Our Lady of Lanka (; ) is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

in Tewatte,

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. Being thus in a somewhat distant suburb of

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

, it comes under the purview of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Colombo The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Colombo () is a Latin metropolitan archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church, whose ecclesiastical province covers all Sri Lanka plus the Maldives (which are within the archbishopric). It depends on th ...

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 (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

dedicated to

Our Lady of Lourdes Our Lady of Lourdes (; ) is one the Marian devotions, devotional names or titles under which the Catholic Church venerates the Mary, mother of Jesus, Virgin Mary. The name commemorates a series of Lourdes apparitions, 18 apparitions reported by ...

(Mary Immaculate),

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

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

laymen In religious organizations, the laity () — individually a layperson, layman or laywoman — 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. ...

, as a part of the parish of

Ragama Ragama ( ) is a suburb of Gampaha, located in the Gampaha District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is governed by the Ja-Ela Divisional Secretariat. History In July 1874 a rail line, known as the Breakwater line, was opened connecting the Har ...

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

grotto A grotto or grot is a natural or artificial cave or covered recess. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high tide. Sometimes, artificial grottoes are used as garden fea ...

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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Archbishop Masson made a vow that if

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

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 armed conflict between the armed forces of State (polity), states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or betwe ...

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

Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

, for the construction of a basilica in honour of Our Lady of Lanka. Masson died the following year and his successor Archbishop Thomas Cooray took on the responsibility of ensuring his predecessor's vision was realized; In 1948 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, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

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, margosa, nimtree or Indian lilac, is a tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae. It is one of the two species in the genus '' Azadirachta''. It is native to the Indian subcontinent and to parts of S ...

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

Minor Basilica Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectura ...

. 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. Source:

Architecture

The Basilica of Our Lady of Lanka, designed by Fr. Heras, incorporates Asian architectural elements appreciated by

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

and

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

devotees. The front porch has six pillars representing the dioceses during

WWII World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

which were

Galle Galle (, ; , ) (formerly ) is a major city on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, south of Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Southern Province, Sri Lanka and is the capital of Galle District. Galle was known as ''Gi ...

Jaffna Jaffna (, ; , ) is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka, Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a Jaffna Peninsula, peninsula of the same name. With a population o ...

Kandy Kandy (, ; , ) is a major city located in the Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the Sinhalese monarchy from 1469 to 1818, under the Kingdom of Kandy. The city is situated in the midst of ...

Chilaw Chilaw (, ) is a city in Puttalam District, North Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is governed by an urban council, whereas the outskirts are governed by a pradeshiya sabha of the same name. The town is located 80 kilometers away from Colombo via ...

and

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; , ; , ), historically known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee District and major resort port city of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. Located on the east coast o ...

; and a cross with a bronze Christ figure by Sri Lankan artist Leila Peiris, set against a circular glass in a spider web design, within a

stupa In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' śarīra''—the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...

-inspired frame. The statue was made with a resemblance of Christ’s face on the

shroud of Turin The Shroud of Turin (), also known as the Holy Shroud (), is a length of linen cloth that bears a faint image of the front and back of a naked man. Because details of the image are consistent with depiction of Jesus, traditional depictions o ...

, as per the insistence of the Cardinal. Twin towers with golden bell enclosures reflect Hindu

gopuram A ''gopuram'' or ''gopura'' ( Tamil: கோபுரம், Telugu: గోపురం, Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of th ...

designs. The cruciform structure features a central dome with a cross of the Eastern Oriental Church, granite walls, and wooden doorways with Indian architraves. Inside, a life-sized statue of Our Lady of Lanka carved by Thedim holds the infant Jesus with a golden rosary. The altar is made of undressed white stone, with railings of various local woods. The

Holy of Holies The Holy of Holies ( or ''Kodesh HaKodashim''; also ''hadDəḇīr'', 'the Sanctuary') is a term in the Hebrew Bible that refers to the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle, where the Shekhinah (God in Judaism, God's presence) appeared. According ...

has a replica of the Ark of the Covenant, and an ivory cross hangs above. The cross is a historical 17th Century cross from Puttlam. The crypt houses the Blessed Sacrament Chapel and Cardinal Cooray’s tomb. The outside of the Basilica has plenty to see as well. These include the four convents, the Museum and Jubilee Hall, the Retreat House, the new and old grottos of

, the bathing pond and lake, the old church etc. The right end of the basilica gives a panoramic views of Adam’s Peak early in the morning. The grotto was made to resemble Lourdes and the Kandyan-style museum contains religious artifacts and Cardinal Cooray’s vestments.

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