All roads lead to Tewatta today, the last Sunday of August. The Blessing of the sick which is the main service of the day will take place at 2 p.m. presided by the Archbishop Rt. Rev. Dr. Oswald Gomis, assisted by many bishops.
The theme this year is "Do not fear, for I have overcome the world". The very words of Jesus Christ which in today's context is encouraging as stressed by the administrator of the Basilica, Rev. Fr. Merl Shanthi, who is taking pains to make the day memorable.
The Basilica is dedicated to Our Lady of Lanka and is the national shrine. Though the location is a place of pilgrimage throughout the year, and there are several feasts being celebrated, the main annual event in recent times has come to be the Blessing of the sick, commonly known as "Sick Day".
The service was begun in1941 by Rev. Fr. P. Laprian, the administrator at the time. But the history of the Basilica - so called because it is the seat of a Cardinal - is credited to the efforts of the late Cardinal Thomas Coorey whose untiring efforts made it a reality. On Sunday there will be Masses from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. The Eucharistic service at 9 a.m. will be celebrated by the retired bishop Nicholas Marcus Fernando in English, while at 11 a.m. Rt Rev. Marius Pieris will officiate at a solemn mass in Sinhala. There will be mass in Tamil at 10 a.m. said by Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Ponniah of Batticaloa, and masses in Sinhala at 5 p.m too. |
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