Santa Maria Church

Whispers of miracles clung to the air around Sancta Maria Church in Kandy. High on a hill, away from the town’s clamor, the church offered solace. It held a special significance. It housed Sri Lanka’s first shrine to Our Mother of Perpetual Help. Sancta Maria Church’s story began in 1939. Three Redemptorist priests – Fathers Hickey, O’Halloran, and McDonald – journeyed from Ireland to Ceylon. They carried with them a precious icon. This icon depicted Our Mother of Perpetual Help. The icon itself had a rich history. Believed to be of Oriental origin, it was said to have been stolen from Crete. A merchant took it to Rome. Both he and his friend died before returning the icon. It found its way back only after Mother Mary appeared to the merchant’s daughter. The icon resided for 300 years in the Church of St. Matthew in Rome. Napoleon’s army destroyed the church in 1798. The Redemptorists rebuilt it and rediscovered the icon, miraculously unharmed. Pope Pius XI then entrusted the Redemptorists with a mission: “Make her known throughout the world.” In 1946, the Redemptorists established Sancta Maria Church in Kandy. The beautiful wooden altar inside was hand-built by Father Arthur Maloney. A caretaker named Anton Joseph devoted decades to maintaining the shrine and its gardens. The church quickly became a place of pilgrimage. People came seeking the powerful intercession of Our Mother of Perpetual Help through the Novena. The first Novena held outside Sancta Maria took place at All Saints Church in Borella in 1951. The icon at Sancta Maria was crowned in 1957. Stories of miracles at Sancta Maria Church are plentiful. One particularly poignant story dates back to 1958. A pregnant woman faced life-threatening complications. Her husband, desperate, took the gold chain and garnet pendant from his wife’s neck. He rushed to Sancta Maria and placed it on the altar, praying for a miracle. Upon returning to the hospital, he found both mother and child healthy. The chain and pendant remain on the icon to this day, a testament to the faith and hope that Sancta Maria inspires. Sancta Maria Church stands as a beacon of hope and faith. It invites people from all walks of life to seek solace and offer their prayers to Our Mother of Perpetual Help.