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| Saturday, 11 January 2003 |
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Miraculous protection of Church by Florence Wickramage
Mighty waves of the tumultuous seas dashed onto the shores and took back in the receding waters little huts of fishermen, lining the beach, leaving in its wake great gashes where once were smooth sandy stretches. Coconut trees lining the beach too fell victim to the thundering waves. Fisher-families desolate and seeking shelter elsewhere looked on with great dismay as their dwelling places and, may be their whole lives' savings, getting washed away. Sea erosion is severe on the beaches of Wennappuwa as I witnessed on my recent visit there. Fisherfolk who gathered around us to recite their tales of woe, told me a story of how the St. Anthony's Church at Kadawatha, Wennappuwa was miraculously saved from sea erosion by nature. It was on June 13th 1998 - incidentally the day on which the Feast of St. Anthony is celebrated - a great ship was tossed ashore by towering waves. The over-100-foot long shipwreck had rested facing the Church right across the boundaries of either side of the Church premises. Wennappuwa residents believe that this incident was a miraculous intervention of St. Anthony himself whom Catholics venerate as the patron Saint of fishermen. The people then related how they put up a fight with Government officials and businessmen to save the wreck. A former Secretary of the Fisheries Ministry had granted permission to a businessman to cut iron from the ship. Residents in the area were of the opinion that what lies within their boundaries belonged to the people and objected to outsiders gate-crashing onto their territory. However the persistent businessman had then waved at their faces a document purported to have been issued by the Ministry Secretary granting him permission to cut iron from the wrecked ship. Despite vehement protests from the people the businessman had commenced cutting up the iron when suddenly his work halted as the wreck sank further taking with it about three-quarters of the structure. People said this was another miracle which saved the wrecked ship which today stands as a barrier between the Church and the sea. I witnessed sea erosion on either side of the sunken ship, but the Church stands safe from the destruction which is rapidly eroding what is left of the unconserved Wennappuwa beaches. I am reminded about folklore concerning the Church of St. Anthony at Kochchikade. A Catholic priest from Cochin had arrived in Ceylon during the Dutch period and was living disguised as a fisherman in the vicinity of today's St. Anthony's Church at Kochchikade. This `fisherman' Anthony by name, had been in the habit of secretly saying mass to fisherfolk on the beach, since Catholicism was a forbidden religion during those days. When the authorities finally got news of this activity, had approached the `fisherman' and told him to perform a miracle, if he was to be allowed to continue with his preaching. He was assigned to ensure that the area which was subjected to severe sea-erosion be saved. Anthony had then stuck his cross on the beach and ordered the sea to recede. It is widely believed that St. Anthony had been granted supernatural powers by God and at Anthony's prayers, the sea had receded and no further erosion had taken place. He thereafter built a small hut on the spot and started using it as a small Church. This hut was called a `kade'and the people had called this place "Kochchiyage Kade"- thus the name Kochchikade. (Kochchiya meaning the man from Cochin). The present St. Anthony's Church came into being with the passing of the years and according to folklore several attempts to demolish the Church for road expansion had been prevented. St. Anthony is today venerated as a wonder-worker and the Church has gained popularity as a common place of worship of people of all faiths. |
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