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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
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607:. 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
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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
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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
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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
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However, its true rise to fame occurred due to the former
Archbishop of Colombo, Jean-Marie Masson. During the outbreak of the
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562:. The growing popularity of the chapel led to the chapel being expanded into a church in the 1930s.
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577:. The archbishop was delighted and in 1946 he obtained approval from the then Pope,
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built for Our Lady of
Lourdes, with the assistance of Catholic workers from
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581:, for the construction of a basilica in honour of Our Lady of Lanka.
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526:. The church is home to the venerated statue of Our Lady of Lanka.
546:. It was built by a local pastor Fr. A. Kieger and a few Catholic
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were planted to give a place for future pilgrims to rest under.
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Masson died the following year and his successor
Archbishop
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at that time. In 1917 another pastor, Fr. A. Collorec had a
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20th-century Roman
Catholic church buildings in Sri Lanka
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Our Lady of Lanka started its life in 1911 as a small
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514:. Being thus in a somewhat distant suburb of
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674:"Story of Tewatte Basilica - Daily Mirror"
387:
378:
45:
18:
982:Roman Catholic churches completed in 1974
946:St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Colombo
867:Cathedral of Christ the King, Kurunegala
623:
569:, Archbishop Masson made a vow that if
443:2,758.8 m (29,696 sq ft)
862:Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour
520:Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Colombo
7:
972:Roman Catholic churches in Sri Lanka
518:, it comes under the purview of the
992:Roman Catholic shrines in Sri Lanka
883:St. Thomas' Cathedral, Vaddukoddai
846:St. Sebastian's Church, Diyalagoda
660:"Architecture of Tewatte Basilica"
232:Our Lady of Lanka(Mary Immaculate)
14:
841:St. Sebastian's Cathedral, Mannar
776:St. Anthony's Shrine, Kochchikade
632:"Coordinates of Tewatte Basilica"
483:Lanka Apa Swamiduwagay Bæsilikawa
920:Dutch Reformed Church, Kalpitiya
826:St. Mary's Cathedral, Batticaloa
799:
754:
522:and is a site of pilgrimage for
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27:Ragama Basilica/Tewatte Basilica
791:St. Anthony's Church, Wahakotte
248:
185:
16:Church in Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka
1:
925:Dutch Reformed Church, Matara
821:St. Mary's Cathedral, Badulla
771:Basilica of Our Lady of Lanka
713:"History of Tewatte Basilica"
646:"Founder of Tewatte Basilica"
550:, as a part of the parish of
475:ලංකා අප ස්වාමිදුවගේ බැසිලිකාව
467:Basilica of Our Lady of Lanka
382:Basilica of Our Lady of Lanka
76:Basilica of Our Lady of Lanka
38:ලංකා අප ස්වාමිදුවගේ බැසිලිකාව
32:
22:Basilica of Our Lady of Lanka
987:Churches in Colombo District
836:St. Mary's Cathedral, Jaffna
786:Shrine of Our Lady of Matara
831:St. Mary's Cathedral, Galle
781:Shrine of Our Lady of Madhu
688:"Story of Tewatte Basilica"
499:
482:
255:Spanish architect Fr. Heras
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51:Front view of the basilica
977:Basilica churches in Asia
908:Christian Reformed Church
809:Roman Catholic cathedrals
797:
491:
474:
408:Independence of Sri Lanka
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90:
56:
44:
37:
31:
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899:Methodist Church, Pettah
764:Roman Catholic shrines
753:Churches in Sri Lanka
331:Archdiocese of Colombo
285:; 50 years ago
267:; 74 years ago
206:; 50 years ago
109:7.033593°N 79.935089°E
816:St. Lucia's Cathedral
500:lanka matha peralayam
459:25 ha (62 acres)
371:Ranjith Pillainayagam
283:February 6, 1974
265:February 4, 1950
204:February 6, 1974
82:Location in Sri Lanka
524:Sri Lankan Catholics
451:125 feet (38 m)
435:319 feet (97 m)
855:Anglican cathedrals
542:(Mary Immaculate),
540:Our Lady of Lourdes
492:லங்கா மாதா பேராலயம்
422:Direction of façade
373:(2020 July–to date)
369:(2018 June–to date)
355:Auxiliary Bishop(s)
114:7.033593; 79.935089
105: /
939:Church of Scotland
930:Groote Kerk, Galle
959:
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951:Scots Kirk, Kandy
915:Wolvendaal Church
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242:Functional status
222:Jean-Marie Masson
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892:Methodist church
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690:. Archived from
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366:Anthony Jayakody
319:Western Province
307:Gampaha District
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605:Minor Basilica
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505:Roman Catholic
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417:Specifications
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363:(2012–to date)
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694:on 2022-09-27
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586:Thomas Cooray
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538:dedicated to
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440:Interior area
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410:is celebrated
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406:same day the
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360:Maxwell Silva
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696:. Retrieved
692:the original
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583:
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533:
510:in Tewatte,
466:
464:
448:Height (max)
405:
404:4 February (
251:Architect(s)
237:Architecture
171:Denomination
326:Archdiocese
150:Language(s)
112: /
966:Categories
698:2022-09-26
618:References
426:North East
343:Archbishop
290:1974-02-06
272:1950-02-04
228:Dedication
219:Founder(s)
211:1974-02-06
100:79°56′06″E
590:patroness
512:Sri Lanka
456:Site area
401:Feast day
280:Completed
144:Sri Lanka
134:Sri Lanka
128:Tewatte,
97:7°02′01″N
614:Source:
579:Pius XII
508:basilica
396:Religion
314:Province
303:District
125:Location
575:warfare
560:Colombo
530:History
516:Colombo
503:) is a
471:Sinhala
288: (
270: (
209: (
201:Founded
182:History
161:English
154:Sinhala
140:Country
34:Sinhala
571:Ceylon
556:grotto
552:Ragama
548:laymen
544:France
536:chapel
432:Length
337:Clergy
245:Active
187:Status
130:Ragama
488:Tamil
164:Latin
158:Tamil
596:and
594:Neem
465:The
968::
598:Na
494:,
490::
486:;
477:,
473::
132:,
36::
746:e
739:t
732:v
715:.
701:.
676:.
662:.
648:.
634:.
469:(
412:)
292:)
274:)
213:)
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