St Anthony Visits Sri Lanka

OVER THREE million devotees flocked to venerate a relic of our Saint which Fr. Enzo Poiana, Rector of the Basilica of Saint Anthony in Padua, along with Fr. Alessandro Ratti, brought to the pearl of the Indian Ocean from 7 to 23 March of this year.



 The two Franciscan friars had been personally invited by Msgr. Malcom Ranjith, archbishop of Colombo, specifically to celebrate the 175th anniversary of the Cathedral of Saint Anthony in Kochchikade, but the visit was then extended when other dioceses across the island requested the presence of the relic as well.



 An estimated 5,000 people attended the opening welcome ceremony at Kochchikade Cathedral. They included Ms Shiranthi Rajapaksa, wife of Sri Lanka’s president, Catholic political leaders, Buddhist monks and people of other faiths.



 That the relic should receive such an overwhelming welcome (in a country where only 8 percent of the population is Catholic) is an impressive fact in its own right, were it not for other episodes which perhaps shows that the age of miracles is not over yet.



 Shortly after his return I interviewed Fr. Poiana, who told me all about them, and the excitement of the whole pilgrimage.





The miracle-worker





 Fr. Poiana, did Saint Anthony actually work a miracle during his pilgrimage?



 I believe so. In any case I’ll give you the facts, and let the reader judge for himself.



 Four young men had climbed onto a metallic structure and were trying to fasten a series of electric lights and other decorations onto the walls along the streets of Kandy. They were doing this with a long iron bar. Inadvertently, one of them touched a live, high-voltage power line with the iron bar, and immediately, a powerful electric discharge was released on the metallic structure, burning everything around them. What we simply can’t understand is how they managed to survive completely unscathed, including the man holding the bar.



 I received word of this episode from the bishop of Kandy, who is a frequent visitor to the Basilica here in Padua when Sri Lankans working in Italy set out on their traditional pilgrimage to our shrine.





 Were there other episodes worthy of note?



 There was, in particular, another episode worthy of The Little Flowers of St Francis. We were in Mannar, hosted by the Admiralty in one of their buildings. They decided to take us with one of their ships, escorted by two patrol-boats, to see Adam’s Bridge, a geological wonder, which, however, hinders navigation through the strait separating India from Sri Lanka.



 Adam’s Bridge, also known as Rama’s Bridge, is a chain of limestone shoals, between the islands of Rameswaram, off the southeastern coast of India, and northwestern Sri Lanka. Geological evidence indicates that this bridge is a former land connection between India and Sri Lanka. The bridge is 18 miles (30 km) long. Some of the sandbanks are dry and the sea in the area is very shallow, being only 3 ft to 30 ft (1 m to 10 m) deep in places. It was reportedly passable on foot up to the 15th century, until storms deepened the channel. Hindu and Buddhist records seem to indicate that Rama’s Bridge was completely above sea level until it was broken by a cyclone in 1480 AD.



 In any case, on our way back something really strange occurred. We were cruising at a low speed to take in the beauty when all of a sudden a shoal of fish, which were the size of large sardines, started leaping all around us. I was greatly surprised by all this, especially when two or three of them actually leapt onboard! I grabbed one and threw it back to prevent it from dying. At this point a Sri Lankan priest, who was accompanying us, was inspired to say, “Saint Anthony must be trying to tell us that it’s easier for him to make fish leap out of water than for us to leap out of our selfishness”.



 These words reminded me that the relic was with us on board the ship, and that the relic was actually a fragment of the Saint’s finger, that same finger which the Saint had used to rebuke unbelievers in the Italian town of Rimini. I have to admit that I felt shivers running down my spine when it seemed to me that the Miracle of the Fish was being repeated right before my very eyes.



 When heretics were poking fun at Anthony at Rimini, the Saint turned towards the sea and started speaking to the fish. The marine animals, for their part, started raising their slippery bodies out of the water, listening in all awe to the homily given by the Saint. The enemies of the Church, on seeing this, were completely overwhelmed.





 Was security tight during the pilgrimage?



 The relic was always escorted by the police and by six armed men belonging to the Special Task Force of the President of the Republic of Sri Lanka. This was both during the trips from one city to another as well as during our stays in the churches.



 In all, we visited the following places: Colombo, Kalutara, Galle, Ratnapura, Badula, Battricaloa, Jaffna, Vavuniya, Mannar, Anuradhapura, Chilaw, Kurunegala, Kandy, Kegalle, Comombo, and Negombo.





A great blessing





 A real tour de force. Were you warmly received everywhere?



 All the churches which hosted the relic were opened day and night to allow pilgrims, many of whom were coming from far away, to get their chance to see the relic.



 You must bear in mind that for 30 years no foreigner had ever set foot in many parts in the north of the country because of the civil war, which was especially violent there. So you must put yourself in the shoes of these people, and try to imagine what it must be like, after so many years of brutal warfare, to suddenly see a peace-bringing Saint Anthony appear in the company of two of his friars!



 I can still remember the words of a man, a father of three, two of whom are in the military, who said, “Saint Anthony is known as the saint of lost objects. I believe he was instrumental in helping our people recover the peace that was lost”.



 Surrounded by the scars of the recently concluded conflict, the devastated roads, houses and human hearts, the presence of the relic was like a healing balm bringing relief and comfort to wounds that are still festering. It brought added encouragement to move on and start over. I believe Saint Anthony has consolidated peace in the region.