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St. Mary's Cathedral
Jaffna Cathedral
புனித மரியன்னை பேராலயம்
St. Mary's CathedralLocation in central Jaffna
09°39′22.10″N 80°01′21.90″E / 9.6561389°N 80.0227500°E / 9.6561389; 80.0227500
Location	Gurunagar, Jaffna
Country	Sri Lanka
Denomination	Roman Catholic
History
Former name(s)	St. Mary's Church
Status	Cathedral
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Groundbreaking	1789; 236 years ago (1789)
Completed	1794
Administration
Archdiocese	Colombo
Diocese	Jaffna
Clergy
Bishop(s)	Justin Bernard Gnanapragasam
Priest(s)	Rev. Fr.John Mavulis
Assistant priest(s)	Rev. Fr.Nilan Julius Rev.Fr. Reman Renald

St. Mary's Cathedral (Tamil: புனித மரியன்னை பேராலயம், romanized: Puṉita Mariyaṉṉai Pērālayam; Sinhala: ශාන්ත මරියා ආසන දෙව් මැදුර Śānta Mariyā Āsana Dev Mædura) is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jaffna located in Gurunagar, a suburb of Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka.

The cathedral is also known locally as Periye Kovil (Tamil: பெரிய கோவில்).

History

According to historical sources, King of Jaffna Cankili I killed his son at the location of the present cathedral after his son converted to Catholicism. The prince's ashes were buried at the spot where he was killed and a chapel, which later served as the foundation for the construction of the present cathedral, was built.

Construction of St. Mary's Church began in 1789 and was completed in 1794. The first parish priest was Rev. Fr. Leonard Rebeiro. The church was built on the site of a thatched house that had previously served as a worshipping place for Jaffna's Catholics. The church has a total of fourteen novenas. The ancestors of the 10th and 11th novena gifted land for the church and the ancestors of the 12th and 13th novenas gifted land and also contributed with money for purchasing land for the church.

By the early twentieth century the church, which was now a cathedral, had become too small to accommodate all its worshippers. Construction of a new cathedral began in 1939 but wasn't completed until 1975.

Notes

1. "St. Mary's Cathedral, Jaffna, Sri Lanka". GCatholic.org.
2. "Historical dictionary - Oblate Communications". -. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
3. IBC Tamil (2 May 2016), பெரிய கோவிலடி - Jaffna | Vanakkam Thainaadu Ep 227 Part 1 | IBC Tamil TV, retrieved 17 August 2017
4. Kurukshetra. Sri Lak-Indo Study Group. 1983. p. 68.
5. Joseph, Dishan (16 July 2016). "Mannar Island of Martyrs » Nation". Nation. Archived from the original on 3 March 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
6. ^ Martyn 1923, p. 155.
7. ^ Martyn 1923, p. 8.
8. "Cathedral". St. Mary's Cathedral. Archived from the original on 30 September 2013. Retrieved 25 August 2014.

References

• Martyn, John H. (1923). Notes on Jaffna - Chronological, Historical, Biographical (PDF). Tellippalai: American Ceylon Mission Press. ISBN 81-206-1670-7.

External links

• jaffnastmaryscathedral.org

v t e Churches in Sri Lanka
Roman Catholic shrines	Basilica of Our Lady of Lanka St. Anthony's Shrine, Kochchikade Shrine of Our Lady of Madhu Shrine of Our Lady of Matara St. Anthony's Shrine, Wahakotte
Roman Catholic cathedrals	St. Lucia's Cathedral St. Mary's Cathedral, Badulla St. Mary's Cathedral, Batticaloa St. Mary's Cathedral, Galle St. Mary's Cathedral, Jaffna St. Sebastian's Cathedral, Mannar
Anglican cathedrals	Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour Cathedral of Christ the King, Kurunegala
CSI cathedral	St. Thomas' Cathedral, Vaddukoddai
Methodist church	Methodist Church, Pettah
Christian Reformed Church	Wolvendaal Church Dutch Reformed Church, Kalpitiya Dutch Reformed Church, Matara Groote Kerk, Galle
Church of Scotland	St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Colombo Scots Kirk, Kandy

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