Three Irish Redemptorist pioneers, Fathers Matthew Hickey, Liam O’Halloran, Jerry Mc Donald of the Congregartion of the Most Holy Redeemer arrived in Sri Lanka in 1939 carrying with them the icon of the Mother of Perperual Help and established on 15 March 1946 the 1st Shrine at Sancta Maria, Kandy which was dedicated to Our Mother of Perperual Help- (in Latin Sancta Maria de Perpetuo Succurso) from which the shrine derived its name.
The radiant beams of devotion were propogated from this shrine to every nook and corner of Sri Lanka with the preaching of missions and retreats by the Redemptorist fathers.It was Fr. Christie Mc Carthy, CSsR who took the initiative with Fr. John Herath, OMI to start the devotion at All Saints Church, Borella, Colombo in 1951. It is here that we make our troubles and worries known in prayer to God through the intercession of Our Mother of Perpetual Help.
And the icon they brought with them of the Mother of Perpetual Help, derived from the Latin Sancta Maria de Perpetuo Succurso had a history of its own. Of Oriental origin, the first icon, it is believed, had been stolen by a merchant from Crete around the 16th century and taken to Rome, after being storm-tossed for awhile.
Calvary of the Hill Country
Because of the Kandurata Kalvariya, today, Sancta Maria has become a very popular centre of the Way of the Cross during the season of Lent for bus-loads of pilgrims coming from all over the island.
Because of the Kandurata Kalvariya, today, Sancta Maria has become a very popular centre of the Way of the Cross during the season of Lent for bus-loads of pilgrims coming from all over the island.