St. Anthony's Church, Soysapura - built on the unity of Buddhists and Christians

THE month of June following the advent of the Holy Spirit according to the Catholic calendar is a very important month for the Catholics since the Feast of St Anthony of Padua falls on the 13th of the same month.

Born to an upper clan family in Lisbon in Portugal on 15th August 1195 and named 'Ferdinand Bullion' and later on having entered the Holy with novitiate service through Franciscan St Anthony in 1231 left us forever.

He chose to be a servant of the God from his very young days. His service to God will be remembered for ever among the Christians as St. Anthony stood for the truth and bought the people the love of God.

Renowned as 'Saint of the poor' or 'Saint of the finder of the lost' he has left an indelible name not only among the Christian but also among faithful belonging to diverse religion in his country and the beyond.

St. Anthony has a foremost peace among the Saints worshipped by the Catholics. This annual feast of St. Anthony is ceremoniously held all over the churches of the island built in his name.

The first among them is the feast of St. Anthony's Church, Kochchikade.

As his remains were buried on a Tuesday, people around the world worship him every Tuesdays of the weeks seeking immeasurable help for their suffering.

A state of St. Anthony was kept in a small plot of land in Soysapura Housing Complex by Rev. Fr. Edward Reval, the parish priest of the 'Queen of Angels Church' of Rawathawatte about 11 years ago i.e. in 1994. For this he received the support of the members of 'Suhada Kala Kavaya' of Soysapura Flats.

Today in that very spot stands a beautiful small church which gets the help of the Buddhists, Christians and others of different faiths living in Soysapura housing complex. This church has become a religious place and a place of blessings for the Catholics and others of different faiths living here.

This place situated adjacent to the main entrance road to the Housing Complex is becoming a sacred place for the large number of devotees.

The annual feast of this church, which can be termed a 'symbol of unity', are celebrated with the patronage of the people of Soysapura and neighbouring towns. Rev. Fr. Reval, Rev. Fr. Sri Lal Fonseka taking charge of the Rawathawatte Mission saw to the second phase of renovation work with extensive religious activities.

His Grace Rt. Rev. Nicholas Marcus Fernando, the Archbishop of Colombo at that time, blended this church to be an established place of Holy Shrine.

Due to the efforts of Rev. Fr. Ranjith Madurawela, present incumbent of the mission Holy Mass is held every Tuesdays and Saturdays at 7 p.m. in addition to the Holy Mass Sundays. A host of services have been rendered during this year up to now by Rev. Madurawala with a view to fostering harmony and co-existence of different religious denominations of Jesus Christ.

Special services were held to mark the establishment of the 'Christian Units'.

The 'St. Anthony's Samitiya' of this church hopes to celebrate the annual feast of the Church on the 19th June on a grand scale.

The Vespers will be sung at 7 p.m. on the 18th of Saturday and festive High Mass will be celebrated by Rev. Fr. Canecius Neris - Assistant Parish Priest Nittambuwa on the following Sunday at 5 p.m., festivities will come to an end with the parading of the statue of St. Anthony on the streets of the church unity.

- Douglas Cooray