Sri Lankan bishops, faithful marking August 15 Madhu feast

(August 9, 2010) All the Bishops of Sri Lanka and a large number of pilgrims will gather this year in a very special way at the island nation’s most famous Marian shrine of Our Lady of Madhu for the August 15th feast of the Assumption. The theme chosen in this year is "Family" and the Bishops have encouraged the faithful to come to the feast of Madhu as families. The Administrator of the Shrine, Fr. Desmond Kulas said all the preparations are underway, since a large crowd is expected. Sri Lankan bishops are gathering at the shrine on 14^th and 15 August. The shrine of Our Lady of Madhu, some 220km north of the capital Colombo, is under the jurisdiction of Mannar diocese which was under the control of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, LTTE) during the civil war which ended last year. The Sri Lanka Railways has arranged a special train service in addition to its normal daily services with additional compartments to cater to pilgrims during the Madhu feast this week. It has also arranged an integrated service with the Ceylon Transport Board (CTB) to transport pilgrims disembarking from Medawachchiya to and from Madhu. Besides Christians, Hindus and Buddhists also go to Madhu on pilgrimage.