Hundreds of Sri Lanka Catholics in retreat at the Shrine inf Madhu

May 21, 2014: In Sri Lanka, hundreds of people from the Archdiocese of Colombo (Western Province) made ​​a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Madhu in Mannar Diocese (Northeastern Province), followed by a retreat of four days. Youth groups, families, priests and nuns were able to "show respect and gratitude to the Virgin Mary, recite the rosary and pray together."
Organised by the Archdiocese of Colombo, the gathering was held from 14 to 17 May, as part of the celebrations planned for the Marian Year proclaimed on 30 November 2013 by Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, archbishop of Colombo, and president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Sri Lanka. The retreat started with the recitation of the rosary in Sri Lanka's three official languages​​: Sinhala, Tamil and English. This was followed by the Eucharistic celebration, presided over by Cardinal Ranjith. The second day was devoted to testimonials about Our Lady and her appearances, and the readings were again conducted in the country's three different languages. ​​The final day ended with a solemn Mass and a procession.
The Marian shrine in Madhu is one of the most famous in Sri Lanka. Every year on 15 August, almost 600,000 people from all over the country go in pilgrimage.
Source: AsiaNews