church

The Catholics show special reverence to this worrier Saint, because they believe that many sickness are cured through the intercession of this Saint. Because of this belief there are a number of Churches dedicated to this Saint or celebrate His feast in many Churches in a grand scale.
Katuneriya St. Sebastian’s Church which is situated at the 50th Kilo meter Post on Colombo-Puttalam Road, had its origin in a thatched hut built by the devoted parishioners of the mission in 1613 and the building was once destroyed by the Dutch in 1640.
The Church revived in a cadjan hut once again by the members of the missionary Church. That Church building came up on September 23, 1799. The efforts and the commitment of the devotees attached to this Church dedicated to St. Sebastian turned into an edifice built with rock in 1853.
Apart from this church the Katuneriya Mission has five more Churches to serve the spiritual needs of the Catholic community. They are Upper Katuneriya St. Jude’s, St. Lazarus at Dematapitiya, Mother of Good Health at Galmalpanduara, St. Anthony’s Church, Beach Road and St. Joseph’s Church at Lansigama.
The Church had 31 Parish priests from time to time to serve the Parish from 1875 and 29 Assistant Parish Priests. They had the support of five Religious Brothers and 36 Religious Nuns. The present strength of the Parish is about 4,000 Catholics.