Bhathiya Barukanda
President Ranil Wickremesinghe visited the St. Sebastian National Shrine, Kandana this afternoon (29) to review its development activities.
The St. Sebastian National Shrine in Kandana is one of the most frequented Catholic shrines in the Colombo Archdiocese, with its annual feast attracting more than 100,000 devotees from across the island.
A long-standing request for the construction of a drainage system to manage water accumulation in the church and its surrounding areas has been made. The estimated cost for this project is LKR 06 million.
The President presented a cheque for LKR 02 million, representing the first phase of funding for this project, to the Administrator/ Parish priest of the St. Sebastian National Shine, Rev. Father Lalith Expeditus.
Additionally, the road leading from Negombo road to the St. Sebastian National Shrine is in a state of disrepair. In response to requests for its restoration, the President contacted the Minister of Transport, Highways, and Mass Media, Bandula Gunawardena, and instructed him to arrange for the immediate repair of the road
Furthermore, the President, during discussions with the Rev. Fathers regarding the educational activities of Catholic schools in the Negombo region, emphasized the government’s commitment to swiftly addressing the issues faced by these schools.
In addition, the President inquired about the experiences of the Catholic visitors who attended the St. Sebastian Shrine over the weekend and engaged in friendly conversations with them.
Present at the occasion were former General Manager of the catholic Schools Rev. Father Ivan Perera, and former Minister John Amaratunga.
