Maggona Calvary Sacred Shrine turns 125

Rev. Fr. Roshan Silva, the Provincial of the Congregation of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI), and other religious dignitaries at the service at the Maggona Calvary Shrine

The  125th jubilee of the National Calvary Shrine in Maggona which falls next year was declared by Rev. Fr. Roshan Silva, the Provincial of the Congregation of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate on March 31.
According to records the Calvary Sacred Shrine had been set up in 1900 and was declared a national sacred shrine by the government in 2008.
The jubilee year was declared to coincide with this year’s Easter Sunday celebration on March 31.
A religious service held in this regard was attended by the Managing Director of Calvary Sacred Shrine and St. Vincent’s Home, Rev. Fr. Jude Saparamadu and pilgrims from far and wide. 
The Maggona Calvary Sacred Shrine is a place of worship held in high esteem by Catholics across the country. During the Lenten season, pilgrims in large numbers flock to the Shrine to seek blessings. 

The origins of the Calvary dates back to 1900 when Franciscan Br. Joseph Gonzalez with the help of the management of St. Vincent’s Home, Maggona laid the foundation for the sacred area. The dense vegetation on the summit of the hill had been cleared and a parapet wall had been erected with the help of the children of St. Vincent’s Home and the inmates of the Probation Home. The site was consecrated by placing a large wooden cross. Construction work on the shrine had been completed with the help of philanthropists. 
The Calvary Sacred Ground was opened to  the devotees following a service held on September 14, 1900. A life-size statue of Jesus Christ was brought to the shrine from Rome. The historic statue on the summit of the Calvary hill has been worshiped by millions of devotees to date.    
Another significant event that has gone down in the annals of the history of Calvary is taking in procession the statue and the wooden cross by Rev. Fr. Michael Croos for Good Friday’s three-hour commemoration of the crucifixion.  
In 2008 the government declared the historic Maggona Calvary as a National Shrine.