Madhu Church back to its pristine glory

Shanika Sriyananda reporting from Madhu . After a lapse of several years the huge gates of the shrine have been opened for its devotees to flock in to celebrate the annual August feast from four corners of the country.

But the Madhu Shrine is not yet ready to hold the feast as the statue of Our Lady of Madhu is still being sheltered in the "Bishop's House" in Mannar. The deity, which vanished into thin air, before appearing at "Bishop's House" after a 70 Km trek from St. Sebastian's Church, Thevapiddi.

Despite security guarantees by the Army Commander, Sarath Fonseka with the Wanni Security Forces Commander Major General Jagath Jayasuriya, the Bishop of Mannar Rt. Rev. Dr. Rayappu Joseph had earlier decided to cancel the August annual feast.

But, during our visit to Madhu last week we saw basic amenities like water and electricity were being provided to the church. The mine clearance sign boards were being fixed to designate areas that were free from mines. The toilets and kitchen areas were being cleaned and done up. And over 360 new water taps have been fixed.

Maj. Gen. Jayasuriya told the 'Sunday Observer' that the security has been strengthened and land mines in one square kilometre range have been cleared. "Under the directions of the Army Commander we have started repairs and painting the main church and all other surrounding buildings.

Now everything is near completion. Electricity and water have been supplied. Cleaning process too have been completed and the church staff can make use of the facilities. We have done our part of the job spending over Rs. 3.70 million", he said.

The Army Commander had entrusted the task of completing the renovation and repairs within a 10 day time frame, before the festival. "I took the Bishop around the shrine and he was very pleased with the work done and expressed his thanks to the Army Commander and me for the work, praised us for the good work done. Other priests simply couldn't believe their eyes", Wanni Commander said.

The Commander is confident that the Holy Mass could be conducted peacefully. Additional troops have been deployed to strengthen the security around the Madhu area and the demarcated areas are totally de-mined. "This is the first time after a long interval that the church has been fully secured".

The Statue is placed inside the church and anyone could visit the shrine, after going through the strict security checks. There will be no chance for LTTE to infiltrate into the Madhu area. "There is no need to declare the area a no war zone area since the LTTE is now 40 kilometres further away from Madhu", he said.

Agreeing that there were no food outlets, he said that if the Bishop makes a request the Army would make the necessary arrangements to open boutiques.

The Vicar General of the Madhu Church, Rev Fr. Victor Sosai said that the original annual August feast has been cancelled but a special mass would be held on August 15. "The priests have now taken residence in the church and are performing the regular religious rituals.

We could not hoist the flag on August 6 in view of the annual feast. Therefore we have to cancel the annual feast", he said adding that the church staff are at present in the process of cleaning and putting things in order.

According to Fr. Sosai each and every room in the church needs absolute cleaning, according to church arrangements. Our Lady of Madhu would be brought back to the church after performing the penitential and purification service as no religious ritual was performed during the last four months. "Once that is done we would bring the sacred statue back and perform a special mass", he assured.