History

 Historical  Sketches……….

Just beyond 49 kilometers from the city of Galle,towards the interior of Sri Lanka, surrounded by a chain of mountains along with the highest mountain in the Southern Province, Mt.Haycock- lies Hiniduma Pattuwa. Hiniduma means the village with”light mist”. The Gin Ganga which flows between these gigantic hills has imbibed life into the lush vegetion of Hiniduma. So much so the picturesque Hiniduma has become rich in her cinnamon, tea and rubber cultivations. As, Christians, Hiniduma makes us proud for her longstanding, unshaken and deep faith in Jesus and His teachings. It could be called a Faith Heritage. Today thousands and thousands of pilgrims rally round Hiniduma during Lent to make their faith a reality in making the way of cross on “the Calvary Mountain” in Hiniduma.

One day in the Holy Week of 1948, just before Good Friday there was a major out burst of bush fire in the mountain just opposite the Hiniduma Church. That particular land happened to be  a part of the church property too. It had been purchased by His Lordship, Most Rev. Dr. Van Reeth, the Bisho of Galle, in all 18 acres. Rev. Fr. Cyril Edirisinghe, the Parish Priest, kept awake throughout the whole night just gazing at the mountain on fire. The next day, early in the morning Fr. Edirisinghe look at the mountain with great sorrow. Oh! The mountain was completely burnt out. The lush green vegetation turned into blackish remnants, but he happened to notice a half burnt tree in the shape of a cross right on the top of the mountain. An idea stuck him, “What a sight for a Calvary!” That dream became a reality when he kept his first step to the mountain with some of his parishioners. They climbed the hill for the first time. That climbing was not just a journey but for them it was a spiritual journey and a biblical journey. The Holy Scripture became alive and Fr Cyril and the parishioners were beginning to realize that they were re-living the experience of Gethsemane, Kidron Valley and Mt. Calvary-Golgotha. In 1948, Fr.Edirisinghe and the Parishioners made the first Way of the Cross on Good Friday on the mountain along the raged ways to the top. They placed some wooden crosses to mark the Stations of the Cross.

Fr.Edrisinghe’s enthusiasm towards that Calvary experience grew little by little like a flame. Later he managed to build cement crosses instead of wooden ones. The encounter between Most Rev. Dr. Laudadio S.J, then the Bishop of Galle and Fr. Cyril made Hiniduma a place of pilgrimage. Fr. Cyril got hold of Mr. Somadasa a genius Buddhist sculpture to carve life size statues of the station of the cross. Up to date these stations depict the enthusiasm of good Fr. Cyril and the competence of Mr. Somadasa. May they rest in peace.

In 1958, Hiniduma was declared and blessed as a Diocesan Shrine. Rev.Fr. Stephen was the pioneer in building the pilgrim rests. From then onwards all most all the administrators shed their sweat in making Hiniduma a place of experience of faith and revival of spirit.

In 1994 Calvary Shrine was blessed with a concrete bridge across the Gin Ganga. Earlier it was a very difficult task to cross the Gin Ganga to reach the bottom of the Calvary mountain. Every year people had to have a temporary bridge across the river made out of logs. Most of the times that bridge was washed away with annual floods that made the situation worse. Thanks to the untiring efforts of Most.Rev.Dr. Don Sylvestor, the Bishop of Galle and Rev. Fr. Bede de Silva, then the Adminstrator, a solid concrete bridge came into existence.Yet it was washed off completely during the heavy flood in 2003. The present bridge came into existence under the supervision of Rev. Fr. Boniface Perera, then the Administrator.

Lot of changes and renovations made in the shrine helped the pilgrims to have a good religious atmosphere. One cannot forget the efforts and labour of Rev.Fr. Michael Rajendram. He was able to raise the shrine into a beautiful and attractive place of worship. Today, Hiniduma has become one of the main attractive places of worship in Sri Lanka during Lent.

May you come to Hiniduma to refresh your spiritual life with devotion, to breath the real breath of the Spirit which blows across Calvary which purifies you within, to re-live the sufferings of Jesus in a real natural surroundings and more than that to renew and strengthen your faith in the resurrected Lord and to profess that by THE DEATH OF THE LORD WE HAVE BEEN HEALD & SAVED.

    


Hiniduma Calvary Shrine Retrospection…..

I wish to recall with reverence the monumental and memorable contribution made by late Rev. Fr. Cyril Edirisinghe, the founder of this shrine. Anyone on pilgrimage to this shrine today would not visualize how such a great shrine has come into being in such splendor and glory amidst such verdant vegetation of shady trees and foliage that provide the cool and breezy shade to the tired pilgrim fraught its summit.

In the context it would be relevant to glean the past of this region in the forties and fifties. “Hiniduma Pattuwa” 50 years ago was the most backward region in the Galle District. Though rich in sceneric beauty and blessed with nature’s gifts of abundance of water, and land it remained in darkness lacking in infrastructure which as electricity transport and communication. Being cut off from the nearest city ( 32 Miles) it remained a calm and desolate place.

Fr. Cyril Edirisinghe who took over the parish from foreign fathers was a missionary with a mission and a vision. He was a human dynamo. Gifted with ingenuity and creativity he effected the physical changes briskly thereby enhancing the physical and spiritual lives of the parishioners. He was a trailblazer in social development and worked harmoniously with clergy of the District. With his mechanical and engineering knowledge he played many roles of architect, engineer and contractor.

The project of building the Calvary was implemented in tree stages. Clearing and tracing the path to the summit commenced. In order to ease the strain of the climb, the path traversed moldering through hillocks. 12 stations were sited and replicas were painted on plaques mouter on concrete and were blessed in1949. Thereafter Way of the Cross conducted on every Sunday evening and every Friday.

For the construction of the church on the summit the peak of the mountain had to be flattened manually. Peak was barren and rocky. All the building materials had to be transported from below. Fr. Edirisinghe paid two – three visits a day to the work site. Work was completed as scheduled. The consecration of the church of the Calvary on top took place in 1954 by late Most Rev. Dr. Laudadio SJ, the Bishop of Galle. Many priests from the diocese and a large congregation from Galle, Matara, Deniyaya, Kalutara and Moratuwa participated at the consecration. A temporary bridge was made across Gin Ganga to reach the bottom of the mountain. In 1958 the Calvary shrine was officially blessed and declared as a diocesan shrine for the public. Thus fr.Edirisinghe’s vision came to a fascinating end. May the Lord grant his faithful servant eternal bliss!

         Curtsey : An Article written by Mr. R. Michael Silva(was an English teacher at St. Anne School Hiniduma) to “Kalvari Kanchanie” the Souvenir of the Golden Jubilee of the Hiniduma Calvary Shrine 

THE ADMINISTRATORS OF THE SHRINE

Rev. Fr. Schaffer  (Parish Priest)	1895-1908
Rev. Fr. Standard    (Parish Priest)	1908-1931
Rev.Fr. Jecob         (Parish Priest)	1931-1947
Rev. Fr. Cyril Edirisinghe	1947  -  1960
Rev. Fr. Francis Xavier	1960  -  1963
Rev. Fr. Stephen Perera	1963  -  1966
Rev. Fr. Peter Weerathunghe	1966  -  1967
Rev.Fr.  Ruban Perera	1967  -  1977
Rev. Fr. Basil Wijerathne	1977  -  1979
Rev. Fr. Felix Perera	1979  -  1981
Rev. Fr. David Dharmarathne	1981  -  1983
Rev. Fr. K.D. Joseph	1983  -  1985
Rev. Fr. Anecitus Perera	1985  -  1987
Rev. Fr. Anthony Fernando	1987  -  1989
Rev. Fr. Bede Nihal de Silva	1989  -  1995
Rev. Fr. Camillus Cooray	1995  -  Sep-Nov
Rev. Fr. Nihal Nanayakkara	1995 Dec-1996-July
Rev. Fr. Micheal Rajendram	1996  -  2001
Rev. Fr. Lalith Christopher Fernando	2001-2002
Rev. Fr. Charles Hewawasam	2002 -2003
Rev. Fr. Boniface Perera	2003  -  2005
Rev. Fr. Shelton Fernando	2005  -  2012
Rev. Fr. Ranath Indika Anthony	2012  -  up to date

ASSISTANT PRIESTS

Rev. Fr. Basil Corera	Rev. Fr. Luke Jayasooriya
Rev. Fr. Henry Weerarathne	Rev. Fr. Lional Fernando
Rev. Fr. Moses Molligoda Perera	Rev. Fr. Sisira Rienzie
Rev. Fr. Camillus Jayamanna	Rev. Fr. Damian Arsakularathne
Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Fernando	Rev. Fr. Sampath Wilegoda