A small church nestled in the Sri Lankan jungle, seen as a beacon of harmony in a country with a dark history of conflict, is preparing for a visit from Pope Francis who will bring his own message of ...

On January 14, Pope Francis will go to Madhu. Madhu is Sri Lanka’s holiest Catholic shrine, home to Our Lady of Madhu, a statue of the Virgin Mary that was brought for safekeeping from the Dutch in ...

Mannar (Agenzia Fides) - "The Marian prayer of the Pope at the Shrine of Madhu is a message of hope: the whole nation remembers that harmony and peace are precious values and essential for the future, ...

Sri Lankan government forces are closing in on Madhu area in Mannar district and it is said that this capture will be very beneficial for the morale of the troops and the government. In the event of ...

Mannar (Agenzia Fides) - The Sri Lankan Church has been concerned for the gunshots and violent threats that have arisen in recent weeks around the area surrounding the Shrine to Our Lady of Madhu. In ...

MADHU, Sri Lanka -- As the helicopter carrying Pope Francis hovered Wednesday over a small Catholic church located deep inside a thick forest in northwest Sri Lanka, thousands of devotees who had ...

Mary Nirmala, a Sunday school teacher from Negombo, visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Madhu with her parents every year in her childhood. Now she follows the tradition by visiting the shrine with her ...

This story appears in the Francis in Sri Lanka feature series. View the full series. Cardinal Albert Malcolm Ranjith of Colombo, Sri Lanka, greets a family Sunday near the altar where Pope Francis ...

MADHU, Sri Lanka -- There are no worshipers at Sri Lanka's holiest Christian shrine. The cherished statue of the Virgin Mary in the pale yellow church gazes out onto emptiness. The two villages nearby ...