Sri Lanka: St Antoney feast in Kachchativu-by Admiral Ravindra C Wijegunaratne

Navy improve facilities on Island every year. This time they erected wooden lamp posts and electrical cables were rigged this time by Navy and this permanent rigging will remain there even after the feast, so generators brought by Landing Craft can fixed into.

Retired from Sri Lanka Navy and Former Chief of Defence Staff )

The St Antony feast at Kachchativu was celebrated on 10th and 11th March 2022. As usual I prepared for this annual pilgrimage. I travelled to Jaffna, stayed at Fort Hammenhiel, a Dutch Fort in a small islet in Karinagar which was used by Navy as a detention centre and now converted in to four-bedroom luxurious hotel. On that evening, I am alone on Fort Gun turret enjoyed beautiful sunset with two “Sundowner” cocktails, unique cocktail ( Rum based) prepared by Navy Bar steward. Next day by 0500 hrs I am up and headed to Fort Hammenhiel jetty for angling with my rod. It’s only a sport now! Fort Hammenhiel jetty is ideal place to catch 2-3 Kg Paraws (trevaillies) before Sun rise. All fish were caught, weighed, photographed and released back to water before it dies. So, this is the new trend of angling and protecting them.

Sunset as seen from Fort Hammenhiel

Next day ( 10th March) , after lunch I headed to Kachchativu on board an Inshore Patrol Craft (IPC) with Commander Northern Area, Rear Admiral Priyantha Perera. Priyantha is a deep diver a person who has canoed his boat, a small canoe ( small rowing boat) around Sri Lanka. He was a former Commanding officer of Navy’s elite Special Boats Squadron (SBS).

Early morning catch at Karinagar
– fish catch, weigh, photo and
released back to sea. – new trend
of Angling in Sri Lanka

Sea was “Mirror calm” and indigenously built IPC moved at the speed of 32 knots ( 32 nautical miles per hour). We reached Kachchativu in around one hour and forty minutes.

Island was very busy with preparations for the feast. However, due to health authority restrictions, only one hundred devotees from each country allowed for the feast.

South Indian Catholics had already arrived in their fishing trawlers and Navy provided all the requirements of fresh water and food. They were happy with excellent arrangements by our Navy. Whether the number of devotees 100 or 10,000 – the Navy has to do all preparations – bringing fresh water, generators, tents, cooking utensils, victuals and fuel from main land in their Landing craft(s) and IPCs. Only ease they will have is number for which they cooked has reduced. The Northern Naval Command under Priyantha had done an excellent job. The coordinator on ground was LCdr Peiris, who spent last one month in this remote island, coordinating logistics. Commander H A C Fernando was the Commanding officer of SLNS Wasaba in Delft Island, was overall in charge of Kachchativu operation and safety and security of all devotees. This decorated senior naval officer, an devoted Catholic, carried out his task diligently.

At night, the new church looked beautiful.

Old Church
New church was a symbolic icon of Navy’s devotion to St Antoney, the saint who looked after seafarers and fishermen. The new church was built within four months in 2016, on request of Jaffna Bishop Rt Rev Dr Justin Bernard Gnanapragasam and Navy handed over the church to Roman Catholic Diocese of Jaffna on 23rd December 2016. Total cost to built this beautiful St Antoney church was 7.7 million rupees. It was a collective contribution from officers and sailors of the Navy in 2016 : almost all contributed were Buddhists.

New Church a seen from sea

Navy improve facilities on Island every year. This time they erected wooden lamp posts and electrical cables were rigged this time by Navy and this permanent rigging will remain there even after the feast, so generators brought by Landing Craft can fixed into. There are large number of Catholic devotees who contributed for these work silently. The wooden lamp posts which required for electricity distribution in island was purchased for Rs 50,000/- and provided to Navy by a lady working in Delft AGA office who do not wish to disclose her details. They were the true Devotees of St Anthony.

Vicar General Rt Rev father
Jebaratham performing the Mass

Indian delegation of fishermen led by trawler owners were present and they want Indo-Sri Lanka fisheries issues to be resolved early. I always say if our two neighboring countries has any irritant, it’s only the issue of Indian bottom trawlers poaching in our waters. The trawler owners met Northern Naval Commander and honored him.

The Mass was led by Rt Rev Father Pathinatar Josephthas Jabarathnam, the Vicar General of Jaffna as Jaffna Bishop was not available ( on pilgrimage to India) wished all present the blessings of St Antoney. The devotees from two countries embraced each other and showed no boundaries to ones’ faith. Well done Navy for excellent work ! I had only small request to St Antoney.

I requested St Antoney to give me strength to visit next year also to this tiny Island.