- Wennappuwa
Wennappuwa is a major city of Puttalam District and one of the leading cities of North Western Province
Read this Article"Wennappuwa, the Catholic paradise of the Chilaw Diocese"
The mighty church (1880 AC), which is a symbol of unity and co-existence, stands in full majesty and dignity on the Chilaw-Negombo main road in the heart of Wennappuwa town. It is a historical monument of faith and virtue. A church is a unique feature of each and every village and town in the coastal belt especially from Colombo to Puttalam.
Historical evidences
Historical evidences extracted from 'The Chulavansaya' (pp 97) teach that the inception of the village, Wennappuwa, which was originally, called either 'Wenniarpura' or 'Wenupura' runs back about 850 years at the time, King Parakramabahu the qreat (1153-1186 AD) ruled Anuradhapura. The original settlers of Wennappuwa were the farmers and similar to other farmers in the country, they too settled down by the tank calling the village 'Gangoda.'
An old church made of wattle and daub, consecrated to St. Joseph was put up at Gangoda in 1850. Very Rev. Fr. Contentious Chounavel (OMI) a French Missionary the founder of the new St. Joseph's church arrived at Wennappuwa between (1861-1863 A.D.) There were only 300 families then. His sole intention was to gather those families whose staunch faith was strong and visible, under one roof. The roads were coming up and he realized that a new church should be built by the main road in order to accommodate the growing population.
The brother of Saradiel, 'Soora Saradiel', Robinhood of Uthwankanda lived with his brother and parents (family) at Haldanduwana, and learnt sculpture under Very Rev. Fr. Chounavel who was the Parish Priest of Haldanduwana and a master of sculpture. The great historical statue of St. Joseph on the front facade of the church, sculptured by Saradiel's brother is a fine example for Fr. Chounavel's mastermind of sculpture.
" [http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2005/05/01/fea28.html] *The historical facts on Wennappuwa and the church were extracted from the magazine 'Siyawas Jubilee Samaruwa' published at the centenary celebrations in 1981."
North Western Province, Sri Lanka .
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