Shrine of Our Lady of Madhu, Catholic sanctuary in Mannar District, Sri Lanka.

The Shrine of Our Lady of Madhu is a Roman Catholic Marian sanctuary in Mannar District, built in baroque revival style. Its church, begun by Bishop Bonjean in 1872, has a marble altar and a sanctuary lined with white and blue marble, plus a chapel of the Blessed Sacrament and a grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Dutch persecution in 1670 drove twenty Catholic families from Manthai to Madhu, carrying the statue of Our Lady of Good Health. Around the same time, some 700 Catholics migrated from the Jaffna peninsula into the Wanni forests. The two groups met at Madhu and installed the statue in a new shrine. In 1870, Bishop Christopher Bonjean established the great July 2 festival.

The shrine's name recalls Helena, a Portuguese captain's daughter who married a customs official here and built a small church for the statue. Pilgrims take soil from the grounds, linked to the tradition that Father Pedro Ferrao ended snake danger in the Wanni forest. The main feast is held on 2 July, established by Bishop Christopher Bonjean in 1870.

The shrine welcomes visitors throughout the day, with dedicated areas for those wishing to spend extended time in prayer during pilgrimage seasons. Allow yourself time to explore the different prayer spaces at your own pace.

Pilgrims traditionally take a pinch of soil from the shrine grounds home for protection, a custom linked to Father Pedro Ferrao, who is said to have ended a plague of poisonous snakes in the Wanni forest by fasting and sprinkling blessed water. Local lore also holds that the body of the "Sammannisi" priest lies buried here.