[4] Pope Benedict XV granted the image a pontifical decree of coronation on 7 April 1921 via the Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, Cardinal Willem Marinus van Rossum.

[5] Portuguese missionaries from India, especially under the authority of Saint Francis Xavier, introduced Roman Catholicism to the Kingdom of Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka.

[7] During this time the Catholics regrouped to form a church a few miles north in Manthai, installing a statue of Our Lady of Good Health in a shrine.

[6] With the revival of the Catholic faith by missionaries such as Joseph Vaz, Oratorian priests expanded the small shrine in the late 17th century.

[6] The building of the new church was initiated by Bishop Bonjean in 1872 and his successors built a facade, a spacious presbytery, a restful chapel of the Blessed Sacrament and a grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes.

[8] In 1920, Bishop of Jaffna, André Jules Brault sought Pope Benedict XV's sanction for the canonical coronation of the venerated image.

Bishop Brault as well as the clergy and laity had petitioned the Holy See through the Cardinal Willem Marinus van Rossum, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

[6] However, in recent years the 15 August festival has drawn the biggest crowds as it is one of the most hallowed days for Catholics, the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into heaven, and it comes during school holidays when entire families can make the trip.