Statue of Our Lady of Miracles, Jaffna patao

The statue of Our Lady of Miracles, Jaffna Patão, is a wooden sculpture now preserved in the Church of São Pedro in Bainguinim, Goa, India.

In 1614, Friar Francisco de S. Antonio, who was the Rector of Our Lady of Victory, Jaffnapatao (Nossa Senhora da Vitória, Jafanapatão), desired a statue for the church altar.

Witnessing these miracles, Annacutti was both amazed and frightened; he dared not continue and asked the friar to take the unfinished statue to the church.

[3] The statue was believed to cure the sick and disabled, win battles, and protect people from natural disasters both on land and at sea.

During the 1620 revolt led by Migapulle Arachchi, with the help of Thanjavur Nayak and Badaga mercenaries to capture Jaffna, the wives of the Portuguese, hearing gunshots, sought shelter inside the sanctuary containing the statue of Our Lady of Miracles and prayed for her protection.

The imperfect, unpainted statue appeared to have its face and hands colored with vermillion, a vision that lasted for two weeks, during which the Portuguese forces defeated their enemies.

[4] Rain and wind continued through Sunday and Monday, and people sought refuge inside the Church of Our Lady of Miracles for protection.

The sea rose dramatically, and waves battered against the walls as a ten-foot storm surge rushed inland, tearing down houses.

When the wave reached the church, it split in two, leaving the building surrounded by high walls of water moving with great force.

(Fernão de Queiroz, Manuscript, Book 4, Chapter 10, Page 558) Friar Antonio learned Tamil and became fluent in the language.

He petitioned the Captain and Judge of Jaffnapatao, Amator Trauasos de Zouza, requesting a judicial inquiry into the credibility of the reported miracles.

Even after reaching Batavia and Malacca, the prisoners continued to endure maltreatment that violated contemporary norms, including being jailed alongside native Javanese, chained, forced to perform heavy labor, and prohibited from possessing Catholic icons.

Additionally, orphans and widows were compelled to attend Dutch churches, and the prisoners were not provided with adequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical care.

This statue arrived safely over the waves inside a wooden crate, untouched by the sea, to care for the people of Ruhunu Rata.

Underground missionaries from Goa, such as Joseph Vaz, worked in Jaffna, Kandy, and St Anne Talawila- Puttalam, laying the foundation for a national Catholic church in Ceylon.

In a similar incident, fishermen who refused to hand over Father Antonio to Dutch pursuers expected him to prevent sea erosion.

Witnessing this miracle, the Dutch allowed Father Antonio to stay there and built a church that is now known as St Anthony’s Shrine, Kochchikade.

Opponents of the new faith instilled fear and warned King Cankili I (Sekarasasekaran/Sankili I) that unless he took prompt action against the converts in Mannar, he would soon lose his kingdom to the Portuguese.

He issued an edict: "Renounce Christianity or die," and ordered a horrific slaughter executed with great cruelty, with no distinction made between age, gender, or status.

Cleric Francis Xavier, along with IIam Singha (Uracinga), a governor or tributary prince of Mannar, and others serving the Jaffna King, bravely confessed their Catholic faith and were put to the sword.

However, St. Francis Xavier could not trust Sankili I, and as he was leaving Jaffna on his way to Galle, he lamented, "Unhappy island, how many dead bodies will cover your shores, and with how much blood will you be inundated?"

In the south, Veediya Bandara (Weedeya Raja), the son-in-law of King Bhuvanekabahu VII, tortured and executed Catholics and missionaries, burning their houses and churches.

King Bhuvanekabahu VII told St. Francis Xavier that if he were to get baptized, the people would rebel against him; for this reason, he could not grant the Franciscans much freedom to preach the Gospel to his subjects.

King Bhuvanekabahu's strategy was to use the Portuguese against Mayadunne of Sitawaka and his Moorish allies for his own protection, ensuring that neither faction would take control of his kingdom.

John de Villa Conde, who was residing in the palace and teaching the king’s grandson, offered to demonstrate the truth of the Catholic faith.

From 1614 to 1658, while the statue was in Jaffna, the devotees daily praised Our Lady of Miracles by singing hymns, including the versicle and oration "O Gloriosa Domina" in the morning, "Ave Maris Stella" in the afternoon, and at night chanting litanies that began with the verse "Tota Pulchra es Maria."

One Christmas night, as they sang the hymn "Te Deum" and reached the verse "Tu ad liberandum suscepturus hominem, non horruisti Virginis uterum," all those present reported seeing the statue of Our Lady of Miracles Jaffnapatao appear beautiful and resplendent, with her entire face lit up with joy.

By the Rivers of Mandovi, devotees pray to Our Lady of Jaffnapatao, asking that the words of their mouths and the meditations of their hearts be pleasing to the Prince of Peace.

Some scholars, based on written records and authentic traditions, believe that the devotional relationship between the people of Indo-Ceylon and the Virgin Mary began with the rising of the Star of Bethlehem.

Each day, the statue is moved from São Pedro Church to the chapel of Nossa Senhora de Piedade (Our Lady of Pity) for the Novena.