Katchatheevu Festival is the annual festival held at St Antony’s Church in Katchatheevu Island during the month of February or March, and in 2022, the festival resumed from 11 to 12 March after a two-year-long hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The festival is frequented by Indian devotees often travelling from Tamil Nadu, but due to safety concerns, there was initially talk of not permitting Indians into the festival; however, the Sri Lankan Fisheries Minister at the time, Douglas Devananda, following conversations with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, eventually permitted Indians attending the Katchatheevu festival.
Typically, thousands of Catholic devotees from Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu in India take part in the annual feast, and this year it was slightly at lesser numbers; however, the crowd was still there. Speaking to Eshan Dasanayaka, who travelled to the island to attend the festival, he shared his rather unique experience, as he was able to travel with the Sri Lanka Navy and access their accommodation while on the island.
Dasanayaka shared that he took the trip from Colombo on 10 March headed straight to Kankesanturai, where you would arrive at the Sri Lanka Navy harbour, from which point he took a passenger boat straight to the island. The trip from Kankesanturai harbour to the island is nearly a three-and-a-half hour long journey and, according to Dasanayaka, if you don’t really have sea legs, you might get a little uncomfortable as the trip is far from smooth.
While St Antony’s Church is the only structure on the island, he noted that the Navy had set up tents to provide shade for the pilgrims.
He said that the festival was an incredibly heartening experience, owing to the fact that what it represents is the fisher folk of two countries’ coming together to celebrate one common day of reverence.
He noted that there was an absolute sense of unity. “It was a hot day, and the scorching sun was blaring down, but everyone was there for a purpose, and with the Navy being incredibly accommodating to all who were there, it was a beautiful moment.” he said. All arrangements for the feast was made by the Sri Lanka Navy, as has been the practice for many years, including providing shelter for devotees on this uninhabited island who come to witness this yearly festival.
Dasanayaka noted that the high mass was conducted by the Bishop of Jaffna and significantly, the joint mass was held in both Tamil and Sinhala, as a considerable number of Catholic devotees from Sri Lanka’s South have also started to take part in the ceremony as of recent times.
Once the festivities came to an end, the devotees would retire to their Navy accommodation, with many choosing to take a stroll along the beach which is absolutely covered in seashells. Dasanayaka noted that while they were technically in Sri Lanka, the island was too far off from the mainland for them to use our mobile towers, and so they had to rely on roaming services, making them feel as though they have actually taken a quick trip to India.
Having spent the night at the army accommodation on the island, all visitors were transported back to the mainland on 12 March. Dasanayaka shared that even though it was a very brief experience, he felt that the island was protected by the pure energy that was inhabiting it, through the people there with positive intentions, and he encouraged any others who wish to either attend the annual festival or simply visit Katchatheevu, to please do so, as it is an experience worth having.
