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Although the Blessed Virgin Mary has appeared in various parts of the world, She has requested a Church to be built in Her name at the site of Her apparition in only a few of those locations.
The first time the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared in Sri Lanka was at Our Lady of Katunayake’s Shrine, Katunayake. On the evening of February 5th, 1975, She Appeared alive before His Holiness The Apostle Rohan Lalith Aponso, and to date, She has appeared twenty-three times.

On May 11th, 1976, Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to His Holiness Apostle Rohan Lalith Aponso and said, “My dear child, build a small church in my name at this place. That is my noble desire.” Upon hearing this message, His Holiness The Apostle made Blessed Mother Mary’s desire His own. Using His own personal wealth, He hurriedly began the work of converting the home He had inherited from His parents the very house where He was born and raised into a church. As a result, on the morning of December 6th, 1976, the Church Our Lady of Katunayake’s Shrine, Katunayake, Sri Lanka was consecrated by the hands of His Holiness Apostle Rohan Lalith Aponso. The Blessed Virgin Mary was proclaimed as “Our Lady of Katunayake,” and He personally placed a golden crown upon the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Thereafter, the Apparition Church progressed step by step with the addition of various features. Around 2016, it underwent a massive renovation, and a beautiful new Apparition Church was built over the old one. On August 11th, 2018, the New Apparition Church was blessed and declared open by His Holiness The Apostle Rohan Lalith Aponso.

Taking the weight of this massive renovation process upon his own shoulders, this monumental endeavor was directed by the Apostolic Media Director, Mr. Manoj Chinthaka.

To commemorate the 8th anniversary of the New Apparition Church which was offered to the Blessed Virgin Mary on August 18th, 2018, fulfilling Her desire a Festive Holy Mass will be held inside the Apparition Church at 6 pm on Saturday, August 15th. Presided over by His Holiness Apostle Rohan Lalith Aponso, the service will also include the blessing of devotees with the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the bestowing of the blessing of the Holy Cross.
As the New Apparition Church completes its eighth year, it is of special significance that Blessed Virgin Mary has intended for the statue of Her holding the Infant Jesus, which is enshrined within the church, to miraculously emanate the fragrance of jasmine on exactly eight occasions.

What you see in this photograph is His Holiness The Apostle Rohan Lalith Aponso walking through the New Apparition Church and blessing its interior on the evening of August 11th, 2018.