The Welisara, Mattumagala Catholic community will celebrate the feast of St. Jude today.
This church celebrated its silver jubilee on Sunday, October 23, 2011. Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo celebrated the silver jubilee mass. The then Apostolic Nuncio in Sri Lanka for the Vatican, Most Rev. Dr. Joseph Spiteri, presided over the pre-jubilee day-Vespers.
The church will celebrate its golden jubilee in the year 2036.
The Welisara Church, part of the Mattuamagala Mission was dedicated to St Jude in October 1986 and the first festival High Mass was offered by the Very Rev.Fr. Ignatius Gamlath, during the time of the late Rev.Fr. Tuder Wanigasekera who was responsible for reestablishing the chapel as a church dedicated to St Jude, the Apostle.
According to parishioners, the chapel was dedicated to Our Lady of Providence on March 19, 1951, and the Franciscan Sisters serving the Welisara Chest Hospital at the time used that chapel for their religious services.
With the Government discontinuing the services of religious nuns of the Catholic Church, the chapel was turned into a house to store medicine and medical equipment used by the hospital.
This continued in that capacity until the creation of the church in 1986, in place of the chapel, dedicated to Saint Jude, the Apostle.
Thus, the new church became a part of the Mattumagala Sacred Heart Church in 1986, and Rev.Fr. Roshan P. Don Chaminda, the Parish Priest of the Matthumaga Church serves as the Administrator of St. Jude church at Welisara.
Today, Sunday, the feast day, festive High Mass will be sung at 8.00 am. There will be Holy Masses including one Holy Mass in English at 10.00 am. There will be a Holy Mass at 5.00 pm, followed by a procession and the services of the day will end with the blessing at the end of the procession.