When the Tsunami of 2004 hit many shorelines in the South Pacific, Sri Lanka was very badly hit. On December 26, the priest who was saying the 9 AM Mass at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Matara remembers a huge wave two floors high entering furiously the church and swept everything in its path, including the 24 people gathered that day for Mass. When he had recovered his composure and checked on the people, he went behind the altar where he found the statue of Our Lady of Matara missing. He quickly called the Bishop of Colombo and told him what had happened. The bishop assured him ‘don’t worry, Our Lady can surely swim.’ For a few weeks, the priest and some 40 of his parishioners had to live on higher ground because of rising water. With them they had a picture of Our Lady of Matara and kept praying that the statue would be found. On December 29, a man went looking for the pastor to inform him that the statue was found with the surviving refugees. As if the Blessed Mother wanted to be with the suffering and displaced people. The strange thing was that the golden crown that a young Jesus had on his head, was still there, simply placed, not attached or glued to the head.
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