Rev Fr.Don Andrew Leonard Perera Abayasekara was born on 13th of March 1903 in Kandy; he was the youngest in a family of seven siblings. Upon the persuasion of Fr. James Caspersz the then rector of St Anthony’s College, Kandy he was enrolled a student.
Coming from a well-connected Catholic family, Christianity was constantly influenced upon him by his mother .Upon his mother’s death in 1922, he heard his calling to be a servant of God and joined the Papal Seminary at Ampitiya. It was Fr. Vossen, a Belgian Jesuit whose culture and urbanity made an impression on young Andrew to reinforce his decision to join the seminary.
“The architect of St’ Anthony’s Church, Bandarawela.”
On 29th September 1929 Andrew Leonard was ordained a priest. His first appointment was to Badulla as the assistant to Fr. James Caspersz. After two years in Badulla he was transferred as the assistant priest to Bandarawela for one year, thereafter he returned to Kandy. After being in Kandy for some time Fr.Andrew was transferred to Matale and stayed there for two years. The climate in the hills did not agree with him and he faced many ailments.
He was next appointed as the parish priest of the sprawling parish of Panwila. Thereafter he briefly stayed at Nuwara Eliya for about two weeks. Upon his personal request he was sent to Peradeniya and he served there for ten months. Upon Fr. Andrews request he was transferred to Bandarawela as the former parish priest Rev Fr. Basil Hyde wanted a transfer. He was a traveller and an adventurer. He travelled to all corners of the world, and his favourite and constant destinations were England and Europe.
The church he took charge was a small church made of cabook stone and was in a bad state. Fr Andrew then decided to rebuild the church. After receiving approval from the bishop to proceed with the project, the construction was initiated.
Many of the elements and features of the church were gathered from his journeys abroad. After his second visit to Europe, he returned with different ideas gathered from the churches that he visited. The chief motif of the Façade of the Bandarawela church was obtained from the famous church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square London. The cathedral glass in Bandarawela was specially manufactured for this church and was brought from England. The design for the altar was from a new church in Paris. I also heard that he visited India to check on the stones that were used for the construction as well as learn how they were interlocked into the walls of the church. The timber for the church was sourced from Koslanda solely by him. Ninety logs of calamander, ebony and satinwood were purchased through a government tender. The Bell of the church was purchased from Gillett and Johnson in Croydon, London and he purchased two Manual Wurlitzer Electronic Organs from America for St Anthony’s. . There are still a few people living in Bandarawela who were involved in various fields during the construction of this lovely church.
The church today stands as an icon in Bandarawela. It is also known as the candle church where people of other religious faith visited to light candles and make their intentions. In the year 2023 the present Bishop of Badulla, His Lordship Rev Jude Nishantha Silva declared it as Holy Shrine where devotees from all cultures and religions could visit. At present the parish consists of about five hundred families said Rev Fr Jagath Fonseka the parish priest and the first parish priest to be appointed after it being named a shrine. The present Bishop of Badulla has intentions to make it a National Shrine.
