When the love of a Saint draws devotees from here and across the Straits ICES presents a documentary on the shared devotional traditions surrounding St. Anthony of Padua, the patron saint of sailors and fishermen View(s): View(s):The International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES) will premiere its latest documentary, ‘The Saint of the Islands’ on Saturday, March 28 at 4 p.m. In Sri Lanka, devotion to St Anthony often crosses religious and cultural boundaries, bringing together different communities that unite across practices of prayer and veneration. At the centre of the story is the annual gathering of devotees from Sri Lanka and India at the St. Anthony’s Shrine on Kachchativu, located near the maritime border between the two countries. Thousands of devotees brave the rough seas, and arrive by boat from both Sri Lanka and India. The Saint of the Islands is part of a film series on cultural confluence developed by the International Centre for Ethnic Studies.

Source: Sunday Times March 21, 2026 22:02 UTC