Christian Saints

Christianity was introduced to Sri Lanka by the Catholic Portuguese during the 16th century. The Dutch, who replaced the Portuguese at the end of the 17th century, were staunchly Protestant and outlawed Catholic worship. During their rule, Catholic churches were either destroyed or converted for Protestant use. The British, who replaced the Dutch at the end of the 18th century, allowed freedom of worship and during the 19th century there was a resurgence of Catholicism. The mixed descendants of the Portuguese, who had worshipped clandestinely during the Dutch Period, now reclaimed their old churches and rebuilt them, filling them with carved saints and brightly coloured paintings. Anjalendran’s considerable collection of saints are mainly Catholic and of Porto-Sinhalese origin and date mostly from the mid- 19th century.

Sculptures of Christ and Christian saints, including Mary, St. Anne and one of the Three Kings