By Amantha Perera / Madhu
Thousands of Sri Lankan pilgrims gather at the Madhu Shrine, 300 km northwest of Colombo, on Aug. 15
EPA
For Catholics around the world, Aug. 15 is among the holiest of feast days. It marks the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, when the mother of Jesus is believed to have been taken, physically, into Heaven after death so that her body would not suffer earthly decay. For the Catholics of Sri Lanka, Aug. 15 this year marked a similar miracle: the survival of a 500-year-old statue of the Virgin, through the fiery tumult of a quarter-century of civil war, to be re-ensconced in her jungle church that was once again safe to travel to.
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http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1916846,00.html
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