page_title: St. Paul's Church, Milagiriya
section_title: The Portuguese Era
hierarchical_section_title: St. Paul's Church, Milagiriya / The Portuguese Era
caption_attribution_description: English: The altar at St.Paul's Church, Milagiriya. St.Paul's Church is one of the oldest churches in Sri Lanka.
context_page_description: St. Paul's Church is situated in the Milagiriya district of Colombo, the commercial capital of Sri Lanka. It is one of the oldest churches in Sri Lanka as now part of the Anglican Church of Ceylon.
context_section_description: The church was first built by the Portuguese as a Roman Catholic place of worship and was known as Nossa Senhora dos Milagres (Our Lady of Miracles). Milagiriya is the ‘Sinhalised’ name for the Portuguese word Milagres, meaning miracles. There was a well situated near the original church and during the time of the Portuguese people used to flock here as it was reputed to have miraculous properties. The sick were brought to the church from all over the island to drink the water from the well.
caption: The altar of St.Paul's Church, Milagiriya.
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