St. Lawrence's Church, Wellawatte

{{EngvarB |date=March 2017}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}

{{Infobox religious building

| building_name =St. Lawrence's Church

| infobox_width =

| image =St. Lawrence's Church, Wellawatte.jpg

| image_size =250px

| map_type = Sri Lanka Colombo Municipality

| location =Wellawatte, Colombo, Sri Lanka

| coordinates ={{coord|6|52|14.9|N|79|51|48.3|E|type:landmark|display=it}}

| religious_affiliation =Roman Catholic

| consecration_year =1968

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| functional_status =Active

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| facade_direction =West

| groundbreaking =17 January 1954

| year_completed =6 March 1968{{Cite news |url=http://archives.dailynews.lk/2008/01/10/fea05.asp |title=The Parish of St. Lawrence's Church, Wellawatte celebrates 70th anniversary|newspaper=Daily News|last=David|first=S. B.|date=10 January 2008|accessdate=5 March 2017}}

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St. Lawrence's Church is the seat of the Wellawatte parish of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Colombo.{{Cite web |url=http://www.archdioceseofcolombo.com/more.php?page_id=38 |title=Parishes|publisher=Archdiocese of Colombo|accessdate=5 March 2017}} It is located at Galle Road (near Pereira Lane), Wellawatte, Colombo 06. The church is dedicated to St. Lawrence, the patron saint of Sri Lanka,{{cite book | editor-last =Bunson | editor-first =Matthew | title =Our Sunday Visitor's 2012 Catholic Almanac | publisher =Our Sunday Visitor | year =2012 | isbn =978-1-59276-077-0 | ref =Bunson | url-access =registration | url =https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781592760770 }} Colombo and parish of Wellawatte.{{Cite news |url=http://www.island.lk/2006/07/31/features4.html |title=St. Lawrence – Patron Saint of Colombo and Parish of Wellawatte|newspaper=The Island|last=Mel|first=Imojen|date=31 July 2006|accessdate=5 March 2017}}

On 6 January 1938 the Archbishop of Colombo, Jean-Marie Masson inaugurated the new Parish of Wellawatte. The original St Lawrence’s Church was built at Villa Pleasant (which was renamed St Lawrence Road) and Rev. Robert Fernando was appointed as its first priest. Fernando realised that the Church was too small for the congregation and purchased a parcel of land at 375 Galle Road, Wellawatte. On 17 January 1954 the Archbishop of Colombo, Thomas Cooray laid the foundation stone for the new church. Construction took fourteen years to complete, with the church being consecrated on 6 March 1968 by Cardinal Cooray.