Katchatheevu Island and the St. Anthony's Festival

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Boats arrived for the St Anthony's festival at Kachchativu Island — Boats arrived for the St Anthony’s festival at Kachchativu Island

Katchatheevu is a tiny, uninhabited island in the Palk Strait, famous for its 1905 shrine dedicated to St. Anthony, the patron saint of seafarers. Each February or March, thousands of pilgrims from Sri Lanka and India gather for a unique two-day festival, celebrating shared faith and maritime heritage.

Location

Katchatheevu (Kachchativu – කච්චතීවු දූපත) is a small, uninhabited island of about 163 acres (0.66 square kilometers) located in the Palk Strait between India and Sri Lanka. Positioned roughly midway between India’s Rameswaram (22 km away) and Sri Lanka’s Delft Island (18.5 km away), this barren landmass holds significant geopolitical and historical importance despite its size.

Dispute of the Katchatheevu Island

During the British colonial period, the island was occasionally used as a naval gunnery practice site. Following the independence of both India and Sri Lanka, sovereignty over Katchatheevu remained unresolved for more than 30 years, with both nations laying claim to it (Muni, 1974).

A resolution was finally reached in 1974, when a bilateral agreement between India and Sri Lanka recognized Sri Lankan sovereignty over Katchatheevu. The agreement established a “deviating median” line that placed the island on Sri Lanka’s side of the newly defined International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL). This accord aligned with the provisions of the first United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), giving the agreement international legitimacy and making it difficult for either country to unilaterally revoke the terms.

The barren island of Katchatheevu (Kachchativu) is still uninhabited except for a small naval base of the Sri Lankan Navy.

The Transformation of Katchatheevu During the St. Anthony’s Festival

For two days each year, the otherwise desolate island of Katchatheevu undergoes a dramatic transformation during the annual St. Anthony’s Festival. Over 6,000 pilgrims from both India and Sri Lanka travel to the island to attend this event, gathering at St. Anthony’s Church, the only permanent structure on the island. Many spend the night in makeshift tents or simply under the open sky.

St. Anthony, revered as the patron saint of sailors and fishermen, is believed to have inspired the first church on the island, constructed in the early 1900s by a wealthy Indian fisherman. The current church, located on a small hillock on the Sri Lankan side of the island, stands as a beacon of shared faith between the two nations.

From 1987 onward, during the years of the Sri Lankan civil conflict and the threat posed by the LTTE (Tamil Tiger terrorists), Katchatheevu remained inaccessible to civilians, especially fishermen. However, with the defeat of the LTTE, the festival was revived under the stewardship of the Sri Lankan Navy, which now handles logistics and overall management.

Held on a weekend between February and March, the festival attracts thousands. Indian pilgrims, mainly from Rameswaram, arrive by boat. Under the 1974 Indo-Lanka agreement, Indian citizens are granted visa-free access to the island during the festival, with no passport requirement.

During the festival, the Sri Lankan Navy undertakes a large-scale support operation providing fresh water, sanitation facilities, electricity via generators, medical aid, and food. The event also includes life-saving teams on standby to assist pilgrims if needed.

The pilgrimage blends both Catholic and Hindu traditions. Hindu devotees offer prayers to Lord Rama and bathe in the sea for purification. Catholic pilgrims attend Holy Mass, light candles, and make offerings at the church in memory of loved ones. Both communities offer coconuts, flowers, and other tokens of devotion.

The otherwise quiet island becomes lively, with a pathway from the port to the church lined with temporary stalls selling Sri Lankan snacks and meals. Many vendors gladly accept Indian Rupees. While some pilgrims pitch tents, many prefer sleeping along the sandy beach, cooled by the sea breeze. Alcohol is strictly prohibited on the island during this time.

The book “Romantic Ceylon’ published in 1929, records a brief description of the island and of this festival

“Going a farther ten miles out to sea there is a small island called Kachchativu, on which is said to grow, in addition to numerous other health-giving herbs, a kind of golden-coloured mistletoe, which, when eaten, gives immortal life. The mistletoe seems to be difficult to find, as even Delft people, up to date, have all gone the same way eventually. Unfortunately, there is no water in Kachchativu, so no one lives there, but it is quite fertile. There is a small Roman Catholic shrine, and yearly, in March, about six hundred pilgrims visit it, occasionally meeting with considerable adversity while awaiting a favourable wind to return.“

St Anthony's Church at Kachchativu Island

St Anthony's festival at Kachchativu Island

Devotees at St Anthony's festival in Kachchativu Island

References

Muni, S. D. (1974). Kachchativu Settlement: Befriending Neighbouring Regimes. Economic and Political Weekly, 9(28), 1119–1122. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4363832
Bassett, R.H., Laws, E.J. and Murdoch, K. (1929) Romantic Ceylon : Its History, Legend and Story. London: Palmer.

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Travel Directions to Katchatheevu (Kachchativu) Island

From Sri Lanka, the journey by boat begins at Kurikadduwan Jetty in Yāpanaya (Jaffna). This is the same departure point used for regular ferry services to Nāgadīpa (Nāinātīvu) Island and Neduntīvū (Delft) Island from the mainland.

However, boat services to the destination operate only during festival periods. The यात्रा typically takes around 3 hours to reach the island.