Description : St. Anne's National Shrine in Thalawila is a renowned Roman Catholic shrine is considered one of the oldest and most revered Catholic shrines in Sri Lanka. The church originated in the 17th century when a Portuguese merchant, traveling from Mannar to Colombo, had a vision of St. Anne and found a statue of her under a tree. He built a small chapel that later grew into a large, prominent church. The church is situated on a peninsula between the Puttalam Lagoon and the Indian Ocean, near Talawila beach. Sri Lanka.