After experiencing an extraordinary healing, a young woman from Sri Lanka who was raised Buddhist is preparing to receive Baptism in the Catholic Church this Easter.
According to UCA News, Sachini Dilshani Weerakoon said she suffered for years from a severe skin condition that caused recurring blisters and bleeding wounds on both of her legs, which doctors attributed to an autoimmune disease leaving her unable to “sleep, work, or travel freely.”
In May 2025, however, after asking Jesus to heal her, Weerakoon said the blisters suddenly stopped appearing, something she describes as a miraculous cure.
“I believe Jesus healed my legs completely,” Weerakoon told UCA News.
Although Weerakoon grew up in the predominantly Buddhist community of Ashokapura, a small Catholic presence in the village allowed her to become familiar with Catholic practices.
“Even though we’ve been Buddhists for generations,” Weerakoon said, “my mom and dad would take us to St. Jude’s Church to light candles.”
Weerakoon said that lighting candles at the church became an important part of her faith journey, telling UCA News that it became a part of her family's routine, especially on family birthdays.
Two years ago, she married a Catholic and became further exposed to the practices of the Catholic faith.
During that time, Weerakoon visited a nearby Marian shrine, where she asked for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, praying that Mary would ask her “son Jesus Christ, the God, to cure me.”
After the pilgrimage, Weerakoon said the blisters stopped appearing and she came to believe that Jesus had healed her.
Following the healing, Weerakoon said she felt called to convert to Catholicism. After speaking with her parish priest, she began attending weekly Mass and religious classes in preparation for baptism.
Her husband, Pathum Lakshan Silva, told UCA News that she has come to the faith in a manner that was “purely personal.”
Weerakoon’s godmother, Piyasenage Premalatha, also commented on Weerakoon’s zeal for the Catholic faith.
“She is counting the days to receiving the Eucharist,” Premalatha said.
Weerakoon is now preparing to be baptized April 4 during the Easter Vigil.