English: Our Lady of Miracles Jaffna was solemnly proclaimed the Protectress of Jaffna during the Portuguese period. The Jaffna fort was first built by Portuguese and they named the fort as Our Lady of Miracles Jaffna Patao .

Many historical events during the Portuguese period are associated with this Church

With the fall of Jaffna in 1658,Catholic church properties were confiscated and Catholic faith was proscribed . During Dutch oppression of Catholics , Catholicism seemed to have disappeared visibility with the Portuguese.

The two surviving items from the church after confiscation of churches and persecution of Catholics in Jaffna during the Dutch period are this bell and the statue

The Church bell that once invited worshipers to the Church of Our Lady of Miracles in Jaffna is currently at the Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour in Colombo.

A note attached to this bell states

The bell has a curious history. It was cast in 1648 and first hung in the Portuguese church of Our Lady of Miracles in Jaffna.

The inscription “ NOSSA SENHORA DOS MILAGRES JAFANA PATAO 1648 ” is still legible.

The Dutch removed it from the church and hung it in the belfry of the Jaffna Fort. It was later sold and somehow came into the possession of the Presbyterian Consistory. Mr. T. S Grigson of George Steuart & Co bought it for Rs 200 and presented it to St. Michael’s where after two centuries of secular use or neglect it again called Christians to worship until the year 2001 when it cracked.