The Church of Our Lady of Snow is a
Roman Catholic Marian church
Catholic Marian churches are religious buildings dedicated to the veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary. These churches were built throughout the history of the Catholic Church, and today they can be found on every continent including Antarctica. ...
in
Kallikulam
South Kallikulam is a panchayat village located in Tirunelveli district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The village is famous for the Our Lady of Snow church located at the heart of the Terku (South) Kallikulam.
History
The history of South ...
, Tirunelveli district,
uticorin diocese Tamil Nadu,
India. It is one of the Catholic
pilgrimage centres in India dedicated to the
Blessed Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
. In Tamil 'Pani' means 'Snow' and 'Matha' means 'Mother'.
History
People inhabited Kallikulam as early as 1700 AD. In 1770 AD, a
thatched church was built in the name of Holy Mary by village people. In 1884, Kallikulam villagers and
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
Missionaries decided to build a new church at Kallikulam for Mother Mary. In 1886, a church was constructed in that place and
consecrated
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...
to Our Lady of Snow. Every year, the annual
feast of Our Lady of Snow is celebrated from 27 July to 5 August.
Apparition
An oral tradition in Tamil Nadu states that on 29 March 1939 around 6.30 pm, six young people claim that they saw the Mother Mary appear on a hill near to the Church.People from different part of India visit Apparition hill on first Saturday of every month.
See also
*
Roman Catholic Marian churches
*
Marian apparitions
References
External links
{{commonscat inline
athisayapanimatha.companichaaral.comPanimatha.comKallikulam.com
Roman Catholic churches in Tamil Nadu
Shrines to the Virgin Mary
Tirunelveli
Roman Catholic shrines in India