The Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health, also known as Sanctuary of Our Lady of Velankanni, is a

Marian shrine A shrine to the Virgin Mary (or Marian shrine) is a shrine marking an apparition or other miracle ascribed to the Blessed Virgin Mary, or a site on which is centered a historically strong Marian devotion. Such locales are often the destinatio ...

located at the town of

Velankanni Velankanni (''Vēḷāṅkaṇṇi''), is a Special Grade Panchayat Town in Nagapattinam district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It lies on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, 350 km south of Chennai (Madras), 12 km south of ...

Tamil Nadu, India Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language— ...

. The place is also a

minor basilica In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular ...

of the Latin Catholic Church dedicated to

Our Lady of Good Health Our Lady of Good Health ( ta, ஆரோக்கிய அன்னை ''Ārōkkiya annai''), also known as Our Lady of Vailankanni, is a title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary by devotees. She is said to have appeared twice in the town of Vela ...

. Devotion to Our Lady of Good Health of Velankanni can be traced back to the mid-16th century, attributed to three separate

miracles A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...

believed by devotees to have been worked at the site: the apparition of Blessed Mary and the

Christ Child The Christ Child, also known as Divine Infant, Baby Jesus, Infant Jesus, the Divine Child, Child Jesus, the Holy Child, Santo Niño, and to some as Señor Noemi refers to Jesus Christ from his nativity to age 12. The four canonical gospels, a ...

to a slumbering

shepherd A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. ''Shepherd'' derives from Old English ''sceaphierde (''sceap'' 'sheep' + ''hierde'' ' herder'). ''Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations, ...

boy, the healing of a handicapped

buttermilk Buttermilk is a fermented dairy drink. Traditionally, it was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cultured cream. As most modern butter in western countries is not made with cultured cream but uncultured sweet cream, most m ...

vendor, and the rescue of Portuguese sailors from a deadly sea storm. Initially, a simple and modest chapel was built by the

Portuguese in Goa and Bombay-Bassein The State of India ( pt, Estado da Índia), also referred as the Portuguese State of India (''Estado Português da Índia'', EPI) or simply Portuguese India (), was a state of the Portuguese Empire founded six years after the discovery of a se ...

, soon after they washed ashore safely in spite of a severe

tempest Tempest is a synonym for a storm. '' The Tempest'' is a play by William Shakespeare. Tempest or The Tempest may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * ''The Tempest'' (1908 film), a British silent film * ''The Tempest'' (1911 film), a ...

. More than 500 years later, a nine-day-long festival is still celebrated and draws nearly 5 million

pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the adherent of ...

s each year. The place has been called "the

Lourdes Lourdes (, also , ; oc, Lorda ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for the Châ ...

of the East", because it is one of the most frequented pilgrimage centers in

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...

History

Marian apparition A Marian apparition is a reported supernatural appearance by Mary, the mother of Jesus, or a series of related such appearances during a period of time. In the Catholic Church, in order for a reported appearance to be classified as a Marian a ...

s at Velankanni include three apparitions of the virgin-mother Mary of Velankanni in the 16th century, according to

oral lore Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material is received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another. Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (1985) ...

and

popular belief Popular beliefs are studied as a sub-field of social sciences, like history and anthropology, which examines spiritual beliefs that develop not independently from religion, but still outside of established religious institutions. Aspects of popular ...

. The third noteworthy incident is the reported miraculous rescue of the

, who were sailing away from a deadly

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

surge and tempest, in the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line bet ...

in the late 17th century.History of the basilica on its home page
MadhaKulam

The first Marian apparition is said to have occurred in May 1570, when a local shepherd boy was delivering milk to a nearby house. Along the way he met a beautiful woman holding a child, who asked for some milk for the child. After giving her some milk, he continued on under the hot

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

sun, upon finishing his deliveries he found that the jug was still full of fresh and cool milk. A small shrine was built near the site where the boy encountered the woman, a location that came to be called '' Maatha Kulam'', which means "Mother's Pool or Well" in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, na ...

.Thomas, William. "Our Lady of Health, Velankanni, India", ''Catholic Voice'', 2 August 2009
/ref> Velankanni 2

The second Marian apparition is said to have happened in 1597, not far from ''Maatha Kulam''. A beautiful woman with a child in her arms appeared to a crippled boy selling buttermilk. The child asked for a drink of buttermilk. After he drank it, the woman told the boy to visit a gentleman in the next town and ask him to build a chapel in her honour at that location. As the boy set out he realised he had been healed and was no longer

lame Lame or LAME may refer to: Music * "Lame" (song) by Unwritten Law * ''Lame'' (album) by Iame People * Ibrahim Lame (born 1953), Nigerian educator and politician * Jennifer Lame (), American film editor * Quintín Lame (1880–1967), Colombian ...

. A small thatched chapel was built shortly thereafter in honour of "Our Lady of Health" or ''Aarokia Maatha'' in Tamil. The third notable incident occurred when a Portuguese ship sailing from

Macao Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a po ...

to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) was caught in extreme weather in the Bay of Bengal. The terrified sailors invoked the aid of the Virgin Mary under her title " Star of the Sea". The raging storm suddenly subsided and the entire crew of 150 on board the ship were saved from

capsizing Capsizing or keeling over occurs when a boat or ship is rolled on its side or further by wave action, instability or wind force beyond the angle of positive static stability or it is upside down in the water. The act of recovering a vessel fr ...

. This happened on 8 September, the feast day of the

Nativity of Mary The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Nativity of Mary, the Marymas or the Birth of the Virgin Mary, refers to a Christian feast day celebrating the birth of Mary, mother of Jesus. The modern canon of scripture does not record Mary's bi ...

. In thanksgiving the sailors rebuilt the shrine, and continued to visit and donate to the cause of the shrine whenever their voyages brought them to the area. The shrine that began as a thatched chapel in the mid-sixteenth century and became a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

in 1771, when

Indian Catholics The East Indians, also called East Indian Catholics or Bombay East Indians, are an ethno-religious Indian Christian community native to the Seven Islands of Bombay and the neighbouring Mumbai Metropolitan Area of the Konkan Division. Histo ...

were persecuted in the erstwhile Dutch Coromandel, after the Luso-Dutch war was waged by Dutch Protestants. In 1962, the site was elevated to the ''special status of a

'' by

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Roman Catholic Church, Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 28 Oc ...

.VAILANKANNI – an Overview
on

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

government website On 3 November 1962, the shrine of Velankanni was elevated to the status of "minor basilica" and merged with the

Basilica of St Mary Major The Basilica of Saint Mary Major ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, ; la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris), or church of Santa Maria Maggiore, is a Major papal basilica as well as one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and the large ...

in Rome by Pope John XXIII.

Significance and pilgrimage

For

Goan Goans ( kok, गोंयकार, Romi Konkani: , pt, Goeses) is the demonym used to describe the people native to Goa, India, who form an ethno-linguistic group resulting from the assimilation of Indo-Aryan, Dravidian, Indo-Portuguese, and ...

and

Konkani people The Konkan people ( Konkani) Konkanis : are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group native to the Konkan region of the Indian subcontinent who speak various dialects of the Konkani language. Konkani is the state language of Goa and also spoken ...

, she is called "

Shantadurga Shantadurga (Devanagari:शांतादुर्गा, ) is the most popular form of the Hindu goddess Durga revered in Goa, India, as well some parts of Karnataka. She is a form of the ancient Mother goddess known as Santeri. She is wor ...

" (most compassionate one). This especially includes use of ''Kotimaram'', which has been described as an extended influence of Hinduism on Catholicism, thus making the basilica a meeting point of two of the major religions of the world. Being 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. ...

, it is dedicated to

. Virgin Mary is depicted wearing a ''

sari A sari (sometimes also saree or shari)The name of the garment in various regional languages include: * as, শাৰী, xārī, translit-std=ISO * bn, শাড়ি, śāṛi, translit-std=ISO * gu, સાડી, sāḍī, translit-std ...

''. The usual time for pilgrimage is during the annual festival between 29 August to 8 September, Holy Week and Christmas. Some pilgrims, instead of using a mode of transport, perform "walking pilgrimages" to it. They attend

mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different ele ...

novena A novena (from Latin: ''novem'', "nine") is an ancient tradition of devotional praying in Christianity, consisting of private or public prayers repeated for nine successive days or weeks. The nine days between the Feast of the Ascension and Pe ...

s, flag-hoisting and carry a ''

palanquin The litter is a class of wheelless vehicles, a type of human-powered transport, for the transport of people. Smaller litters may take the form of open chairs or beds carried by two or more carriers, some being enclosed for protection from the el ...

'' of Mary in a procession. A major event is the procession, where only women are allowed to pull the first car and a statue of Mary is in the last and most decorated one. People of other religions also take part. The pilgrims sometimes shave their heads as an offering and perform ear-piercing ceremonies, both being Hindu traditions. Another ritual considered sacred is dipping oneself in the pond. There is a holy flag which is lowered to signal the end of the festival. Due to the number of pilgrim visits during festival season, the

Indian Railways Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tota ...

introduced special train services to the town of

Architecture

The basilica is built in the

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

style of architecture. The southern side was extended in 1928 and the northern in 1933.About Velankanni
on www.velankannichurch.org. The Shrine Basilica contains three chapels, as well as Our Lady's Tank, Church Museum, Priests' Residence, Offering Center,

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The station ...

, Stations of the

Rosary The Rosary (; la, , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), also known as the Dominican Rosary, or simply the Rosary, refers to a set of prayers used primarily in the Catholic Church, and to the physical string of knots or ...

, Shrine Mega Mahal and Vailankanni Beach. The building is painted in white, except for the roof that is made of red tiles. The early part of the 20th century marked rivalry between

Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

and

Franciscans , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

regarding their influence on missionary work in Velankanni. In 1928, the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (managed by the Jesuits) was demolished and the statues were brought to the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Health; in 1933 the shrine was expanded with two new wings, to the right and to the left of the 'Main Altar', meeting the nave at right angles. A spacious vestry was provided immediately behind the altar. Thus the entire sacred edifice began to assume the shape of a

Latin Cross A Latin cross or ''crux immissa'' is a type of cross in which the vertical beam sticks above the crossbeam, with the three upper arms either equally long or with the vertical topmost arm shorter than the two horizontal arms, and always with a mu ...

. Right over the center of the ancient main altar was the miraculous image of Our Lady of Good Health. In 1956, a new welcome arch was blessed and opened by Bishop Rajarethinam Arokiasamy Sundaram. The illuminated arch stood to show the way to eager pilgrims who sought the protection of Mary. In January 1961, a new central

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in pagan ...

, executed in white marble, replaced the former one made of cement concrete. In 1974–75, an extension of the basilica was built behind the existing central altar to accommodate the multilingual pilgrims. The extension included a two-storied church with high

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

and high gothic spirals. It was designed to resemble the

Basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its nam ...

in Lourdes, France.All roads lead to Velankanni
on ''The Hindu'' news.

List of parish priests

The basilica first became a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

in 1771. The list of parish priests (mainly

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

) from 1771 until now is as follows:About Church
on VelankanniChurch.com

Gallery

File:Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health in Velankanni, Tamil Nadu Entrance.jpg, Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health in Velankanni, Tamil Nadu - entrance File:Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health in Velankanni, Tamil Nadu.jpg, Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health in Velankanni, Tamil Nadu File:VeilankanniChurchExtn.jpg, Velankanni - basilica extension File:VeilankanniPond.JPG, Velankanni Church pond File:Holy path Vailankanni.jpg, Pilgrims walking on their knees towards the pond File:VeilankanniAdorationCenter.jpg, Velankanni - Adoration Center File:Vailankanni Basilica.JPG, Velankanni Basilica File:VelankanniPanorama.jpg, Velankanni Basilica - a panoramic side view - church and church extension seen at a stretch File:Main-Church-Left-Side-View-Veilankanni.JPG, Velankanni Basilica - side left side view File:Velankanni Flagpole.jpg, Flag pole at the church File:Velankanni Apostalic Brief.jpg, alt=Velankanni Apostalic Brief, Velankanni apostolic brief File:Velankanni proclamation Inscription.jpg, Velankanni proclamation Inscription

References

External links

Sanctuary of Our Lady of Vailankanni
– Official website
Marian Shrine of Vailankanni TV
– Live streaming
Velankanni Church Photos 2018
{{Basilicas in India

Good Health ''Good Health'' is the first studio album by Pretty Girls Make Graves. Originally released in 2002 by Lookout Records, it was re-released by Matador Records with an additional 4 songs made up of the band's first self-titled EP. This album is of ...

Roman Catholic churches in Tamil Nadu Catholic pilgrimage sites

Churches in Nagapattinam district Roman Catholic shrines in India