Welcome to Vailankanni (Velankanni)
Our lady of Good Health, popularly called "Our Lady of Vailankanni" is in the small town of Vailankanni (5000 residents) located on the shores of the Bay of Bengal. It is located 150 miles south of Madras in Tamil Nadu and 5 miles south of Nagapattinam. Our lady chose this place to dispense her miracles to mankind. A strong oral tradition attests to Our Lady’s apparitions at Vailankanni(Velankanni). The tradition is built around the following three significant events:
First Miracle
Hindu Boy and Annai Vailankanni
Sometime during the sixteenth century, Our Lady with her infant son appeared to a Hindu boy carrying milk to a customer’s home. While he rested under a Banyan tree near a tank (pond), Our Lady appeared to him and asked for milk for her Son and the boy gave her some. On reaching the customer’s home, the boy apologized for his lateness and the reduced amount of milk by relating the incident that occurred on his way. On inspection, the man found the milk pot to be full and realized that something miraculous had happened. That man, also a Hindu, wanting to see the place where the apparition occurred, accompanied the boy.
When they reached the tank, Our Lady appeared once again. On learning that it was Our Lady who appeared to the boy, the residents of the local Catholic community became ecstatic. The tank where the apparition took place is called "Matha Kulam" or Our Lady’s tank.
Some years later Our Lady appeared again. This time to a crippled boy who was selling buttermilk near a public square on the outskirts of the same village of Vailankanni. She asked him for buttermilk for her infant Son and the boy compiled. Our Lady asked the boy to inform a certain wealthy Catholic man in the nearby town of Nagapattinam of her appearance. Not realizing that his crippled leg was miraculously cured by Our Lady, the boy rose up and began his journey. The man also had a vision the previous night in which Our Lady asked him to build a chapel for her. Together, the man and the boy returned to the site of the miracle.
This time Our Lady appeared to both. The man erected a thatched chapel for Our Lady at the site of Her second appearance. This chapel became a holy place of veneration to Our Blesses mother and She was called henceforth, Mother of Good Health ("Arokia Matha").
Second Miracle
Crippled Boy and Annai Vailankanni
Third Miracle
Portuguese Ship and Annai Vailankanni
A few years later, Our Merciful Mother rescued a few Portuguese merchant sailors from a violent storm, which wrecked their ship. When the merchants reached the shore of Vailankanni they were taken by local fisherman to the thatched chapel. To give thanks and pay tribute to Our Lady, they built a small permanent chapel on their return trip. On subsequent visits they improved on it. The merchants dedicated the chapel to Our Lady on September 8th to celebrate the feast of her nativity and to mark the date of their safe landing to Vailankanni.
Today, the celebration of this feast is an annual festival which lasts for 9 days and draws more than a million and a half pilgrims. Vailankanni attracts more pilgrims than any other sacred shrine in India. Not only do multitudes of Catholic travel there throughout the year but many non-Christians visit as well. Hundreds of miraculous cures are reported every year.
St Xavier Church, Kanyakumari
Although India has been mainly associated with the religion of Hinduism or Buddhism and even Islam; the fact is that India is also one of the pillars of Christianity in the world. Due to the fact that India was a former British Colony, it has many different churches ad temples that are of interest to the Christian Community. St Xavier church is definitely one of them. St Xavier church was built around 1600 AD. St Xavier church (also called Cottar in the Town) was built by St. Francis Xavier and this church still remains a historic site to be seen even after these centuries.
Besant nagar church
Velankanni Church in Chennai is located in Besant Nagar. It is one of the important monuments of Chennai city. The shrine is of mother Mary who is also worshipped as Lady of Health. The Velankanni Church is considered as the Mecca of Christians. The importance of the Church is that, it is revered by people belonging to different castes and religions alike. The church is also known by the name 'Sacred Arogya Matha Church'.
The Velankanni church in Chennai is a beautiful sight. The church is very tall in that it has tall towers. The church is built with a lot of architectural brilliance. There are a lot of practices that are followed by devotees here. The principal of them being the practice of offering a candle shaped as the diseased part of the body. On healing, the same is presented to the Mother in gold or silver. This practice is followed by devotees belonging to different religions.
This is the greatness and the glory of the Church of Velankanni. The church is located at the Eliot’s beach in Besant Nagar .The place is well connected with bus services and other transport services. Besant Nagar, with the Eliot’s beach, the Ashtalakshmi temple and the Velankanni Church makes this place a memorable place to visit for tourists and pilgrims.