Located
at the small town of Velankanni in the state of
Tamil Nadu in southern
India, Object named The
Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health
was The
Roman Catholic
Basilica . Adoring Lady of Good
Health of
Velankanni can be traced to the center of-16th
century and is meaning to three
miracles: the
apparition of
Mary and the
Child (Jesus) to a slumbering
shepherd boy, the curing of a lame
buttermilk vendor, and the rescue of
Portuguese sailors from a violent sea storm.
[1]
Although all three apparitions ultimately resulted in the
erection of a
shrine to our Lady, it was the promise of the
Portuguese sailors that was the proximate cause of a
permanent edifice being built at Velankanni. The
chapel was dedicated on the feast of the
, the day safe landing. More than 500 years
later, the nine-day festival and celebration is still
observed and draws nearly 2 million
pilgrims each year. The Shrine of Our Lady of
Vailankanni, also known as the Lourdes
of the East,"[2]
is one of the most frequented religious sites in
India.
History
Though there are no historical documents or records
about the Apparitions of Mary at Vailankanni, the oral
tradition substantiates the two apparitions of the Blessed
Mother of Vailankanni in the 16th century and the saving
of the Portuguese sailors from a tempest in the Bay of
Bengal in the later 17th century.[3]
Apparitions
-
Main article:
Our Lady of Good Health
The first of the apparitions in Vailankanni is claimed
to be to an Hindu boy during the mid sixteenth century. It
is said that Mary appeared to him and requested milk for
her Son to which the boy readily agreed. Later, upon
reaching the home of the customer the boy had intended to
deliver the milk to, he apologized for his lateness and
the reduced amount of milk by relating the incident that
occurred on his way. However, upon inspection of his
order, the customer found the milk pot to be full and was
convinced that something miraculous had happened. Together
the man, also a Hindu, and the boy returned to the place
where the apparition had occurred. When they reached the
pond, 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 and promptly
renamed the pond Matha Kulam or, Our Lady's
Pond.
The first apparition is not known to have lead to the
construction of a chappel of Church. That is attributed to
the second apparition. This time, it is said, that Mary
appeared to a crippled boy (and also a son of a widow) in
a place called Nadu Thittu. The boy is claimed to
have offered her buttermilk and then be cured of his
illness. The Catholics in the nearby town of
Nagapattinam are said to have built the first Shrine
after being informed of the incident.
Portuguese sailors
In the 17th century, a Portuguese merchant vessel,
sailing from
Macao in South China to
Colombo was caught in a tempest in the Bay of Bengal.
The sailors, then at the point of desolation, vowed to
build a chapel in the name of the Virgin Mary wherever
they could reach safe. The legends claim that the stormy
sea became quiet and their ship reached the shore of
Vailankanni on the 8th of September the birthday of Mary.
Fulfilling their vow, the Portuguese sailors put up a
chapel at Vailankanni by transforming the earlier thatched
chapel. On their next visit, the Portuguese decorated the
altar with porcelain plates illustrating Biblical themes.
From Shrine to Basilica
The Shrine that started as a thatched chappel in the
mid sixteenth century became a
Parish Church in
when
Catholics in India were under persecution from the
Dutch. Later in
1962 it was granted as a Special status of a Minor
Basilica by
Pope John XXIII
Architecture
Layout of the Basilica complex. 1.Basilica, 2.Nadu
Thittu shrine-site of second apparition, 3.
Adoration & Reconciliation chapel, 4.Our Lady's
Pond-site of first apparition, 5.Stations
of the cross, 6.Stations of the
Rosary, 7.Stations of the
Sacraments
The Basilica is built in
Gothic style of architecture.[7]
The southern side was extended in
1928 and northern in
1933.
The Shrine Basilica contains three chapels, Our Lady's
Tank, Church Museum, Priests' Residence, Offering Center,
Stations of the Cross, Stations of the
Rosary, Shrine Mega Mahal and Vailankanni Beach.[9]
The building is totally painted in white color, except for
the roof that is made of tiles of striking red color.[10]
Sourthern Side
Early part of 20th century marked rivalry between
Jesuits and
Franciscans on influcence on the missionary in
Velankanni. In
1928 a solution was found to this problem. The church
of Immaculate Heart of Mary (managed by the Jesuits) was
demolished and the statues were brought to the Shrine of
Our Lady of Good Health, eventually in
1933 the Shrine expanded with two new wings , to the
right and to the left of the 'Main Altar', meeting the
nave at right angles.[11]
Northern Side
A spacious vestry was also provided immediately behind
the Altar. Thus the entire sacred edifice began to assume
the shape of a
Latin Cross. Right over the center of the ancient main
altar was the miraculous image of Our Lady of Good Health.[11]
Shrine Altar
A new arch point for welcome was blessed and
opened by Bishop Sundaram at 1956,. The illuminated
arch stood to show the way to the eager pilgrims, who
sought the protection of Mary. In January 1961, a new
central
altar, delicately executed in spotless white marble,
was erected replacing the former one made of cement
concrete.[8]
Extension
Basilica-Altar
In 1974-75, an extension of the Basilica was built
behind the existing central altar to accommodate the
multilingual pilgrims. The extention included a two
storied church with 93 feet high
dome and 82 feet high gothic spirals.[11]
The extension was designed to resemble the
Basilica in Lourdes, France.
[12]
Velakanni town is one victim of the
tsunami on
Boxing day of
2004 causing heavy lose of life but no damage to the
Church.[18]
Aftermath of the tsunami found slowing down of pilgrims
for a year.[19]
