Pilgrim Centre Single


Vailankanni, Our Lady of Health Basilica
Name:
Vailankanni, Our Lady of Health Basilica
Estd:
17th Century
Feast Day:
August 28-September 8
E-mail: rector@vailankannishrine.net
Website:
Telephone (O) +91 4365 263 530, 263 423
  Contact: Our Lady Of Health Basilica ! Velankanni P.O. ! Nagapattanam Dt.    
History
Vailankanni, a hamlet on the sandy shores of the Bay of Bengal, is located 350 kilometers south of Chennai (Madras) and 12kilometers south of Nagappatinam. Nagapattinam, a town on the coast of Bay of Bengal, was referred by early writers and the Portuguese as "the city of Coramandel' (Imperial Gazetteer of India, XIX, 3). Vellayar river, a minor branch of the river Cauvery, runs on the south of the village and flows into the sea.   Dedicated to Our Lady of Health, Madonna of Veilankanni, the Shrine of the Eastern Coast of India is known as the “Lourdes of the East”.   According to belief, in 1560 Virgin Mary appeared to a shepherd asking him for milk for baby Jesus. When the shepherd returned to his master after the task his pitcher kept filling up to with milk and thus began the legend of the Virgin Mary on the Coromondel coast of Southern State of Tamilnadu. The Shrine of Vailankanni became the Shrine Basilica of Vailankanni in November 1962 and was linked to the St. Mary’s Major Basilica in Rome.