Velankanni is termed as the "Mecca of South Asian Christianity". The church is dedicated to our Lady of Good Health. Velankanni Church is popularly called as 'Sacred Arockia Madha Church'. Velankanni is about 350km south of Chennai, on the Coromandel Coast, 12km south of Nagapattinam. It is a famous pilgrimage destination for Christians and also for people of other faiths. Velankanni is one of the most visited pilgrim centers of India.
Our lady chose this place to dispense her miracles to mankind. A strong oral tradition attests to Our Lady’s apparitions at Vailankanni. Hundreds of miraculous cures are reported every year. Vailankanni church was raised to the status of basilica by His Holiness Pope John XXIII in 1962.
Vailankanni church was built in late 16th century and made many expansions later on due to increasing number of pilgrims. The main festival here is the feast of our lady. The festival commences on August 29th every year and lasts ten days. A large crowd, about 1.5 millon people visit the place at this time. Holy masses are conducted in at least eight languages, Tamil, English, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, Konkani, Hindi and Marathi.
Velankanni was one of the worst hit areas in the 2004 Asian Tsunami. The killer waves entered the shrine and a large number of people were washed away by the waves.
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