Velankanni

     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 359 km south of Chennai, on the Coromandel Coast, 12 km south of Nagapattinam.  It is a famous pilgrimage destination for Christians and also for people of other faiths.  Velankanni is one of the most visted pilgrim centers of India.  Our lady chose this place to dispense her miracles to mankind.  A strong oral traditaion attests to Our Lady’s apparitions at Velankanni.  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.

      Anyone who go to Velankanni can visit The Shrine Basilica, comprising of three Churches, Our Lady’s Tank, Church Museum, Priests Residence, Offering Center, Stations of the Cross, Stations of the Rosary, Shrine Mega Mahal and Velankanni Beach. People can have accommodation at Nagapattinam.  The unique feature of the church is its Gothic architecture. Velankanni 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 milion 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.

      Nagapattinam is a unique town that has its own historical and cultural significance.  Nagapattinam was one of the constituents of Cholamandalam, and was acclaimed as the most prominent of the then cities.  The city contributed to the glory of the erstwhile Chola Kingdom.  It was the Cholas who built the Nagapattinam Kayaroganam Shiva temple in the 6th century AD.  Some of the famous Shivite poets such as Appar, Sambandar and Sundarar were associated with this temple.
A Portuguese commercial center was established in Nagapattinam in the year 1554 and since then Christianity began to take root through Portuguese influence.  The Portuguese traders took control of ten villages around the shores and built a harbor and a garrison. With the advent of Portuguese, the Velankanni Church came in to existence.