Velankanni is a small town in Nagapattinam district in Tamil Nadu .The district was famous for its trading center in olden days .Its a religious place were lots of people come every year(2 million tourists per year ).On festival days one cannot stand on the streets ,People from south India visit this place often .You can see people put lots of money and gold as their offering !what’s special ?So why do they visit ??? .This Church has lots of history behind it and 3 miracles which made this church unique
1.Portuguese sailors rescue
During early days European merchants used to visit the eastern coast of India for trading .Once a merchant ship was sailing to Colombo ,at that time it was caught in heavy storm.All the sailors prayed for saving their life and seeking for mary’s help .Soon the ship was pushed to the shore of Vailankanni.They all thanked God and the blessed virgin Mary for having saved their lives.So they remodeled the old Church and left some parts of ship in this place on September 8.Still the wrecked ship parts still exists all the tourists can see those things
If you are interested you can check out the rest of the stories in Internet
2.Blessed Mother Mary Helping the shepherd boy
3.Apparition of Mother Mary to the Buttermilk Vendor
Its a great church with a Gothic structure architecture with 24 feet to 12 feet dome .And it has 2 big Church’s and 2 small chapels .The statue which is in the main church was brought to the alter of Our lady holding baby Jesus ,Standing tall on the globe .On 1771 in acquired the first parish priest and velankanni was lifted to the status basilica in 1962 by Pope John XXIII.The celebration starts from the end of August and every September 8 is celebrated as feast of Our Lady of Good Health.The village has some accommodation units and now lots of hotels present there but its not upto the international standard in accommodation and it has a Museum which shows the live witness of the miracles done by Our Lady of velankanni .I used to visit this church once in a year ,really its a powerful shrine !! A must visit destination ..
