Vailankanni Church

The Vailankanni Church is dedicated to Mother Mary and is one of the important Christian shrines in India. It is also referred to as the 'Lourdes of the East'. Lourdes, one of most important shrines of Mother Mary in the world, is in France.

The history of the Vailankanni can be traced back to the end of the 16th century AD. The very first text written in reference of the place Vailankanni is the letter by Fr. Paulo da Trnidade to his senior in the year 1630 AD. The original chapel was called as 'Emida', which in Portuguese means 'sub station' or a 'place of pilgrimage'.

There is a popular legend that in the 17th century AD some Portuguese sailors got caught in troubled waters in the Bay of Bengal. They prayed to Mother Vailankinni, 'Our Lady of Health' for help and were miraculously brought back safely to the shores. The sailors constructed a church to show their gratitude to the Mother. The present structure was constructed later on the same place.

There is another story that once a young boy visited village households every morning to supply milk. Once early in the morning he saw Mother Mary as an ordinary peasant woman on the wayside, embracing little Jesus. She stopped him and begged for milk for her baby. The boy obliged her but feared of being scolded by his masters, as there wasn't enough milk left for the households. When he took off the cover to pour the milk, he was amazed to see the pail was full again. The boy then decided to built a church at the very place where he met Mother Mary. Thus the church was constructed at the boy's initiative and was only a hut at that time. The origin of this story goes back to the 16th century AD.

Vailankanni was made a parish in 1771 AD. The shrine was given the special status of a Minor Basilica in 1962 by Pope John 23rd, the head of the Roman Catholic Church.

The present structure of the church has retained several classical and gothic architectural elements even after several extensions and renovations. The dome of the church is 93 feet high and the Gothic spiral tower is 82 feet high. These are the two dominating features of the church of Vailankanni and can be seen from far off distance. Father Sebastiao Xavier de Noronha, a foreign missionary was instrumental in giving the church its present structure.

The Annual Feast Day on the 8th of September is celebrated as the birth of Mother Mary. The flag-hoisting ceremony on August 29th marks the beginning of the feast celebrations and prayers. During feast days the flag of Mother Mary is hoisted at noon and the car procession bearing the statue of Mother Mary takes place at 8.00 p.m. The month of May is also special, because it is dedicated to Mother Mary.