Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health

Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health
Basilica view, facing the eastern side, Bay of Bengal
10°40′48″N 79°50′59″E / 10.68000°N 79.84972°E / 10.68000; 79.84972Coordinates: 10°40′48″N 79°50′59″E / 10.68000°N 79.84972°E / 10.68000; 79.84972
Location	Velankanni, Tamil Nadu
Country	India
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Website	http://www.vailankannishrine.net/
History
Dedication	Our Lady of Good Health
Consecrated	1962
Architecture
Status	Minor Basilica
Functional status	Active
Architectural type	Gothic

The Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health is located at the small town of Velankanni in the state of Tamil Nadu in southern India. The Roman Catholic Latin Rite Basilica is devoted to Our Lady of Good Health. Devotion to Our Lady of Good Health of Velankanni can be traced to the mid-16th century and is attributed to three miracles at sites around where the Basilica stands: the apparition of Mary and the Christ Child to a slumbering shepherd boy, the curing of a lame buttermilk vendor, and the rescue of Portuguese sailors from a violent sea storm. These accounts are based on oral tradition and there are no written or attested records in support of them. The Holy See has not approved these apparitions.

The chapel was finally built by Portuguese sailors. More than 500 years later, the nine-day festival and celebration is still observed and draws nearly 2 million pilgrims each year. The Shrine of Our Lady of Vailankanni, also known as the "Lourdes of the East," is one of the most-frequented religious sites in India.

There are no historical documents or records about the apparitions of Mary at Vailankanni. Oral tradition is the source for the two apparitions of the Blessed Mother of Vailankanni in the 16th century and the saving of the Portuguese sailors from a tempest in the Bay of Bengal in the later 17th century.

The first apparition is said to have occurred in May 1570, when a local shepherd boy was delivering milk to a nearby house. Along the way he met a beautiful woman holding a child, who asked for some milk for the little one. After giving her the milk, he continued on his way, and upon making the delivery discovered that the jug was now completely full of fresh, cool milk. A small shrine was built near the site where the boy encountered the woman, a location that came to be called Matha Kulam, which means Our Lady’s Pool.