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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.
 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 Vailankanni Beach. People can
have accommodation at Nagapattinam. The unique feature of the church
is its Gothic architecture.
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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