Sermons

Annai Velankanni (வேளாங்கண்ணி ) – Our Lady of Good Health

Velankanni is a panchayat town in Nagapattinam district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It lies on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, 350 km south of Chennai (Madras) and 12 km south of Nagapattinam. The town is home to a significant Roman Catholic Latin Rite shrine dedicated to God in the name of Our Lady of Good Health, Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health.

Velankanni is home to one of the country’s biggest Catholic pilgrimage centres. The Catholic Basilica devoted to Our Lady of Good Health is popularly known as the “Lourdes of the East“. The origins of this church can be traced back to the 16th century and its founding is attributed to three miracles: the apparition of Mary and Jesus to a slumbering shepherd boy, the curing of a lame buttermilk vendor, and the survival of Portuguese sailors assaulted by a violent sea storm. It is built in the Gothic style, was modified by Portuguese and then further expanded later on due to the influx of pilgrims. The church building was raised to the status of basilica in 1962 by Pope John XXIII.

Annually, 20 million pilgrims flock to the shrine from all over India and abroad, out which an estimated 3 million people visit the shrine during its annual festival from 29 August to 8 September. The 11-day annual festival concludes with the celebration of the Feast of the Nativity of Mary on 8 September.

Velankanni Live Mass Timings:
05:40 am Morning Prayer (Every Day)
06:00 am Mass in Tamil (Every Day)
07:00 am Mass In Tamil (Monday to Saturday)
08:00 am Mass In Telugu (Every Day)
09:00 am Mass In Malayalam (Every Day)
10:00 am Mass In English (Every Day)
11:00 am Mass In Hindi (Every Day)
12:00 noon Mass In Tamil (Every Day)
03:00 pm – 04:00 pm Prayer (Every Day)
04:00 pm Mass In Tamil (Every Day)
05:00 pm Mass In Tamil (Sunday Only)
06:00 pm Novena Prayer and Mass In Tamil (Every Day)