church of our lady of velankanni

This time of the year is hot. There won't be any rush and the place is quite neat and you can very well attend all the services at peace.

Our Lady of Velankanni Church is a place of pilgrimage and deep devotion for thousands of faithful. A holy place. A place such as this does not warrant any ratings by ordinary mortals such as me. People are drawn to Velankanni simply by the power of our Lady and nothing else.

Its a pleasant place to meditate in and outside the church and its much better than many years before.Good hotels and restaurents around except for the crowd at peak season,the place is really calm and good.

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,[3] out which an estimated 3 million people visit the shrine during its annual festival from 29 August to 8 September.[2] The 11-day annual festival concludes with the celebration of the Feast of the Nativity of Mary on 8 Septembe

The most famous of all catholic churches in India. The Lady of Velankanni not only gives you Hope, but Success too every time you come back after visiting her.

This place is believed to be the location where Mother Mary appeared.There is a beautiful church.The whole campus is full of churches.Visit this place for a spiritual experience or pilgrimage.

Please avoid going to velankanni on weekends and holidays, since it would be overcrowded then. Many hotels are available but choose the best.

Visited Velankanni for the second time with spouse on 15th January, 2015. Earlier I had visited on 3rd October, 2013 to thank our Lady of Good Health, Velankanni for blessing us with a grandson after 8 years. This time, I visited Velankanni to thank our Mother (popularly known locally as “Arokia Madha”) for granting a good job to my son-in-law at Dubai despite some anxious moments. 15th January to 17th January, 2015 was the local “Pongal” festival, which, we were unaware of, and the entire State was observing 4 days holidays. Resultantly, the place was thronged with people with no accommodation available. I could see a wait list of 650 at around 10 a.m. waiting for accommodation to be provided by the Shrine Room Booking Office located opposite the Bus stand.With great difficulty we could get accommodation in a small lodge called “Hotel Dravidar” on the main road. Surprisingly, the AC room was well maintained by the Hotel with clean bedsheets, 24 hour hot water, inhouse restaurant etc. Even tariff was less than what we expected considering the crowd. It was all because of the blessings of our Lady. We could see a number of people who could not get accommodation or afford one, sleeping in the Basilica campus.Every time we visit the Basilica, we experience the calmness of Her presence. The prayerful atmosphere around made us not only to thank the Lady for the favours received but also pray for all those who could not make it to visit her in person.I was quite moved to read some of the thanksgiving letters with objects made of gold and silver (thalis, pens, houses, pendants, chains and so on) offered by the devotees displayed in the Museum. Most of the letters are in Tamil language but there are some in English and other languages. There is one with a silver face and head of an accident victim who was considered brain dead but recovered with the intervention of the Mother. There is another on a paralysed patient’s recovery. The thanksgivings relate to favours like children, getting a job, health problems, houses, life partner/marriage, education, promotion, retirement and many others.The new church building of “Morning Star” near our Lady’s Tank is now open with masses held there.For eating, there is the Church Canteen frequented by a large number of visitors and other eating houses like Ave Maria, Chandra Hotel, Saravana Veg. Restaurant among others on the main road.

If you are near Velankani or karaikal, you must visit this place. The city is full of church. The church surroundings are very clean and well maintained. We went there on 25th December, and thousands of people went there to see the place. There are many good hotels around the place. So one can make a night stay there. It is worth visiting the place any time.

The church premises and surrounding shrines are spiritually uplifting. I was moved seeing people perform the Stations of the Cross on their knees. Wonderful experience overall.

Tens of thousands of devotees flock to this miraculous shrine every day but there is order within the chaos that is expected. The faith of the public is aptly displayed and a visit will re-energise the calm within everyone used to a hectic life style. A visit is highly recommended, if you are a believer.

Velankanni Church of our Lady has some unknown positive vibes and the church inside makes your mind with full of hope and passion towards your life. If someone in your family with health issues, sure they have lot of soothing and pleasance in their lives. Sure one has to visit for a life time to have the blessings of our Lady of Health( Mother Mary). People have faith and belief that she appeared in this place and thus unique Velankkani

A great basilica to visit. I had the opportunity to join the car procession. It was a very good experience although I feel that the administrator should better manage the crowd like placing barricades etc. many people were pushing their way through the procession. After the procession, there was a healing service in the basilica. It was a great service even though I could not understand much. It was amazing to see so many pilgrimage to honor Our Lady and pray for healing.

the roads are still not made properly, with so many people visiting velankanni i think the roads should be made, because u cannot walk with so many buses going fast in this small roads. the beach is good but not maintained properly i mean the area around it a lot of hawkers crowd the beach. but the churches are well maintained.

Most Holy Church of Our Lady of Velankanni.Area around the church are very shabby and dirty. Business shops and hotels all cheat public who visit the church.Food and shopping at this place is very bad. No hygiene at hotels. Church authorities must come forward and stop these shop venders and street vendors from coning the public.SAD TO SEE HOLY PLACE SO POORLY MAINTAINED.