The Vast Shrine of Vailankanni (I)

The shrine of Vailankanni, in the state of Tamil Nadu, India, is now perhaps the most frequented shrine in the world today. The renown of Our Lady of Good Health is based on three events which all took place in the sixteenth century. The first event was an apparition of Our Lady holding a lovely child in her arms. The day was an extremely hot one. A shepherd boy was carrying milk to his master's house in Nagapattinam-a town near Vailankanni. He passed by a pond by the side of a road called Anna Pillai and there was seized by fatigue. Placing the pot of milk near a huge banyan tree by the pond, the boy sat down to rest a while. At that very moment, he was startled by a bright vision of a beautiful lady standing before him, holding a child of charming appearance in her arms. Both wore haloes around their heads. The boy was spellbound by her celestial beauty. The Lady asked him to give her some milk for her child. The boy joyfully gave her some milk. The smile of satisfaction from the baby's face was the only message. The boy reported his reason for delay and begged his master to excuse him for the shortage of milk in the pot. However when the shepherd boy lifted the lid of the milk pot, it was full to the brim and milk was overflowing from the pot. They hastened to the site of the apparition where the gentleman prostrated himself on the ground in awe, and others also began to believe in the Heavenly Lady. From that day on the pond came to be known as Our Lady's Pond (Matha Kulam).