The Vast Shrine of Vailankanni (II)

Some years later, towards the end of the sixteenth century, a poor woman and her son who was lame from birth lived in Vailankanni. Every day, the lame boy would sit under a banyan tree at the place called Mount Central (Thittu Nadu), selling buttermilk to thirsty wayfarers. One day, to his surprise, he saw a lady of peerless beauty, holding in her arms a still more beautiful child, both attired in spotless garments. Smiling sweetly, she asked the boy for a cup of buttermilk for her baby. The Lady also asked him to go to Nagapattinam and inform a Catholic gentleman that she desired to have a chapel built in her name at Vailankanni. Then she graciously bade him to stand up and he realized he was no longer lame. On this the boy jumped up with joy, and ran to Nagapattinam to convey the message. There he met the Catholic gentleman and delivered the Lady's message. The gentleman had no difficulty in believing him because he had had a similar vision of Our Lady in his sleep the previous night. With the willing cooperation of the locals a chapel was built on Mount Central, where the Basilica can be seen standing today. The Lady is called Our Lady of Health Vailankanni. The third major event also took place in the sixteenth century. A merchant vessel sailing from Macao to Colombo was caught in a terrible storm in the Bay of Bengal. The helpless sailors instinctively threw themselves on their knees and besought Mary, Star of the Sea, to save them. They vowed to build a church in her name wherever they could land safely on shore. Instantly, the sea became calm and the waves fell. Their tattered ship was safely pushed to the shore of Vailankanni, on September 8, the feast of the Nativity of Our Lady. The crew who had survived the storm soon transformed the thatch chapel of Nagapattinam into a beautiful brick and mortar chapel. On their subsequent voyages, they decorated the altar with rich and rare porcelain tiles illustrating scenes from the Bible. These tiles showing their gratitude to Our Lady still surround the throne of the miraculous statue of Our Lady of Health of the main altar of the Basilica. The feast of Our Lady of Health is celebrated on August 29 every year. The celebrations begin with hoisting the flag. Over this 10-day period of festivities, about 15 to 20 million people come on pilgrimage to the shrine.