Gear up for the Velankanni Annual Festival

Velankanni Church Fest is a ten-day festival held at the Velankanni Shrine Basilica of Our Lady of Health. Also, the Nagapattinam district management and church heads have heightened preparations for the annual Our Lady of Good Health festival at Velankanni, which will begin with flag hoisting on Thursday.

According to reports, around 20 million pilgrims from India and abroad visit the temple every year. Plus, an estimated 3 million pilgrims visit the temple during the annual festival from August 29 to September 8.

Moreover, this festival has been celebrated grandly since its inception in the sixteenth century. For your information, let us tell you that the Pagans celebrate this festival to thank God as they believe that it brings wealth and good health to their lives.

Why is Velankanni festival celebrated?

Velankanni festival is celebrated every year for about 10 days. This festival celebrated on 8 September is considered auspicious because on this day Portuguese sailors landed in this region for the first time and built the first church.

Velankanni Festival: Feast day

The feast of the Nativity of Mary is celebrated on September 8, which is also celebrated as the feast of Our Lady of Good Health. As mentioned above, the feast begins on August 29 and ends on the feast day itself. Prayers on the feast day are offered in various languages such as:

• Tamil
• Marathi
• East Indian
• Malayalam
• Telugu,
• Kannada
• Konkani
• Hindi
• English.

Why is the flag hoisting ceremony during the Velankanni Church festival?

According to information, the flag is carried in procession on the streets of Velankanni and later hoisted at the temple, marking the beginning of the 11-day celebration.

History

During the sixteenth century, Our Lady appeared with her infant son to a Hindu boy who was carrying milk to a consumer house. As he was resting under a banyan tree near a pond, Our Lady seemed to him and requested for milk for her son and the boy gave her some milk.