Three stories of a shrine

The devotion at Velankanni grew out of three stories told along this coast from the 16th century. In one, Mary and the Child appeared to a shepherd boy carrying milk, near the pond now called Matha Kulam. In another, a lame boy selling buttermilk was healed and asked to have a chapel built. In the third, Portuguese sailors caught in a storm in the Bay of Bengal prayed to Mary as Star of the Sea, came safely ashore at Velankanni and rebuilt the little chapel in thanks.

From chapel to basilica

The thatched chapel became a parish church in 1771 and kept growing with its pilgrims. In 1962 Pope John XXIII raised it to a minor basilica. Its white facade with tall Gothic-style towers stands a short walk from the beach, and the complex now includes the old shrine, a Morning Star church, a museum of offerings and a long path that devotees walk on their knees.

A shrine for everyone

Pilgrims of every faith come to Velankanni: Catholics from across India, and many Hindus who tonsure their heads, light candles or leave wax models of a healed arm or house. The busiest time is the feast from 29 August to 8 September, the feast of the Nativity of Mary, when flags are raised and processions fill the streets.