Vailankanni Arokia
Matha
Our Lady of Health
Vailankanni, India
Each September 8, the little town of Vailankanni, Tamil Nadu, India, is swollen with thousands of pilgrims coming to pay their respects in front of the miraculous image of Our Lady of Health Vailankanni, the primary center of Marian devotion in India. Catholics, certainly, but also Hindus, Muslims, Protestants and Parsees flock to the generous lady who they feel showers all, irregardless of their religion, with her blessings. Some come to beg favors; others return with offerings of thanksgiving for graces received.
Little known but accredited apparitions of Mary occurred here in the 16th and 17th centuries, and the shrine has been a place of pilgrimage throughout the centuries since then.
In the 16th century, there was a small pond in Vailankanni with a large banyan tree on its banks. One day in 1560, a young shepherd boy rested under the tree as he was journeying to carry a pot of milk to the home of his master. He was startled by a vision of a beautiful lady holding an even more beautiful child, both surrounded with haloes of light. Awed by the phenomenon, and with childlike innocence, he clasped his hands and bowed his head in reverence to the apparition. The Lady sweetly asked him for some milk for her baby which he joyously gave her, noticing the smiles on the faces of both the mother and child as the child drank. When the apparition faded, the boy raced to the home of his master and breathlessly recounted what had happened, apologizing for the milk that was missing. On opening the pot, it was found to be full, and the master returned with the boy to the pond to prostrate himself at the place where the vision had occurred. Word of the happening spread, and the Christians of the area concluded that it must have been Our Lady who appeared to the young shepherd. They began visiting the pond with faith and reverence, and called the place Matha Kulam, Our Lady’s Pond.
Some years later, near the end of the century, there was a young boy who had been lame from birth living in the area. It was his custom to sit in the low lying limbs of another banyan tree and sell buttermilk to the travelers along the way to help eke out a living for himself and his widowed mother. One day, a beautiful woman appeared and asked for a cup of his buttermilk for the child she carried. The beauty of the pair was so awesome that he gave her a cup at once, which she fed to the child. When the child had slaked his thirst, the mother begged him to cure the lameness of his benefactor. Then she turned back to the boy and asked him to do her a favor, telling him to go to town and tell a certain wealthy man that she wished a chapel built in her honor at this spot. At first the boy protested sadly because of his lameness, but the lady commanded him to get up and walk. Startled, the boy attempted to climb down and realized for the first time what it felt like to walk. Obeying the lady’s wishes, he immediately sought out the gentleman and told his story. The man believed him at once since he had received a dream the night before with the same message. With the assistance of the local Catholics, the man built a small thatched shrine at the place. A beautiful statue of Our Lady holding the child Jesus was set on the altar. News of the miracle spread, and others began to come to ask for favors at the little shrine. So many miracles and favors of healing began to be reported that the people called the lady Vailankanni Arokia Matha, Our Lady of Health.
The image portrays the holy mother standing on a crescent moon and holding the infant Jesus on her left arm and a queenly scepter in her right hand. The figures are dressed in robes of a golden fabric, encrusted with precious gems and are crowned. An aura of twelve stars surrounds the virgin’s head.
In September of 1869, a Portuguese ship sailing to Goa was caught in a massive storm. The sailors begged Our Lady to rescue them, promising to build her a magnificent church if they landed safely. The ship washed to the shore near Valainkanni, and the grateful sailors fell on their knees in thanksgiving. A group of fishermen living nearby realized these were Christians because they prayed on their knees. They guided the sailors to the small chapel of Vailankanni. Her grateful clients replaced the little thatched church with a larger one of brick, moving the miraculous image of Our Lady to the new church. On subsequent voyages, these sailors brought many treasures to enrich it, as well as making improvements to the building with each trip. Some lovely porcelain plates from China are preserved from this time period over the main altar at the shrine today.
In 1962, Pope John XXIII raised the shrine of Vailankanni to the status of a minor basilica, noting that “at the illustrious church of Vailankanni within the limits of the Diocese of Tanjaore the august virgin Mary through her powerful intercession imparts to her clients health and is venerated with deep devotion….This singular zeal for the Marian veneration has been practiced from fairly ancient times.”
Annually, a festival is held from August 29th to September 8th to commemorate the rescue of the Portuguese sailors. Many of the pilgrims enter the shrine walking on their knees or rolling on the ground. Some have their heads shaved and the hair is auctioned by the priest. Those requesting cures offer wax images commemorating their affliction and, if cured, return with silver replicas of the wax images as ex voto offerings.
On behalf of the Indian faithful, a statue of Our Lady of Vailankanni was installed at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC.
Devotion to Our Lady of Vailankanni, the Mother of Health, is, above all, touching. The stories underlying the devotion are tales of simple kindness. The millions who visit the shrine seem borne on a wave of love: they have come to their mother who heals them of their wounds, physical and spiritual. Now the miracles of healing are surely gifts for which we should be thankful. But what moves me and, I suspect, most of the other pilgrims is the maternal presence of Mary that transcends buildings and crowds and even the miraculous spring. This is the presence that draws us there, softening our hearts, purifying our souls and replacing nameless loneliness with unutterable love.
- Roy Abraham Varghese –
Roy Abraham Varghese, the author/editor of eight books on the interaction of science, philosophy and theology, resides in Dallas, Texas.
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