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Vailankanni Location
"Vailankanni" (Meaning:
Virgin of Velai, the
town), also known as "Velankanni" or "Velanganni",
is a hamlet on the sandy shores of
the Bay of Bengal. It is located 350 kilometers south of Chennai
(previously called Madras the capital of Tamil Nadu, a South Eastern
state of India) and 12 kilometers south of Nagappatinam.
Nagapattinam, a town on the coast of Bay of Bengal, was referred by
early writers and the Portuguese as "the city of Coramandel'
(Imperial Gazetteer of India, XIX, 3). Vellayar river, a minor
branch of the river Cauvery, runs on the south of the village and
flows into the sea.
Readers may be startled to learn that Vailankanni
was once a port and there is evidence to prove this.
Historical notes reveal that people in this area traded
with Rome and Greece, the ancient commercial centers of
the western world. |
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In the course of time, Nagapattinam expanded and this tiny commercial center (Vailankanni)
gradually lost its importance. The canal that had been dug once for navigation
between Nagapattinam and Vedaranyam still lies to the
west of Vailankanni. The site of this important Christian shrine,
Vailankanni was one of the worst hit areas in the Tsunami that followed the Dec
26, 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.
Where To Stay
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The office of the church is situated
exactly opposite to the Vailankanni bus
stand, from where boarding arrangements
can be made. Both rooms and cottages are
available. The church has 1,620 rooms
and 11 halls (50 to 100 people can stay
in each). Tariffs range from Rs 40 to Rs
100 per day.
Apart from that there are about 50 other
hotels, which offer clean but simple
rooms. They are situated in the town
where the tariff ranges from Rs 60 to Rs
500. Both air conditioned or non-air
conditioned
ones are available. Extra payment has to
be made for hot water. At the festival
time people rent out their houses as
well.
To cope with the rush during the
September festival, the church is
building a huge hall on one acre of
land. Fifteen thousand pilgrims will be
able to stay here.
Food is cheap and is available in small
"eating houses" and food stalls on the
main road. There are stalls on either
side from the bus stop to the church.
There are only two STD booths (for
making long distance calls) here. One in
the church compound and the other near
the bus stop. |
Accommodation:
The Shrine Basilica provides cheap
and best accommodation facility. The Shrine 'Rooms Booking Office' renders
excellent service round the clock. The Shrine has 13 lodges housing 933 rooms of
different types. Voluntary Maintenance charges ranging from Rs.20 to 100 per day
(24 hrs.) is collected.
The Shrine has the following lodges
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S. No
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Name of the Quarters.
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Donation
for room maintenance
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1.
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St.Joseph's Quarters (2 beds)
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100
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2.
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St.Joseph's (3 beds)
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150
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3.
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St.Xavier's (2 beds)
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100
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4.
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O.L.H (2 beds)
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100
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5.
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St.John's (2 beds)
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200
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6.
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Magizhchi Madha (2 beds)
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100
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7.
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St.Thomas' (2 beds)
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60
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8.
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St.Thomas' (3 beds)
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100
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9.
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St. Antony's (2 beds)
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60
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10.
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L.F. (2 beds)
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150
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11.
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Infant Jesus' (2 beds)
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100
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12.
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St.Luke's (2 beds)
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100
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13.
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Jubilee
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50
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14.
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C.R. (3 beds)
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150
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15.
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Uthariamatha Hall
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200
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16.
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St.Thomas' Hall
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100
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Canteen
The Shrine canteen caters to the
needs of all standards of people mainly at the reach of the poor & helpless,
with both veg and non-veg food, at moderate prices aiming at no-profit and
no-loss motto to serve the pilgrims. It functions every day from 6.00 a.m. to
10.00 p.m.
Velankanni festival
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Vailankanni festival is celebrated every year
from August 29 to September 8. September 8 is
considered auspicious because it was the day the
Portuguese sailors first landed in these parts
and they built the first actual church.
On August 29 a huge procession of devotees
make their way to the church. The impressive
flag hoisting ceremony marks the beginning of
the festival. This ceremony is attended by the
district collector and other VIPs.
At 8
pm, the chariot procession starts with three
chariots of The Mother, St Michael and St
Joseph. This chariot procession takes place
every day of the festival. On the penultimate
day six chariots join the procession and on the
last day seven.
Mass is usually conducted in Tamil, Malayalam
and English, from 6 am in the morning till
6.30 pm in the evening (rosary and novena
prayers). During the festival days the Mass is also
conducted in English, Konkani, Marathi,
Malayalam and Telugu. |
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On September 7 and 8, the evening prayers are
conducted by the Bishops of Thanjavur. Cultural
programmes are also conducted for the pilgrims.
The festival ends with the lowering of the flag
on the September 8 at 6 pm.
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Throughout the year a
chariot procession takes place every
Saturday. The chariot procession is also
conducted on special occasions such as
Independence Day. The procession involves a
candle-lit parade, with hymns.
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On the first Friday of
every month, a procession is conducted
around the shrine at 6.45 pm. This is
followed by benediction from the front
balcony of the extension of the basilica.
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On the first Saturday
of the month, after the chariot procession,
the blessed sacrament is displayed for
worship. A layman, from Chennai, comes
specially to grace this occasion. People who
are sick attend this ceremony in large
numbers. The layman divides the crowd into
groups according to their illness. Each
group is separately blessed with the holy
sacrament. This is followed by a special
mass from 9 pm to midnight
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Demographics
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As per the 2001 India census,
Velankanni had a population of 10,144. Males
constitute 48% of the population and females
52%. Velankanni has an average literacy rate of
69%, higher than the national average of 59.5%:
male literacy is 75%, and female literacy is
64%. In Velankanni, 12% of the population is
under 6 years of age. |
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Christianity in India
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Indian
Christians claim an ancient heritage. According to tradition, the
Apostle Thomas landed on the Malabar coast of southwest India in A.D. 52
(now Kerala). He healed the sick
and demon-possessed, converted people from
various castes, and finally died in Mylapore
(now within the huge city of Madras, recently
renamed Chennai) at the hands of hostile
Brahmans. The second-century
Acts of Thomas
relates that Thomas encountered an Indian
official named Abban in Jerusalem, who invited
him to come to India to build a palace for King
Gundaphorus. Thomas agreed to go with Abban, and
the king eventually became a believer. Indian
Christians still make pilgrimages to shrines
that remember Thomas.
Tamil Nadu is
the supposed burial place of the Apostle Thomas and is
associated with a number of famous Christian leaders
including the Irish missionary Amy Carmichael, the
historian Stephen Neill, the theologian Lesslie Newbigin,
and the popular apologist Ravi Zacharias. |
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