Our Lady of Good Health

Our lady of Good Health, (ஆரோக்கிய மாதா Arokia Matha in Tamil) popularly called "Our Lady of Vailankanni" is artributed to Mary, mother of Jesus, in the small town of Velankanni, Tamil Nadu, India, located on the shores of the Bay of Bengal. A Basilica artributed to both Portuguese and Indians stands in and around the sites of three apparitions. The iconic depiction of Our Lady of Good Health is also unique since it is one of two only icons where Mother Mary is shown wearing a sari (the only other is said to have been buried by Aurangzeb).

The Church is known for thousands of pilgrims from all over India to be assembled for multilingual prayers every Christmas.

Apparitions

Though there is no historical document or record about the apparitions of Mary at Vailankanni, the oral tradition ascertain the two apparitions of the Blessed Mother of Vailankanni in the 16th century and the saving of the Portuguese sailors from a tempest in the Bay of Bengal in the later 17th century.

First Apparition

The first of the apparitions in Vailankanni is claimed to be to a Hindu boy in mid sixteenth century. It is said that while he rested under a native banyan tree near a pond. A lady appeared to him and requested milk for her son. The boy readily agreed. On reaching the...
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