Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health

Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health
Shrine Basilica Vailankanni
Night view of the basilica facade, facing the eastern side, Bay of Bengal
Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health
10°40′48″N 79°50′59″E / 10.68000°N 79.84972°E / 10.68000; 79.84972
Location	Velankanni, Tamil Nadu
Country	India
Denomination	Catholic Church in India
Website	http://vailankannishrine.net/
History
Status	Minor basilica
Dedication	Our Lady of Good Health
Consecrated	1962
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architectural type	Gothic
Administration
Diocese	Tanjore (Thanjavur)
Clergy
Archbishop	Antony Anandarayar
Bishop(s)	Devadass Ambrose Mariadoss
Rector	A.M.A. Prabakar
Priest(s)	Arputharaj S, Vice-Rector and parish priest

The Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health, also known as Sanctuary of Our Lady of Velankanni, is a Christian shrine located at the town of Velankanni, Tamil Nadu, India. The shrine is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The devotion has existed since the mid-sixteenth century, and is attributed to three separate miracles believed by devotees to have been worked at the site: the apparition of the Madonna and Child to a slumbering shepherd boy, the healing of a handicapped buttermilk vendor and the rescue of Portuguese sailors from a deadly sea storm.

Initially, a modest chapel was built by the Portuguese in Goa and Bombay, soon after they washed ashore safely in spite of a severe tempest. An annual novena is celebrated and draws nearly 5 million pilgrims each year.

Pope John XXIII raised the Marian shrine to the status of a minor basilica via the pontifical decree Salutem Supplicibus Dilargiens, signed and notarised on 3 November 1962. He called the shrine "The Lourdes of the East" due to the massive influx of pilgrims.