Easter in Walsingham

As a special way of celebrating Easter this year we decided to visit the Roman Catholic National Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. We had been meaning to make a visit there for some time, and since my father-in-law was unwell after suffering a stroke we decided the time was right for the trip. So we headed to the small village on the north coast of East Anglia on Saturday 30 March, stopping at the capital city of Norfolk, Norwich, for the night.

Walsingham countryside

The Roman Catholic shrine is set in a peaceful country setting; as we walked down the narrow road that led to it, we passed many fields wherein sheep grazed and bleated. It was a cold day, and we had to walk a mile from the High Street. We offered our labour as kind of penance like pilgrims did in medieval times.

We went straight to the Chapel of Reconciliation where we celebrated mass with other worshippers, many of whom had obviously travelled far. There were many people of Sri Lankan Tamil and Filipino descent. The readings, the songs, the priest’s sermon and of course the location all combined to make the mass a fitting celebration of Easter. I had an overwhelming feeling of holiness, peace and community in that chapel.

Chapel of Reconcilation

After mass, we had lunch in the tea room. Then we visited the gift shop, the Slipper Chapel and the Chapel of the Holy Spirit before making our way back to our car and starting our long journey back home. We thoroughly enjoyed the trip to England’s national Catholic shrine, which was once known as ‘England’s Nazareth’. As a Catholic it is heartening to see that Walsingham is once again seeing something of a revival despite its tumultuous past.

History of the Shrine

Richeldis de Faverches

The Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham was established in 1061, when according to tradition Richeldis de Faverches prayed that she might undertake some special work in honour of Our Lady. In answer to her prayer the Virgin Mary led her in spirit to Nazareth, showed her the house where the Annunciation occurred and asked her to build a replica in Walsingham to serve as a perpetual memorial of the Annunciation.

The Holy House was built in Walsingham and around 1130 a community of Augustinian Canons took charge of the foundation and Walsingham became one of the notable Shrines in medieval Europe. All the kings of England from Henry III (1226) to Henry VIII (1511) came to Walsingham on pilgrimage. In 1538 the Reformation caused the Priory property to be handed over to the King’s Commissioners and the famous statue of Our Lady of Walsingham was taken to London and burnt. Nothing remains today of the original shrine, but its site is marked on the lawn in “The Abbey Grounds” in the village.

Our Lady of Walsingham

After the destruction of the Shrine, Walsingham ceased to be a place of pilgrimage. In 1896 Charlotte Pearson Boyd purchased the Slipper Chapel outside the village and it was restored for Catholic use. A Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham was built in the Church of the Annunciation in King’s Lynn and from there the first public pilgrimage to Walsingham, since the Reformation, came on 20th August 1897. In 1922 a new vicar, the Rev. Alfred Hope Pattern established a Shrine in the Parish Church of St. Mary. This was transferred to the newly built Anglican Shrine in 1931.

In 1934 Cardinal Bourne led a pilgrimage on 10,000 and declared that the National Shrine of Our Lady was to be at the Slipper Chapel. Since the 1950’s the Shrine of Our Lady has developed constantly and it has become firmly re-established as a place of pilgrimage and worship. Today over 250,000 people (pilgrims and tourists) visit the Roman Catholic Shrine each year. On most summer weekends there are Diocesan or other organisations’ pilgrimages taking place.

Slipper Chapel

Slipper Chapel

In the Middle Ages Walsingham was one of the four great shrines of Christendom with pilgrims coming from all parts of the known world. There were wayside chapels along the pilgrim route and the Slipper Chapel was the last and most important of these. Pilgrims stopped here to go to mass and to confess their sins before walking the last mile to the Holy House in Walsingham. The name of the chapel may come from the fact that pilgrims removed their shoes to walk the last mile or it may come from the word “slype” meaning a way through or “something in between”, the slype or slip chapel standing as it did between the holy land of Walsingham and the rest of England.

A trip to Vailankanni

Vailankanni is the place where the Virgin Mary is believed to have appeared to two poor Indian children over 400 years ago. It is situated on the south eastern coast of India in the state of Tamil Nadu. So popular has this shrine become today that it is known by many as the “Lourdes of the East”. Every year it attracts millions of pilgrims. They come from near and far and from all different walks of life - rich, poor, able and disabled - and from different castes, creeds and religions. This is remarkable in a country where only a small fraction of the population is Christian.

Statue of Our Lady of Vailankanni at Matha Kulam

I had visited Vailankanni before as a young teenager, but I did not enjoy that trip. I was sick at the time and I had little knowledge of Our Lady’s apparitions in Vailankanni.  However, in recent years, having learnt more about the events associated with Our Lady of Vailankanni, I decided to make another trip there with my wife and daughter on our next visit to India. How would it compare to other more famous Marian shrines like Fatima and Lourdes?

Just as in Fatima and Lourdes, Mary appeared to two poor young children, bereft of great talents and well acquainted with suffering. These were the chosen instruments by which God decided to act. Initially only a small thatched chapel stood at the site of Mary’s second apparition. Then with the arrival of shipwrecked Portuguese sailors - fervent believers in Mary – the thatched chapel was replaced by a modest brick chapel. In the twentieth century the chapel was extended further, and in 1962 it was finally raised to the exalted status of a Minor Basilica by Pope John XXIII. Thus the shrine gained implicit approval from the Church for the apparitions of the Virgin Mary.

Matha Kulam

Our Lady's Tank Church

It was a long overnight journey by bus across the breadth of Southern India to Vailankanni from Kerala. We arrived at 5.30am on the first Saturday of August. After checking into our hotel, where we rested for a while and breakfasted, we started our tour of the shrine. It was a warm sunny morning. We walked along a narrow road to Matha Kulam (“Our Lady’s Tank”) where Mary first appeared. I saw small houses and nondescript buildings, and we passed some untethered goats along our way. One could sense that poverty was still a reality of the area alongside the hotels, restaurants and shops.

At Matha Kulam there was a small church, known as Our Lady’s Tank Church, built over the site of the first apparition to a shepherd boy. Once there had been a pool here, and the water drawn from this place is still believed to the source of many miraculous cures. There was a store where people could buy holy water, holy oil and candles. I could see there was a lot of demand for these things.

Holy Path & pilgrims

The Holy Path with some pilgrims crawling on their knees

As we walked down the Holy Path that led to the basilica, I saw some pilgrims crawling on their knees in the sand. This act of penance I have also seen in Fatima. Some pilgrims had tonsured their heads as another act of penance. Alongside the path were depictions of the Stations of the Cross.

There were a good number of pilgrims. The Malayalam mass was just finishing when we arrived at the basilica and a great number of people came out. We attended the English mass at 10am. It was nice to finally sit inside the church, partake in the mass and receive the Holy Eucharist. That day was the feast of St John Vianney and the priest paid special homage to him in his sermon.

Basilica

Front of basilica

The basilica is a lovely white building built in Gothic style. It has high domes and contrasting red tiles on the roof. The basilica complex doesn’t contain just one church but different ones within it, having been extended at various times. In the brilliant sunshine the basilica looked a magnificent site.

After mass, I went to the Shrine Depot near the front of the basilica. There one can buy all sorts of religious souvenirs and paraphernalia. I also made a visit to the Museum of Offerings. Here are exhibited various items people have sent as offerings to Our Lady of Vailankanni. With these items were letters written in their native languages expressing gratitude for the help they believed they received through the intercession of Our Lady of Vailankanni. Some offerings, including golden jewellery, looked very expensive.

By this time, Anya and Nithya were tired. With the hot sun beaming down on us and our faces dripping in sweat, we decided to return to our hotel for some rest and lunch. Later on, while Anya and Nithya were asleep, I went out again on my own to Matha Kulam. There I sat in the church and prayed.

Car procession

A statue of Mary and Infant Jesus being carried

In the evening I joined the car procession with other pilgrims. This involved a statue of Our Lady and Infant Jesus being carried from the basilica to the seafront and back while prayers were recited. The proximity of the basilica to the sea became evident for me. How the building avoided major damage when the tsunami struck in 2004 seemed almost miraculous.  The car procession was followed by the Blessing of the Sick, Benediction and mass in Tamil. After visiting the old church and the Adoration & Reconciliation Chapel, we finally returned to our hotel. The next morning, at 7.30am, we were on the bus again back to Kerala.

Final thoughts

I enjoyed my visit to Vailankanni. I had set out to visit the sprawling basilica, pray, experience the atmosphere and reflect on my life and God. For those reasons my trip was accomplished. I found the experience spiritually refreshing and I will cherish it for a long time. To be honest, Vailankanni is not everyone’s cup of tea. The heat, sand and crowd can be uncomfortable; the water has been known to cause stomach upsets; but if one is careful and has a genuine interest all these things are not insurmountable.

What Vailankanni demonstrated to me was the great love people had for Mary, seeking the divine consolation only she diffuses, and their desire to pay respect to the Queen of Heaven who decided to set her feet upon its soil in the sixteenth century. If it wasn’t for her apparitions there, Vailankanni will probably still be an obscure remote seaside town in Southern India. Indeed, just as in Fatima and Lourdes, Vailankanni has been transformed over the years into a major pilgrimage destination. Despite the very real challenges the Church in India today faces, this shows how vibrant it is.

The Miracle of the Sun in Fatima: symbolic of future nuclear destruction?

13 October 2011 marked the 94th anniversary of the great Miracle of the Sun in Fatima, Portugal. Much has been written and discussed about this event, which continues to evoke much interest and curiosity. It occurred at a time when anti-clerical forces in Europe were in the ascendancy. In Portugal, Freemasons dominated the new republican government and in Russia the Bolsheviks were on the verge of seizing power in a bloody revolution. The Church was being assailed from all sides.

Yet Our Lady intervened to try and bring people back to God, and the miracle she gave us is redolent with symbolism. Not only did it demonstrate the power of God, it was probably a warning of what may lie ahead if man continues in his present ways. Why did the miracle involve the sun? In the Old Testament, Elijah asked God to send fire from heaven. It was to demonstrate to the people of Israel who was the true god, and it had the effect of turning the people away from apostasy which they had fallen into.

Could the sun also symbolise a coming catastrophe created by man himself? Pope Benedict XVI has said, "man himself, with his inventions, has forged the flaming sword," referring to nuclear weapons. Since the miracle in Fatima was both dramatic and frightening by all eyewitness accounts, could it symbolise a possible nuclear catastrophe? It seems a distinct possibility because a nuclear bomb replicates what the sun does through nuclear fusion. Therefore the miracle should be seen in apocalyptic terms.

I believe the apparitions in Fatima are related to those in Akita, Japan. In Akita, Our Lady said to Sister Agnes Katsuko Sasagawa: "Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither priests nor faithful. The survivors will find themselves so desolate that they will envy the dead." Again the imagery of these words seem to capture a nuclear explosion.

John Haffert in his book "Now, The Woman Shall Conquer" (1997) describes the significance of the miracle in Fatima very well:

"It had been raining heavily before the moment of the miracle. The great hollow of Fatima was a sea of water and mud. But immediately after the miracle (which lasted about 12 minutes) the sea of water and mud had vanished. It was like the miracle of the Red Sea.

The sun itself crashed down upon the earth. It was seen in a radius of 32 miles! It was like the miracle of the sun in the time of Joshua, when the fire of the sun appeared to act independently of the sun itself.

It was also like the miracle of Elias, who called fire from the sky so that all would believe that "God is God!"...and the fire consumed, not only the sacrifice offered by the prophet, but the water in the trench around it. Therefore this miracle of Fatima had the elments of the three greatest miracles of the Old Testament. What is more, NEVER BEFORE in history had God, "so that all may believe," performed a miracle at a PREDICTED TIME AND PLACE!

Perhaps the main reason why we feel compelled to look to Fatima as a mystical throne of the Queen of the World is because of the Miracle of the Sun. This unprecedented miracle recalls the description of Our Lady in the Apocalypse. Moreover, the essential power of the sun is atomic power, and the very "annihilation of nations" which Our Lady foretold in Her Fatima apparitions now threatens the world through nuclear weapons. Yet in demonstrating such power, in making such awesome prophecies at Fatima, our Queen could promise "an era of peace to mankind."

As Our Lady said in Fatima and Akita, the best defence we have from these dire prophecies is the Rosary.

Our Lady of Siluva

During the Reformation, a painting of the Virgin and Child, placed in the first chapel to be built in the Lithuanian town of Siluva in 1457, came under threat when local Calvinist authorities ordered the confiscation of all church property.

The parish priest had other ideas! He believed that Calvinism would be short-lived, so in 1532, he decided to protect their church’s possession and to wait things out. Helped by a parishioner, he hid the title deeds to the chapel site, the vestments, sacred vessels and painting of Our Lady within an iron-bound wooden box, which they buried near a large rock, planning to recover the precious items as soon as it was safe. Calvinism, however, proved to be of longer duration than the priest had anticipated. He died without having a chance to retrieve the precious articles. Eventually only his helper, blind and almost one hundred years old, remembered the little church’s existence.

Apparitions

One day in 1608, in the fields close to Siluva, small children played as their sheep grazed. Suddenly they heard crying. Looking towards a large rock, they saw a strange light surrounding a beautiful young woman and her baby. She sobbed brokenheartedly. As the puzzled children stared, the pair disappeared. The youngsters rushed home to tell the town’s Calvinist pastor and their families what had happened. The pastor accused them of lying, but the children’s parents and neighbours were unsure. They needed to investigate further.

Next morning, the townsfolk gathered around the rock where the children had seen the young woman. There was nothing there...except for one angry pastor. Accusing them of “Romish superstition” and of “following Satanic influences,” he scolded his parishioners – and then stopped in amazement. There, on the rock, just as the children had described, was the young woman with the baby.

The pastor spoke first. “Why are you crying?” he asked. “There was a time when my beloved son was worshipped by my people on this very spot. But now they have given this sacred soil over to the ploughman and the tiller and to the animals for grazing,” she replied, and vanished.

The townspeople decided that the woman and child were Mary and the infant Jesus, coming to recall them to their earlier faith. The site of the apparitions soon became a place of pilgrimage from across Eastern Europe, eventually requiring successively larger churches to accommodate the pilgrims. It is recorded that on the feast of Our Lady’s Birthday, 8 September 1618, more than 11,000 people received Holy Communion.

Rumours of the apparitions eventually reached the blind old man, who asked to be taken to the site. Immediately when he reached the rock his sight returned. He told his story to the amazed townsfolk. No longer blind, he pointed to where he and the priest had buried the wooden chest. The villagers dug and there it was, unharmed, with its contents intact, including the large paining of Our Lady and the Child.

Suppression and revival

In 1795, Russian forces occupied Lithuania and suppressed both religious freedom and the Lithuanian language. Restrictions were relaxed only after an uprising in 1904. Pilgrimages to Siluva resumed in 1905, and during that first year of freedom more than 30,000 people visited the shrine.

During the Communist era, pilgrimages were suppressed and the press forbidden to mention Siluva. Armed police blocked and patrolled the approach roads, banning cars within a radius of four miles of the shrine. The KGB followed vehicles travelling towards the town, fining or arresting their drivers and passengers. Pilgrims risked severe penalties. A Soviet monument replaced the statue of Our Lady in the town centre...and still the people kept coming.

On 8 September 1991, Lithuania was entrusted to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The Act of Entrustment is preserved at the shrine of Our Lady of Siluva, where on 7 September 1993, during his own pilgrimage, Pope John Paul II prayed.

Trip to Portugal

It was with some excitement that I travelled to Portugal in south western Europe with my wife and daughter last week. Our main purpose was to visit the famous Marian shrine of Fatima where, in 1917, the Virgin Mary appeared to three Portuguese shepherd children and up to 70,000 people witnessed the famous Miracle of the Sun. After landing in Lisbon we travelled by bus to Fatima, about 110km north of Lisbon.

The Basilica of Our Lady of Fatima was a beautiful neoclassical building with a tall spire, on top of which stood a golden crown and a cross. The crown of course symbolised the building’s Marian connection. On one side, in front of the basilica, was an open-air chapel called the Chapel of Apparitions, built on the site where the apparitions took place. A statue of the Virgin Mary, enclosed in a glass case, marked the exact spot where she appeared. There was a unique sense of peace and calm here. One could easily spend a long time sitting on one of the wooden benches quietly praying and meditating.

We attended the International Rosary and International Mass, much of which was said in Portuguese. Nevertheless, we were happy to join in these special celebrations that take place on the 13th day of every month. There must have been a few hundred people for the Rosary and even more for the mass. The mass was celebrated in the new Church of the Most Holy Trinity, a rather plain looking building with an enormous seating capacity of around 9,000. The majority of pilgrims seemed to be Portuguese.

In the heat of an afternoon sun, we walked the Stations of the Cross just outside Fatima. This took us to the village of Valinhos where the Angel of Peace appeared to the children and prepared them for their meeting with Mary. This place was quite wild, covered mainly by shrubs and trees. Then we walked into the small village of Aljustrel where the children lived. The children’s homes had been carefully preserved over the years, and we were struck by how small and simple they were. That three peasant children, from such an isolated and humble setting, could be chosen by God for His divine purpose demonstrated to us how very often the values of heaven are contrary to those on earth.

From Fatima we headed south, past some of Portugal’s renowned vineyards, to the bustling city of Santarem. From the main bus station, we cut across the gardens and walked along narrow cobbled roads to the Church of the Holy Miracle (Igreja do Santissimo Milagre), home to a 13th century eucharistic miracle. An elderly guide in the church took us behind the altar to view the blessed sacrament, carefully preserved since the 13th century. The story surrounding this miracle involving a spurned wife, an unfaithful husband and a Jewish sorceress is quite an interesting one. I had some questions to ask, but unfortunately our church guide knew little English; so I was unable to get the answers that I sought. Nevertheless I took comfort in the knowledge that I visited this famous pilgrimage site which St Francis Xavier also visited before he left for India.

Finally we toured Lisbon, Portugal’s capital city. Although not as big as London or Paris, we felt the lifestyles of people here were not much different to those in other Western European capitals. This was a totally different world from the little village of Aljustrel. Situated on hilly terrain, Lisbon has many tall coloured buildings, tree-lined streets, mosaic pavements, smart cafes, and bright yellow trams. A half day guided tour took us to the main attractions in the city including Belem Tower, Jeronimos Manastery, Monument to the Discoveries, the Coaches Musuem and Alfama. In the Jeronimos Manastery we saw the final resting place of Vasco da Gama, the famous Portuguese explorer, who in 1498 landed in Kappad near Calicut, India. We also visited St Anthony’s Church, built on the birthplace of the great saint, as well as Lisbon Cathedral.

We enjoyed our short visit to Portugal and in particular Fatima. Unlike that other famous Marian shrine, Lourdes, Fatima is not as commercialised. Here one does not feel overwhelmed by a multitude of shops, restaurants, cafés and hotels. The setting is actually quite prayerful. We were glad to partake in the celebrations as well as spend time quietly praying. I got the impression that the events in Fatima in 1917 had made a deep impact in the country, and because of that there was still some respect for religion in this overwhelmingly Catholic European nation.

Although relatively small, Portugal is a charming country where there is much to see and do. There is variation from north to south, the north being more green, hilly and industrious. The weather during our tour was gloriously sunny, sometimes a bit too sunny for our liking. We enjoyed tasting Portuguese food including a common type of egg pastry called pastel de Belém. We found the Portuguese people fairly mellow and well mannered; some were quite friendly. Unfortunately very few of them knew English, and as we knew little Portuguese, communication was sometimes a bit tricky. Fortunately everything went smoothly and we had no major problems.

Ultimately it was the message of Fatima that brought us to Portugal, a message that continues to spread around the world. I believe the purpose of the apparitions there was to help people grow more in faith, hope and love. And what better way to do this than imitate the Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ?

Our Lady of Akita's dire warning

The epicentre of the earthquake that hit Japan on 11 March is less than 90 miles away from Akita, where Our Lady is purported to have appeared to a Japanese religious sister, Sr Agnes Sasagawa, in 1973. In these apparitions, which received approval from the Catholic Church after many years of investigation, the Virgin Mary foretold a number of future events, including natural disasters even more severe than the latest one, if people do not repent and turn back to God. As Japanese authorities try desperately to avert a catastrophe at a nuclear power plant that was badly damaged by the earthquake and tsunami, I’ve been reviewing Our Lady’s messages to Sr Agnes.

Sr Agnes lost her hearing when she was working as a catechist in the church of Myoko-kogen. Doctors declared her condition as total deafness and incurable. Documents were issued for this reason permitting her state subsidy. Unable to continue working as a catechist, she joined the religious life at the Institute of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist in Akita. It is here she received the stigmata and three messages from the Virgin Mary.


First message

The first message was given on the morning of 6 July 1973 while Sr Agnes was praying in the chapel. She heard a beautiful voice coming from a statue of the Virgin Mary, carved from a single block of wood from a Katsura tree. This was the message Sr Agnes received:

“My daughter, my novice, you have obeyed me well in abandoning all to follow me. Is the infirmity of your ears painful? Your deafness will be healed, be sure. Does the wound of your hand cause you to suffer? Pray in reparation for the sins of men. Each person in this community is my irreplaceable daughter. Do you say well the prayer of the Handmaids of the Eucharist? Then, let us pray it together.”

“Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, truly present in Holy Eucharist, I consecrate my body and soul to be entirely one with Your Heart, being sacrificed at every instant on all the altars of the world and giving praise to the Father pleading for the coming of His Kingdom.”

“Please receive this humble offering of myself. Use me as You will for the glory of the Father and the salvation of souls.”

“Most holy Mother of God, never let me be separated from Your Divine Son. Please defend and protect me as Your Special Child. Amen.”

When the prayer was finished, the heavenly voice said:

“Pray very much for the pope, bishops, and priests. Since your baptism you have always prayed faithfully for them. Continue to pray very much... very much. Tell your superior all that passed today and obey him in everything that he will tell you. Your superior is wholeheartedly seeking prayers now.”

Second message

The second message, like the first message, was given by the heavenly voice coming from the statue on 3 August 1973. This is the second message:

“My daughter, my novice, do you love the Lord? If you love the Lord, listen to what I have to say to you.”

“It is very important...You will convey it to your superior.”

“Many men in this world afflict the Lord. I desire souls to console Him to soften the anger of the Heavenly Father. I wish, with my Son, for souls who will repair by their suffering and their poverty for the sinners and ingrates.”

“In order that the world might know the wrath of the Heavenly Father towards today’s world, He is preparing to inflict a great chastisement on all mankind. With my Son, many times I have tried to appease the wrath of the Heavenly Father. I have prevented the coming of the chastisement by offering Him the sufferings of His Son on the Cross, His Precious Blood, and the compassionate souls who console the Heavenly Father…a cohort of victim souls overflowing with love.”

“Prayer, penance and courageous sacrifices can soften the Father's anger. I desire this also from your community: please make much of poverty, deepen repentance, and pray amid your poverty in reparation for the ingratitude and insults toward the Lord by so many men. Recite the prayer of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist with awareness of its meaning; put it into practice; offer your life to God in reparation for sins. Let each one endeavour, by making much of one's ability and position, to offer oneself entirely to the Lord.”

“Even in a secular institute prayer is necessary. Already souls who wish to pray are on the way to being gathered together. Without attaching to much attention to the form, be faithful and fervent in prayer to console the Master.”

After a moment, the voice continued:

“Is what you think in your heart true? Are you truly prepared to become the rejected stone: My novice, you who wish to become the pure bride of the Lord. In order that you, the bride, become the spouse worthy of the Holy Bridegroom, make your vows with the hearty readiness to be fastened to the Cross with three nails. These three nails are honest poverty, chastity and obedience. Of the three obedience is the foundation. With total obedience follow your superior. Your superior will understand you well and guide you.”

Third message

The third and last message was also given by the voice coming from the statue on 13 October 1973. This is the third message:

“My dear daughter, listen well to what I have to say to you. And relay my messages to your superior.”

“As I told you, if men do not repent and better themselves, the Heavenly Father will inflict a great punishment on all humanity. It will definitely be a punishment greater than the Deluge, such as has never been seen before.”

“Fire will plunge from the sky and a large part of humanity will perish... The good as well as the bad will perish, sparing neither priests nor the faithful. The survivors will find themselves plunged into such terrible hardships that they will envy the dead. The only arms which will remain for you will be the Rosary and the sign left by My Son (Eucharist).”

“Each day recite the prayers of the Rosary. With the Rosary pray for the bishops and priests. The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church. One will see cardinals opposing other cardinals... and bishops confronting other bishops.”

“The priests who venerate me will be scorned and condemned by their confreres; churches and altars will be sacked; the Church will be full of those who accept compromises and the demon will tempt many priests and religious to leave the service of the Lord.”

“The demon is trying hard to influence souls consecrated to God. The thought of the perdition of so many souls is the cause of My sadness. If sins continue to be committed further, there will no longer be pardon for them.”

“With courage, convey these messages to your superior. He will tell each one of you to continue prayers and acts of reparations for sins steadfastly, while ordering all of you to pray fervently. Pray very much the prayers of the Rosary. I alone am able still to help you from the calamities which approach. Those who place their total confidence in Me will be given necessary help.”

Other extraordinary events

Nearly two years later, on 4 January 1975, the statue of the Virgin Mary began to weep. This happened 101 times until 15 September 1981, the Feast of Our Lady of the Seven Dolours. There were hundreds of eyewitnesses including Bishop John Shojiro. Scientific examination of the liquid from the statue proved that they were human tears. Other events related to the statue included the flowing of blood from the right hand and a sweet smelling perspiration which was so abundant that it had to be wiped away.

Sr Agnes was cured of her deafness during mass on the Feast of Pentecost on 30 May 1982. Doctors who had examined her nine years previously, when she became deaf, were completely amazed. There was no natural explanation although this was in keeping with Our Lady’s promise in her first message to Sr Agnes.


Chastisement

It is plainly clear from the messages given by Our Lady in Akita that we can expect to see corruption and disunity in the Church as well as further natural disasters if men do not repent and turn back to God. The image of fire falling from the sky, a chastisement greater than the Deluge and a large part of humanity perishing is indeed frightening. What can this allude to? An asteroid hitting earth? A nuclear war? The persecution of the Antichrist?

I do believe we are living in truly diabolical times. Avarice, materialism, false pride, sexual immorality, pornography, abortion, terrorism, dissent against the teachings of the Catholic Church as well as other evil practices are so rampant today that what we are experiencing seems to be nothing short of a moral tsunami, and the tsunami shows no sign of receding.

Can a responsible and loving father stand back and ignore the wickedness of his children? He would not be a good father if he did so. Likewise, the same applies to God. Remember He is more concerned about our eternal destiny than our relatively short temporal existence.

Pope John Paul II said:

“We must be prepared to undergo great trials in the not-too-distant future; trials that will require us to be ready to give up even our lives, and a total gift of self to Christ and for Christ. Through your prayers and mine, it is possible to alleviate this tribulation, but it is no longer possible to avert it, because it is only in this way that the Church can be effectively renewed. How many times, indeed, has the renewal of the Church been effected in blood? This time, again, it will not be otherwise. We must be strong, we must prepare ourselves, we must entrust ourselves to Christ and to His Mother, and we must be attentive, very attentive, to the prayer of the Rosary.”

For the simple fact that we reap what we sow, the only possible way we can alleviate some of the trials that lay ahead of us is by recognising our faults, doing penance, praying and living more faithfully to the Word. Recall that in the Old Testament, when Jonah warned the people of Nineveh that God was going to destroy their city if they did not amend their lives, they heeded his message and Nineveh was spared God’s wrath. Likewise Our Lady of Akita’s request for men to turn back to God needs to be taken seriously; otherwise I think it will be well-nigh impossible to avoid the chastisement that she has forewarned us about.

Our Lady of Akita pray for us.

Our Lady of Fatima – Part 2

Continued from Our Lady of Fatima - Part 1


13 August 1917

On 13 August 1917 the children were unable to keep their appointment with Our Lady because they were kidnapped by the Mayor of Ourem, Artur de Oliveira Santos, who was a Freemason. As a member of the Leira Masonic Lodge he had founded a branch in Ourem, the administrative centre of the area which included Fatima. Duty bound to his beliefs, his Lodge, and his position, Artur saw it as his responsibility to quash the religious fervour that was breaking out in his territory.

The Mayor offered the children money and other blandishments to try and get them to disclose their secrets. When this didn’t work he became more intimidating. He threw them into the town’s public jail and threatened to kill them by boiling them in hot oil if they didn’t reveal him their secrets. The children bravely refused, determined they would rather die than disclose anything. Eventually the Mayor released the children and took them back to Fatima on 15 August, the feast of the Assumption of Our Lady.


19 August 1917

On 19 August 1917, while the children were grazing their flock in Valinhos, near Fatima, Our Lady appeared to them on another holm-oak tree.

Lucia asked the customary question, "What do you want of me?"

"I want you to continue going to the Cova da Iria on the 13th, and to continue praying the Rosary every day. In the last month, I will perform a miracle so that all may believe."

"What do you want done with the money the people leave in the Cova da Iria?"

"Have two litters made. One is to be carried by you and Jacinta and two other girls dressed in white; the other one is to be carried by Francisco and three other boys. The money from the litters is for the ‘festa’ of Our Lady of the Rosary, and what is left over will help to towards the construction of a chapel that is to be built here."

Lucia asked Our Lady if she could cure certain sick people. Our Lady replied she will cure some of them during the year. Then, looking very sad, she added, "Pray, pray very much, and make sacrifices for sinners; for many souls go to hell, because there are none to sacrifice themselves and pray for them."

There was no light from Our Lady's hands during this Apparition, and she simply rose and disappeared towards the east.


13 September 1917

Between August and September, the children devised dozens of sacrifices to offer in reparation and for the conversion of sinners. Often these sacrifices caused them much suffering.

A crowd of around thirty thousand gathered in the Cova for the September Apparition. As the children arrived, people pleaded with them to ask Our Lady to cure ailments they or their loved ones were suffering. Members of the anti-religious press were there too, and one of them even had the audacity to snip off Lucia’s long plaits with a pair of scissors.

It wasn't long after the children arrived that Our Lady appeared to them, standing on the holm-oak tree. She said, "Continue to pray the Rosary in order to obtain the end of the war. In October Our Lord will come, as well as Our Lady of Dolours and Our Lady of Carmel. St Joseph will appear with the Child Jesus to bless the world. God is pleased with your sacrifices. He does not want you to sleep with the rope on, but only wear it during the day time."

When Lucia asked Our Lady for various cures, she replied: "Yes, I will cure some, but not others. In October I will perform a miracle so that all may believe." Then she simply rose, moved off to the east and disappeared.


13 October 1917

The news of an expected miracle had spread all around Portugal, and created a great deal of speculation, so that on 13 October 1917 a huge crowd of around 70,000 people, from many different parts of the country, assembled at the Cova. At a time when there was no television, radio, internet or mass transport this was all the more remarkable, and they had to contend with torrential rain.

The children had trouble getting through the crowd to the tree; but once they were there, Lucia, moved as she says by an interior impulse, asked the people to shut their umbrellas and say the Rosary. It wasn’t long before their heavenly visitor appeared in her usual position.

"What do you want of me?" Lucia asked.

"I want to tell you that a chapel is to be built here in my honour. I am the Lady of the Rosary. Continue always to pray the Rosary every day. The war is going to end, and the soldiers will soon return to their homes."

Lucia asked Our Lady to cure various sick people, to which she replied, "Some yes, but not others. They must amend their lives and ask forgiveness for their sins." Then looking very sad, she added, “Do not offend the Lord our God any more, because He is already so much offended.”

Then Our Lady began to rise towards the east, but while doing so she opened her hands and made them reflect on the sun. As she disappeared, her own light continued to be reflected on the sun. Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco did not see the famous "Miracle of the Sun" that followed; instead they saw various Apparitions of Our Lady, St Joseph and Jesus.


Miracle of the Sun

The vast crowd witnessed a spectacular miracle, which is well documented and will forever be associated with Fatima. Many eyewitnesses reported seeing the dark clouds part and the sun appearing as an opaque, spinning disc in the sky, which could be looked at without any discomfort. The sun cast multicoloured lights across the landscape, the people, and the surrounding clouds. Then it seemed to careen towards the earth in a zigzag pattern, frightening some of those present who thought it was the end of the world.

The journalist Avelino de Almeida, who had previously written a satirical article about the Apparitions in the anti-religious pro-government newspaper O Seculo, was forced to change his tune after the miracle. This is his description of what happened:

"From the road, where the vehicles were parked and where hundreds of people who had not dared to brave the mud were congregated, one could see the immense multitude turn toward the sun, which appeared free from clouds and in its zenith. It looked like a plaque of dull silver, and it was possible to look at it without the least discomfort. It might have been an eclipse which was taking place. But at that moment a great shout went up, and one could hear the spectators nearest at hand shouting: 'A miracle! A miracle!'

Before the astonished eyes of the crowd, whose aspect was biblical as they stood bareheaded, eagerly searching the sky, the sun trembled, made sudden incredible movements outside all cosmic laws - the sun 'danced' according to the typical expression of the people.

Standing at the step of an omnibus was an old man. With his face turned to the sun, he recited the Credo in a loud voice. I asked who he was and was told Senhor Joao da Cunha Vasconcelos. I saw him afterwards going up to those around him who still had their hats on, and vehemently imploring them to uncover before such an extraordinary demonstration of the existence of God.

Identical scenes were repeated elsewhere, and in one place a woman cried out: 'How terrible! There are even men who do not uncover before such a stupendous miracle!'

People then began to ask each other what they had seen. The great majority admitted to having seen the trembling and the dancing of the sun; others affirmed that they saw the face of the Blessed Virgin; others, again, swore that the sun whirled on itself like a giant Catherine wheel and that it lowered itself to the earth as if to burn it in its rays. Some said they saw it change colours successively...."

The solar activity was also reported by people up to 18km from Fatima, ruling out the possibility of a mass hallucination. Some people, including believers, saw nothing at all. Another interesting but important fact is that the heat of the sun, as it descended on the people, had the effect of drying their clothes and the ground, so that they went from being completely soaked to being dry in ten minutes. Since there were no reports of unusual solar activity anywhere else, the only valid explanation is that the crowd in Fatima witnessed a true miracle.

Private Apparitions

Jacinta and Francisco were to depart from this world early just as Our Lady had indicated; both succumbed to the effects of the influenza epidemic that swept Europe as the Great War came to an end. Lucia became a religious sister; she joined the Dorothean Congregation initially but later joined the Carmelites. Although the 'public' Apparitions came to an end in October 1917, Our Lady did appear to the children privately, thus keeping her word that she would never abandon them.

On 10 December 1925, when Lucia was in her room on the second storey of the Dorothean Convent, she saw an Apparition of Our Lady with the Infant Jesus. Mary told Lucia to announce that she promised all the graces necessary for salvation to those who, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, confessed, received Holy Communion, recited five decades of the Rosary, and meditated on the Rosary for fifteen minutes, all with the intention of making reparation to her.

In another Apparition on 13 June 1929, Mary told Lucia to ask the Pope, in union with all the bishops of the world, to make the consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart that she had spoken of during the July 1917 Apparition.

In August 1931, Our Lord, in a private communication to Lucia, complained: "They have not chosen to heed my request...Like the King of France, they will regret it and then will do it, but it will be too late. Russia will already have spread her errors throughout the world, provoking wars and persecutions against the Church. The Holy Father will have much to suffer." The reference to the King of France is thought to be the failure of King Louis XIV to consecrate France to The Sacred Heart, as revealed by St Margaret Mary Alacoque, and the French Revolution was the outcome.

On 25 January 1938, a strange light was seen in the skies all over Europe. This was described as a brilliant display of the Aurora Borealis, but Sr Lucia realised it was the "unknown light" announced by Our Lady in the July Apparition. This meant punishment for the world was close, principally through the Second World War, because people had not turned back to God.

Consecration of Russia

On 31 October 1942 Pope Pius XII consecrated the whole world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in a Portuguese language radio broadcast. Although he didn’t specifically mention Russia, because it would have been politically imprudent to do so, he referred to "those people separated by error and discord." Sr Lucia said that this did not fulfil Our Lady’s request because it lacked the participation of all the bishops.

Further attempts to consecrate Russia were made by Pope John XXIII in 1960 and Pope Paul VI in 1965, but again they did not properly fulfil the terms of Our Lady’s request. Finally on 25 March 1984 in Rome, on the feast of the Annunciation, Pope John II consecrated the whole world, "especially the peoples for which by reason of their situation you have particular love and solicitude," to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Although he didn’t specifically mention Russia, he meant Russia when he said "the peoples…" Sr Lucia said that this attempt, made in union with all the bishops of the world, fulfilled Our Lady’s request and was accepted in heaven.

In a private correspondence, Sr Lucia further revealed that the 1984 consecration of Russia prevented a nuclear war that would have taken place in 1985. Historical records show that the United States of America and Russia did indeed come very close to such a war in the mid 1980s.

Fatima today

In 1930 Bishop Correia of the Diocese of Leiria, which includes Fatima, after careful investigation of the events there, formally approved the Apparitions. The Catholic Church generally takes a very cautious line in approving any apparition. Despite hundreds of claims of purported apparitions in the twentieth century, just eight received Church approval. Only if there are clear signs that an apparition is of supernatural origin is it approved, and in the case of Fatima this was deemed to be the case.

The messages given by Our Lady, the characters involved and the famous Miracle of the Sun are what make Fatima such an important Marian shrine. At a time when regimes seemed determined to bury God and persecute the Church, Our Lady stepped in to start something of a counter-revolution in the hearts and minds of people, and she chose the most unlikely candidates to implement it. What this shows is that heaven’s values are opposite to ours, and God is ultimately in control.

The revolution Mary started in 1917 continues to the present day, for many millions of pilgrims still visit Fatima every year. A beautiful neoclassical basilica stands at the site of the Apparitions. Consecrated in October 1953, the basilica houses the tombs of the three children – Blessed Francisco Marto, Blessed Jacinta Marto and Sr Lucia dos Santos. Scenes of the Apparitions are shown in stained glass. A second larger basilica has recently been opened to accommodate the growing number of pilgrims. The message of Fatima has spread wide and continues to do so.

Our Lady of Fatima - Part 1

In 1917, Portugal seemed destined to follow the path of other European countries and turn increasingly hostile toward religion. Anti-clerical forces had taken the reins of power in the country and the Church was represented as an outdated institution, full of superstition. The new thinking, emboldened by the Great War and an increasingly materialistic western outlook on life, was all for destroying the Church's influence; but the godless forces reckoned without the faith of the Portuguese peasantry and the concern of heaven.

As the Great War raged on, Russia was in a state of crisis by 1916 and this gave the communist revolutionaries under Lenin their chance to take power. Pope Benedict XV made repeated pleas for peace, but to no avail. Finally, in May 1917, he made a direct appeal to Mary to intercede for peace. The response was her first appearance at Fatima, Portugal, just over a week later to three illiterate peasant children – Lucia dos Santos, aged ten, and her two cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto, aged eight and seven respectively. The children had been prepared for their meeting with Mary by an angel, who introduced himself as the "Angel of Peace".


13 May 1917

On 13 May 1917 the children took their flocks to an area called Cova da Iria (meaning "peaceful hollow" or "valley of peace"). After eating their lunch and saying the rosary, they suddenly saw a bright flash of something like lightning, followed quickly by another flash in the clear blue sky. Then appeared before them, standing on top of the branches of a young holm-oak tree, "a lady all dressed in white. She was more brilliant than the sun and radiated a light clearer and more intense than a crystal glass filled with sparkling water, when the rays of the burning sun shine through it."

Lucia asked, "Where are you from?" The lady pointed to the sky and said, "I am from heaven."

Lucia then asked what she wanted. The lady replied, "I have come to ask you to come here for six months on the 13th day of the month, at this same hour. Later on I will tell you who I am and what I want. Afterwards I will return here yet a seventh time."

Lucia, curious as ever, then asked if they would go to heaven. The lady replied they would, but Francisco would have to say many more rosaries. Did this mean Francisco was a spiritual cut below the girls? Or was this a diplomatic way of stopping Lucia from asking if her relatives and neighbours were going to heaven too? Lucia's next question was on the same lines, though about a sixteen year old who had died recently.

"Is Maria das Neves in heaven?"

"Yes, she is."

"And Amelia?"

"She will be in purgatory until the end of the world."

Our Lady then asked the children, "Are you willing to offer yourselves to God and bear all the sufferings He wills to send you, as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended, and of supplication for the conversion of sinners?" The children could have refused her request at this point, but they willingly acquiesced.

"Then you are going to have much to suffer but the grace of God will be your comfort."

As Our Lady said this, she opened her hands and communicated a light on them, which penetrated their souls and allowed them to see themselves in God. This gesture of Our Lady was to be repeated at three subsequent Apparitions.

"Pray the Rosary every day, in order to obtain peace for the world, and the end of the war."

Then she began to rise serenely, going up towards the east, until she disappeared.

13 June 1917

Between May and June, the children thought of sacrifices to make for the reparation of sinners, as the Lady had requested, and prayed their Rosaries. For Lucia, the greatest sacrifice came at home where her mother insisted she was lying and tried to force her to recant. The reaction of the local people was also sceptical and even derisory. So just as the Lady had told them, the children had much to suffer.

The 13th of June is the feast of St Anthony, Portugal's patron saint, and the day is marked by festivities across the land. On this particular day, however, the children showed no interest in the activities associated with the saint. Instead, they went to the Cova da Iria and waited for their appointment with Our Lady and recited the Rosary. About fifty or so local people joined them.

Our Lady promptly appeared at midday in the same place, just as she had a month ago. Lucia asked, "What do you want of me?"

"I wish you to come here on the 13th of next month, to pray the Rosary every day, and to learn to read. Later I will tell you what I want."

Lucia then asked Our Lady to take them to heaven. She replied, "Yes. I will take Jacinta and Francisco soon. But you are to stay here some time longer. Jesus wishes to make use of you to make me known and loved. He wants to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. I promise salvation to those who embrace it, and those souls will be loved by God like flowers placed by me to adorn his throne."

Lucia, sad at the first part of this reply, said: "Am I to stay here alone?" To which Our Lady replied, "No my daughter. Are you suffering a great deal? Don't lose heart. I will never forsake you. My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God."

One of the witnesses to this Apparition, Maria Carreira, described how Lucia cried out and pointed as Mary departed. She herself heard a noise like "a rocket, a long way off," and saw a small cloud a few inches over the tree, rise, and move slowly toward the east until it disappeared.

13 July 1917

Between June and July, the children had to bear more taunts and insults about their alleged Apparitions. Lucia's mother was so opposed to her daughter's claims that she scolded, threatened and, at times, gave Lucia the silent treatment. Even the local parish priest was not convinced, and he suggested the visions, if they were genuine, could be of satanic origin. So distressed was Lucia that she decided not to go to the Cova on 13 July, and she held that stance until the last moment when she felt drawn by inn force.

Despite the disbelief and hostility shown to the children, word of the alleged Apparitions had spread outside the bounds of the Fatima parish and some three to four thousand people gathered at the Cova. As soon as the children arrived, they saw the flashes of light signalling the approach of their heavenly visitor. Then Our Lady appeared, standing on the little tree.

Lucia asked, "What do you want of me?"

"I want you to come here on the 13th of next month, to continue to pray the Rosary every day, in honour of Our Lady of the Rosary, in order to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war, because only she can help you."

It is interesting to note here that Our Lady, who still hadn't told the children who she was, referred to herself as if she was someone else. Lucia then asked a question, which seemed carefully prepared: "I would like to ask you to tell us who you are, and to work a miracle so that everybody will believe that you are appearing to us."

"Continue to come here every month. In October I will tell you who I am and what I want, and I will perform a miracle for all to see and believe."

Various sick people had petitioned Lucia to ask Our Lady for cures. When Lucia asked for these favours, Our Lady replied that these people must pray the Rosary in order to obtain these graces during the year. She added, "Sacrifice yourself for sinners, and say many times, especially when you make some sacrifices: 'O Jesus, it is for love of You, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.'"

Vision of hell

Our Lady then opened her hands to emit the light of God, but this time the light penetrated the earth to show a terrifying vision of hell. This is Lucia account in her words:

"The rays of light seemed to penetrate the earth, and we saw, as it were, a sea of fire. Plunged in this fire were demons and souls in human form, like transparent burning embers, all blackened or burnished bronze, floating about in the conflagration, now raised into the air by the flames that issued from within themselves together with great clouds of smoke, now falling back on every side like sparks in huge fires, without weight or equilibrium, amid shrieks and groans of pain and despair, which horrified us and made us tremble with fear. The demons could be distinguished by their terrifying and repellent likeness to frightful and unknown animals, black and transparent like burning coals. Terrified and as if to plead for succour, we looked up at Our Lady, who said to us, so kindly and so sadly:

'You have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace. The war is going to end; but if people do not cease offending God, a worse one will break out during the pontificate of Pius XI. When you see a night illuminated by an unknown light, know that this is the great sign given you by God that he is about to punish the world for its crimes, by means of war, famine and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father.'

'To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart, and the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays. If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be annihilated. In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, and she will be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world. In Portugal, the dogma of the Faith will always be preserved…'"

The vision of hell is known as the First Secret of Fatima. The Second Secret is the statement about World War I ending and another future war during the pontificate of Pius XI if men continue to offend God.

Third Secret of Fatima

Our Lady also showed the children a prophetic vision, which came to be known as the Third Secret of Fatima. Lucia wrote the secret down on 3rd January 1944 and, after a period of 83 years, it was announced by Cardinal Sodano that the secret would be released. Here is the text of the secret, which was published on 26 June 2000:

"I write in obedience to you, my God, who command me to do so through his Excellency the Bishop of Leiria and through your Most Holy Mother and mine."

"After the two parts which I have already explained, at the left of Our Lady and a little above, we saw an Angel with a flaming sword in his left hand; flashing, it gave out flames that looked as though they would set the world on fire; but they died out in contact with the splendour that Our Lady radiated towards him from her right hand: pointing to the earth with his right hand, the Angel cried out in a loud voice: 'Penance, Penance, Penance!' And we saw in an immense light that is God: 'something similar to how people appear in a mirror when they pass in front of it' a Bishop dressed in White 'we had the impression that it was the Holy Father'. Other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious going up a steep mountain, at the top of which there was a big Cross of rough-hewn trunks as of a cork-tree with the bark; before reaching there the Holy Father passed through a big city half in ruins and half trembling with halting step, afflicted with pain and sorrow, he prayed for the souls of the corpses he met on his way; having reached the top of the mountain, on his knees at the foot of the big Cross he was killed by a group of soldiers who fired bullets and arrows at him, and in the same way there died one after another the other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious, and various lay people of different ranks and positions. Beneath the two arms of the Cross there were two Angels each with a crystal aspersorium in his hand, in which they gathered up the blood of the Martyrs and with it sprinkled the souls that were making their way to God."

Cardinal Sodano explained that the secret was about the persecution of Christians in the 20th century by atheist regimes that culminated in the failed assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II on 13 May 1981. Pope John Paul II himself spoke of "a motherly hand which guided the bullet's path," enabling him to halt "at threshold of death." The assassination attempt took place on the anniversary of Our Lady's first appearance in Fatima.

Our Lady told Lucia not to reveal the secret at that stage to anyone. Then she continued, "When you pray the Rosary, say after each mystery: 'O my Jesus, forgive us, save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls to heaven, especially those who are in most need.'" After assuring Lucia that there was nothing more she needed of her that day, she rose toward the east and disappeared.

Continued...

Vailankanni: The Lourdes of the East

(Source: NRI America)

Some interesting points about Vailankanni:

• Small town located on the south eastern coast of India in the state of Tamil Nadu, 12km south of Nagapattinam and 350km south of Chennai. It was once a trading port, which traded with Rome and Greece, that gradually lost its commercial importance to the larger Nagapattinam.
• It is associated with two apparitions of Mary and the rescue of Portuguese sailors during a violent storm.
• First appearance: Sometime in the sixteenth century, around 1560, Mary appeared with her infant son to a Hindu boy carrying milk to his master. He was resting under a banyan tree near a tank. She asked the boy for some milk for her son, and the boy gave it to her. On reaching his master’s house, the boy apologized for his lateness and the reduced amount of milk by relating the incident that occurred on his way. His master didn't believe him until the milk jar miraculously began to overflow with milk. Wanting to see the place where the apparition occurred, the man accompanied the boy to the place where Mary appeared. Our Lady appeared once again appeared to both of them. The tank where the apparition took place became known as "Matha Kulam" or Our Lady’s tank.
• Second appearance: Towards the end of the sixteenth century, Mary appeared with her infant son to an invalid boy who sold buttermilk on the outskirts of Vailankanni. She asked him for a cup of buttermilk for her son, and the boy complied. Our Lady asked the boy to inform a certain wealthy Catholic man in the nearby town of Nagapattinam of her appearance. When the boy informed her he could not walk, she asked him to stand up. He was cured of his ailment, and he immediately went to see the gentleman. The man had a vision the previous night in which Our Lady asked him to build a chapel for her. Delighted to see the boy, the man went with him to the site of her appearance. Then Our Lady appeared again to both of them. The man erected a thatched chapel for Our Lady at the site of Her second appearance.
• Rescue of Portuguese sailors: In the seventeenth century, a Portuguese merchant ship travelling from Macau to Sri Lanka encountered fierce storms in the Bay of Bengal. In desperation, they prayed to Mary and vowed to build a church in her honour wherever she led them, if she saved them. The storm calmed down and the sailors came ashore near Vailankanni on the on the feast of the Nativity of Mary (Sept. 8). Falling on their knees in thanksgiving, local fishermen recognized them as Catholics and directed them to the shrine of Our Lady. A few weeks later they started building the church which they had promised to build in her honour. On subsequent visits they improved on it, using rare porcelain plates and statues they acquired in China and elsewhere. The modest church the Portuguese built has been extended many times and transformed to the magnificent basilica it is today.
• It draws around 20 million pilgrims each year - more than any other sacred shrine in India.
• The feast of the Our Lady of Vailankanni or Our lady of Good Health is an annual festival which lasts for nine days, starting on 29 August and ending on 8 September. It draws more than a million and a half pilgrims.
• The pilgrims include people of many faith backgrounds, including Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs as well as Christians.
• Hundreds of miraculous cures are reported by pilgrims every year. Many of these favours are received by non-Christians.
• The Asian Tsunami on 26 December 2004 wrought much destruction in Vailankanni, killing thousands, but miraculously the basilica and 2,000 pilgrims inside were spared of any damage. What makes this more extraordinary is that buildings on the same elevation, further inshore, were destroyed.