Originally published at National Catholic Register
Miracles, healing and hope: Our Lady of Good Health continues to inspire the faithful in India and around the world.
“Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did.” —St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe
Our Lady of Velankanni is largely unknown in the West but she is known and loved throughout Asia, especially in the Tamil diaspora in Burma, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.
The devotion began in the mid-16th century in the town of Velankanni, Tamil Nadu, India. The Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health, also known as Sanctuary of Our Lady of Velankanni, is the first and largest shrine dedicated to her, but her minor shrines are found throughout the world.
Devotion to Our Lady of Velankanni began after two miracles.
The first miracle occurred to a shepherd boy named Tamil Krishnannesti Sankaranarayanan, who was feeling weary one hot summer day as he traveled from Velankanni to Nagapattinam to deliver milk to his master. Exhausted, Tamil rested beneath a banyan tree by a pond and fell asleep. A sudden gust of wind awakened him and to his surprise, he saw an apparition of Mary standing before
