Shrine

The virgin Mary is said by tradition to have appeared to a shepherd boy named Tamil Krishnannesti Sankaranaranayam who offered her child milk. She is subsequently said to have appeared to and healed a crippled boy selling buttermilk. A group of Portuguese sailors attribute being saved from a violent storm to her intercession. They constructed a larger chapel at their landing spot in Vailankanni.

On October 7, the roman catholic church celebrates the yearly feast of our lady of the rosary.

Known for several centuries by the alternate title of “our lady of victory,” the feast day takes place in honor of a 16th century naval victory which secured Europe against Turkish invasion. Pope st. Pius v attributed the victory to the intercession of the blessed virgin Mary, who was invoked on the day of the battle through a campaign to pray the rosary throughout Europe.