Vatican City, August 8, 2024 / 11:34 a.m.

The Vatican has authorized the devotion at the Shrine of Our Lady of Health in Vailankanni, India, the site of alleged Marian apparitions in the 16th century.

A month before the Feast of Our Lady of Health on September 8 in India, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) confirmed in a letter to Bishop Sagayaraj Thamburaj of Thanjavur that the action of God is present at this shrine.

“Throughout the centuries, Mary has continued to work in this place,” wrote DDF Prefect Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández. “The millions of pilgrims who travel here out of faith and the many spiritual fruits produced at this shrine make us recognize the constant action of the Holy Spirit in this place.”

According to a Thanjavur tourism website, about 20 million pilgrims from India and abroad visit the shrine every year, 3 million of them during the 11-day festival held from August 29 to September 8 in honour of Our Lady of Health.

The devotion to Our Lady of Good Health began in the late 16th century following three different oral reports of the apparition of the Virgin Mary in Vailankanni, a town in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

The first report of an apparition of the Virgin Mary recognized by the DDF comes from a local shepherd boy who, upon seeing the beautiful woman, offered the child in her arms the milk he was carrying.

“This was an expression of generosity of those who are willing to give to others despite being poor themselves. You don’t have to have much to be generous. May this call to share, to help and to be close to those who need us always resonate here,” the letter dated August 1 said.

The DDF also paid particular tribute to the report of the Portuguese merchant seamen who landed safely in Vailankanni on 8 September 1650 after a severe storm at sea. On that day, which was also the feast of the Nativity of Mary, the sailors vowed to build a church in thanksgiving to Our Lady of Health.

More than 300 years after the construction of the original church, Saint John XXIII elevated the Marian Shrine to the status of a basilica on November 3, 1962.

In 2002, Pope John Paul II celebrated the annual World Day of the Sick at the Shrine of Our Lady of Health.

In the letter to the Bishop of Thanjavur, Fernández wrote that Pope Francis wished his fatherly blessing to all pilgrims ahead of the sanctuary’s feast day on September 8.

“The Holy Father has a deep affection for the popular piety of the faithful pilgrims, because they reflect the beauty of the Church on the way, which seeks Jesus in the arms of Mary and entrusts its pain and hope to the heart of his Mother,” wrote Fernández.