Vailankanni, also known as the Lourdes of the East, is linked to numerous reported healings. But it is interesting to note that the story of how it all began closely resembles the way in which God intervenes in the lives of people and sees to it that the Gospel reaches them – because He wants everyone to be saved. To understand this, one needs to ponder deeply on the apparitions of Our Lady at Vailankanni.

In her first apparition, Our Lady appeared with baby Jesus to a Hindu shepherd boy who was on his way to Nagapattinam where he had to deliver some milk to a customer. Our Lady requested him for some milk. He willingly gave it to her and she gave it to the child Jesus who drank all of it. The vision ended and the boy went to Nagapattinam with an empty pot. He told the customer everything that had happened but the customer did not believe until the empty pot was found to be filled with milk in a miraculous way. News spread very soon about Our Lady and the infant Jesus. Many believed.

A few years later, Our Lady appeared with baby Jesus once again, this time to a poor lame boy, who was selling buttermilk. Again, she asked for some buttermilk to be given to baby Jesus. He willingly gave it to her and Jesus drank it all. Then Our Lady directed the lame boy to go and tell a certain Catholic man in the nearby town of Nagapattinam to build a Chapel on the spot of her apparition in Vailankanni. The boy hesitated because he was could not walk. But when she insisted that he get up, he did so only to realise that he was healed. He ran to the house of the Catholic man and told him everything. When the Catholic man heard what the boy told him, he did not doubt because the previous night, Our Lady had appeared to him and made the same request to build a chapel in her honour. In no time, a small thatched chapel was erected at Vailankanni at the site of the apparition. People started gathering there to pray and to worship God. The spark of faith that was ignited by God was now slowly turning into a flame.

The fact that the Catholic man saw the vision, believed in the message of Our Lady and acted on it tells us a few things about him; he was a man of prayer and deep faith. Undoubtedly, he was seeking God and wanting to do His will. That is why God revealed to him His plan of building a chapel for His people. Little did the man know about the greater things that God was going to do in Vailankanni.

The third miracle attributed to Vailankanni is the saving of the Portuguese sailors. The sailors were caught up in a heavy storm and in their distress, they cried out to Our Lady and promised her that wherever they would land safely, there they would build a chapel. God who is in control of everything saved them and saw to it that they landed on the shores of Vailankanni. There they saw how the faith was already blooming as a result of the apparitions of Our Lady and how everyone was gathering at the thatched chapel to pray. As an act of gratitude to Our Lady, they converted the thatched chapel into one made of bricks.

Now, it is interesting to note that on their next visit, they decorated the Altar with porcelain plates, illustrating biblical themes. It was not by chance that they did it. Undoubtedly, God had put it in their minds so that the people in Vailankanni who did not know to read or write would at least look at the pictures on the tiles and understand the Gospel message.

When we piece everything together, we come to realise that God, who is in control of all things, had intervened in a miraculous way in the lives of all these people so that finally the Gospel message reached Vailankanni. That was His ultimate purpose. We find almost a similar thing happening in the Acts of the Apostles in chapter 10. We are told of a Gentile named Cornelius who was very devout and was seeking God. But the Jewish Christians at that time would not interact with Gentiles because they considered them to be sinners and outcasts. However, God wanted to save the Gentiles too. So on one side He prepared Peter, the head of the Church, to accept His will for the Gentiles. On the other side, He prepared Cornelius to invite Peter to his house. A vision was given to Cornelius almost like how it was given to the Catholic man. The result of all this was Peter came to Cornelius’s house and preached the Gospel to him and to many other Gentiles present there. And while the preaching was going on, the Holy Spirit descended on all of them. Peter and the other Jews who were present there were amazed to see this happening. The next thing we know is all the Gentiles were baptised and became Christians.

Dear friends, God is at work to bring the Good News to everyone all over the world – because He wants to save everyone. It is not by chance that the Gospel message has reached you. God allowed all the good and bad situations to happen in your life, He controlled the minds of people, He timed all the events with precision, He brought you in touch with His messengers, so that finally the Good News would reach you. That is the best thing that can happen in one’s life. St Paul writes… I have complete confidence in the gospel; it is God’s power to save all who believe, first the Jews and also the Gentiles. (Romans 1:16). In his letter to the Ephesians he writes… And you also became God’s people when you heard the true message, the Good News that brought you salvation. You believed in Christ, and God put his stamp of ownership on you by giving you the Holy Spirit he had promised. (Ephesians 1:13).

Let us be thankful to God for this great act of mercy – of seeing to it that the Good News reached us. What should be our response? Well, God wants us to live for Jesus alone (2 Corinthians 5:15). That is the message of Vailankanni too. Our Lady wants us to offer our lives entirely to Jesus just as the shepherd boy and the lame boy offered all that they had with them. At Cana, she said… “Do whatever he tells you.” (John 2:5).

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OUTREACH BY THE WIDOWS MINISTRY 

On 23rd July 2025, the Widows Ministry of the ACJM engaged themselves in reaching out to the widows of the Sarzora Parish in South Goa. The session, which included joyful praise and worship, sharing of testimonies and preaching of the Word of God touched the hearts of all those present. At the end of the meeting, everyone was filled with joy and a sense of being cared by God.

 

LYRICS WRITING WORKSHOP

Music and singing, when included in the worship of God in the right way, can really help in connecting one’s soul to the heart of God. That is what the Music Ministry of the ACJM is striving to do by way of providing music and singing at the retreats, conventions, musical events, etc. organised by the ACJM. At the same time, it is also involved in training people not only to sing and play divine music but also to write inspired lyrics much in the same way David was inspired to write the psalms. A lyrics-writing workshop was organised on 27th July 2025 in North Goa.

 

ONLINE KONKANI RETREAT

An online retreat was organised for the Konkani mogis  on 5th, 6th and 7th August 2025 from 6:30 to 8:30pm. A number of people from various parts of Goa attended the retreat which was based on the theme, “If you only knew today what is needed for peace!” (Luke 19:42).

 

SPECIAL PRAYER, HEALING AND COUNSELLING SESSION IN KONKANI

As part of the follow-up of the online Konkani retreat mentioned above, a special prayer, healing and counselling session was organised by the Crusaders at St. Therese Retreat House in Margao on 10th August 2025.

CRUSADERS ANNUAL PILGRIMAGE TO VAILANKANNI

The annual pilgrimage of the Crusaders to Vailankanni is organised mostly in the month of August. Besides the spiritual content of the pilgrimage, there is also the fun and relaxation part included in the pilgrimage tour itenary.

This year, on 18th August 2025, around 120 pilgrims set out from Goa by train on the annual pilgrimage of the Crusaders to Vailankanni. Fr. Walter D’Sa, former Parish Priest of the Immaculate Conception Church in Panaji and also the Ex-Principal of St Xavier’s College, Mapusa, accompanied the pilgrims. Upon arriving in Vailankanni on 19th August 2025, everyone was logged at the Shrine Retreat House in Vailankanni. After having rested sufficiently, the pilgrims gathered together in the retreat hall for Mass, which Fr. Walter celebrated. Next, there was an introductory session and was followed by a rosary procession up to Our Lady’s Tank.

 

On the following day, 20th August 2025, the pilgrims set out early morning to do the Way of the Cross. This was followed by a 1-hour prayer session before the Blessed Sacrament at the retreat centre. Then, after breakfast, the pilgrims headed to the Shrine Basilica to attend the Holy Mass in English. The rest of the time was spent on private devotions, offering Masses, confession, etc. In the evening, there was praise and worship, and special talks given by Br on the topic of death – how one needs to be always prepared spiritually and what really happens after one dies. the departed souls depend much on our prayers to receive God’s mercy. After the talks, a penance and reconciliation session was conducted by Br. Edmund Antao.

On 21st August 2025, the pilgrims set out of the retreat house early morning in various directions to spend time alone in personal prayer. After returning to the retreat house, there was a session of adoration conducted by Br. Edmund Antao. Once again, the pilgrims attended the English Mass at 10 am at the Shrine Basilica and after that, they were given free time for their private devotions. After having the evening tea, the pilgrims were taken to a nearby charity home where they had the opportunity to interact with the inmates. Later in the evening, orphans from the charity home run by Br. Jairaj were invited to the retreat centre. Time was given to interact with the orphans. After that, everyone settled down to listen to the talk given by Br. Edmund on the whole aspect of spiritual growth – how we need to progress from faith to love. The day finally ended on a very joyful note, where everyone danced to the tune of music.

On 22nd August 2025, the day began with personal prayers and morning adoration. It was also the feast day of the Queenship of Mary, the crowning moment of the entire Vailankanni pilfrimage. After the celebration of the Holy Mass, all the pilgrims gather outside the Shrine Basiclica and go in a procession up to the place where the statue of Our Lady of Vailankanni is venerated. Having spent enough time in Vailankanni in a very meaningful way, the pilgrims finally departed from there in the evening and arrived early morning in Welllingon on 23rd August 2025. They were housed at the Don Bosco retreat Centre.

From 23rd August 2025, the pilgrims were taken to the Little Sisters of the Poor Home in Coonoor. There they spent time interacting with the inmates, conducting praise and worship sessions for them, etc. Mother Mary Ignatius from Turkey, who had come down to India for a short time came especially all the way to the Coonoor Home to meet Br. Edmund and all the pilgrims. Later, everyone was taken to Sagaya Mata church in Coonoor. After spending some time in prayer, they were then taken to the Shrine of St. Anthony. This was a unique experience for everyone for two reasons: One is that a majority of them have a deep devotion to the saint. The second reason is that the shrine is where the first class relic (directly taken from the dead body) is kept. After that, everyone returned back to the retreat house in Wellington.

 

24th August 2025, being a Sunday, the pigrims were previleged to celebrate the Holy Mass at Kandal Cross Shrine in Ooty. The most unique feature of this church is the bronze crucifix that is housed here. Another unique feature to be seen here is a relic that is kept in a tiny glass case. This relic, according to local beliefs, is a part of the original cross that Our Lord Jesus carried on the day of his crucifixion. After the Holy Mass, there was a stop-over at a popular chocolate factory in Ooty and at the Karnataka Gardens. The pilgrims then returned back to Wellington by the toy train that journeys through sceninc hills, tunnels, tea estates, and misty valleys.

Finally on 25th morning after celbrating Mass at the Don Bosco Shrine, the pilgrims set out from Wellington to go to Coimbatore where they were to board the train taking them back to Goa. During all the three days of sightseeing and stay in Ooty, they were blessed with pleasant weather.Thanks be to the LSP sisters who had lit a lamp before the statue of St. Joseph and were praying fervently. The weather otherwise had been a very bad one before they landed there. Finally, the 120 pilgrims returned back to Goa safely and enrinched greatly in their faith.

1-DAY PROGRAM BY THE INTERCESSION MINISTRY

The intercession ministry of the ACJM organised a 1-day program at Pallotti Home, Chicalim on 31st August 2025 for those interested in interceding.The program was conducted by Br. Edmund Antao.

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24 x 7 Intercession Network

+91 98221 76821 (Vasco)

+91 97645 99281 (Margao)

+91 9422847340 (Panjim)

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