Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine, Villianur, Puducherry
Our Lady
of Lourdes Shrine is a famous Marian
shrine located in Villianur Town in Union
Territory of Puducherry. This
Church has a significant place in the history of the Catholic Church as the
First Church in the World, other than that is in Lourdes – France, to be
dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes. The devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes in Asia
in general and in India in particular has its roots in Villianur.
History
This
Roman Catholic Church is devoted to Our Lady of Lourdes. In 1867, the MEP
missionaries of Pondicherry wished to build a Chapel at Villianur which is 13
Kilometers away from Pondicherry on the road to Villupuram. Hence the diocese
has bought a piece of land at Villianur and Rev. Fr. Gou, then procurator of
the Pondicherry mission after a long negotiation with the Hindu temple
authorities of Thirukameswarar Gogilambigai Temple started to build a Chapel at
Kanuvapet on the outskirts of Villianur, with the amount of the thanksgiving
offering of Dr. Lephine’s family for the miraculous cure of his daughter in
exchange.
It had
taken at least 10 years to complete the Chapel. And Rev.Fr. Tharbes a cousin
brother of Bernadette, the visionary of Lourdes, was appointed as the Parish
Priest of Villianur mission. Since he had a direct report of the apparitions of
Our Lady of Lourdes. And, this seems to be the first in the world to be named
after Our Lady of Lourdes outside Lourdes, France. Added to that one pious Lady
has paid for a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes and made it come from Lourdes
under the direct supervision of Bernadette. It was on the 4th April 1877 the
statue arrived at Pondicherry and was taken to the Cathedral after the three
dangerous falls of the box containing the Holy Mother’s Statue.
To everybody’s
amaze, the statue was intact and beautiful. And during the Statue’s stay at the
Cathedral, a pious man called Thambusamy Mudaliyar, a native of Kumbakonam who
was on his way to Chennai for the surgical intervention for the extra growth of
flesh on his left eye, had prayed to Our Lady of Lourdes and was cured by a
vision of Our Lady of Lourdes during a dream at the same night about 3 am This
attracted a lot of crowd to the Cathedral and so the missionaries sent the statue
soon to Villianur, on the 7th of April itself.
After
some hurdles, Our Lady of Lourdes statue chose her own way to come to Villianur
on the 7th April. It was in 1885 the arch bishop Laouenan went to Rome and
reported the numerous miracles that took place in this Shrine to the Holy
Father and got permission on February 21st, 1886 to declare this as an official
Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, Villianur and to crown the statue in his name.
On his
return from Rome, on 8th May 1886 during a grand celebration, witnessed by
around 40,000 people during the pontifical high mass the arch bishop crowned
the miraculous statue in the name of the pope Leo XIII and declared this church
as the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, Villianur and attached permanent plenary
indulgences to this shrine.
Sacred Pond:
There
was a natural pond in front of the chapel. it was once used as the water
reservoir for the irrigation of the lands around and water came from the
big Ousteri Lake which is 10 Kms away from here. And this pond
was constructed by Fr. Lesbond, the Parish Priest, with donations from Zigon
organized by Mr. Lesage. Mr. Larocgue from the people in Zigon got a statue
from Lourdes and in 1924 and a solemn ceremony took place to install the statue
in the middle of the sacred pond after the due consecration of the statue and
the pond. It is believed by the people here that the pond water is miraculous
and has the ability to cure the sick and bring good fortune. This is the only
Catholic church in Asia having a sacred pond in front of the church.
The Grotto:
19 years
after Lourdes apparitions, the first church and grotto for Our Lady of Lourdes
was constructed in 1877. The centenary celebrations were celebrated on 10
September 1977. As a remembrance of the centenary celebrations, Rev. Fr. Duissen
built a big grotto in the garden of the church, which was consecrated by
bishop Venmani S. Selvanather on 10 October 1978. The grotto which was inside
the church was modified as per the instruction of the Second Vatican Council.
The Stations of the Cross:
In 2009,
The Stations of the Cross were constructed around the 'Sacred Pond'.
The 125th Anniversary Celebrations:
In 08,
October 2011, on the 125th anniversary of the crowning of the statue by the
Pope, Archbishop Rev. Mgr. Antony Anandarayar crowned the Statue again with a diamond crown.
A New Church:
As the
existing Church could not accommodate the growing number of pilgrims, a new
Church is planned with the approval of Archbishop Most. Rev. Dr. Antony Anandarayar. On 10 September 2011, Rev. Fr. A. Arulanandam, the
Vicar General of Archdiocese blessed and officially commenced the construction
work for the church. Rev. Fr. C. Joseph Arumaiselvam, the procurator and many
other priests were present at the event. Construction was completed in 2015.
Mass
Timings
·
Week Days: 6:00 a.m – Mass
·
Saturday: 6:00 a.m, 11:30 a.m, 6:00 p.m - Mass
·
I Saturday: 5:30 a.m, 6:45 a.m, 11:30 a.m – Mass; 6:00 p.m – Mass
& Car Procession
·
Sunday: 6:00
a.m, 7:30 a.m – Mass; 5:30 p.m – Mass & Car Procession
Feasts
& Other Celebrations
Annual Feast:
Annual
feast of Our Lady of Lourdes shrine commences with the nine days of Novena and
flag hoisting on the 6th day after Easter
Sunday. The car procession is done during
these days. The feast day is on the 15th day after Easter. This is a Puducherry
state Christian festival.
The Holy Water from Lourdes:
Every
first Saturday in the month of August, The Holy Water from Lourdes Church,
France is poured into the 'Sacred Pond' at Villianur Shrine. This event is
attended by thousands of devotees every year.
Pilgrimage on foot:
As a
sign of gratitude to Our Lady, for saving the city from a cyclone, the first
pilgrimage on foot took place on 10 October 1977 from Pondicherry and this
tradition is still continued on the second Saturday in the month of October. It
starts from Immaculate Conception
Cathedral, Pondicherry and ends in the
shrine covering approximately 12 Kms.
Contact
Our Lady
of Lourdes Shrine, Villianur
Church
Street, Villianur,
Puducherry
– 605 110
Phone: +91 413
266 6363
Mobile: +91 94430 91523
Connectivity
The Church is located at about 1 Km from Villianur Bus
Stop, 1 Km from Villianur Thirukameswarar Temple, 2 Kms from Villianur Railway
Station, 9 Kms from Puducherry Main Bus Stand, 10 Kms from Puducherry Railway
Station, 11 Kms from Puducherry Airport, 30 Kms from Villupuram Railway
Station, 32 Kms from Villupuram, 152 Kms from Chennai Airport and 161 Kms from
Chennai.
The Church is located on the Puducherry – Villupuram Road
near Villianur Bus Stop and Villianur Thirukameswarar Temple. Bus facilities
are available from both Puducherry and Villupuram. Buses are available for
every 10 minutes from Puducherry Main Bus Stand and Villupuram Bus Stand.
Nearest Railway Station is located at Villianur and Puducherry. Nearest Airport
is located at Puducherry and Chennai.
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