Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory celebrated a Sept. 10 Mass marking the 25th anniversary pilgrimage to honor Our Lady of Vailankanni at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The gathering was sponsored by the Indian American Catholic Association, which 25 years ago made a gift of the Oratory of Our Lady of Vailankanni, honoring Mary as Our Lady of Good Health. The dedication of the oratory at the basilica in 1997 was celebrated in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of India’s independence.
According to the basilica’s guide book, devotion to Our Lady of Good Health dates to three miracles in the mid-16th century in India, involving the apparition of Mary and the Christ Child to a slumbering shepherd boy, the curing of a lame buttermilk vendor, and the safe landing of Portuguese sailors after a violent storm at sea. The Shrine of Our Lady of Vailankanni, known as the Lourdes of the East, is the most frequently visited Catholic holy site in India.
In his homily, Cardinal Gregory welcomed the pilgrims who had come to honor Mary as Our Lady of Vailankanni, and noted that in her apparitions in India, “she appeared wearing a sari as a sign that she was one of them. She never appears to any of her children as a foreigner or stranger, but always as a member of their community, their culture and their race. Her visits were to children whose innocence and openness allowed her mission to be widely received with wonder. She asked two young men who had casks of milk to share some with her to feed her Son.”
The cardinal said that no matter what language Mary speaks or what attire she wears in her apparitions, “Mary wants the world to know that she is the mother of all people… as an expression of the incarnation of her Son who took upon Himself a human body and a life like ours except for sin.”
As the world continues to exit the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Cardinal Gregory said that is a time to humbly turn to Our Lady of Good Health “asking her continual blessings upon us this day and upon all those throughout our world who are still suffering from the effects of this devastating plague and those who are still working to find medical solutions. She is, after all, the Mother of the Good Health of her children everywhere.”
Concluding his homily, the cardinal said, “We turn to her now, underscoring her title of Our Lady of Good Health and beseech her to continue to subdue the pandemic that has so devastated the lives of too many of her children throughout the world. May our prayers and devotion to her bring about a true healing of hearts, minds and bodies as we honor her who has so wonderfully honored the people of India and all the world. We also pray for all of the people of India across cultural and religious distinctions, that this beloved country will be blessed in every way and fashion. Amen.”
