Pope elevates Chennai Marian shrine to minor basilica 

CHENNAI, Tamil Nadu (Indian Catholic News) — Pope Leo XIV has elevated the Annai Vailankanni Shrine in Chennai to a Minor Basilica, recognizing its longstanding role as a centre of pilgrimage, prayer and pastoral ministry.

The papal decree was formally proclaimed Sept. 21 during a solemn celebration in the Archdiocese of Madras and Mylapore’s Besant Nagar parish attended by thousands of priests, religious and lay faithful from Chennai and other parts of Tamil Nadu. 

Monsignor Andrea Francia, Chargé d’Affaires ad interim of the Apostolic Nunciature to India, represented the Holy See and proclaimed the decree. 

The decree, dated April 25, 2026, was issued by the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. It was signed by Cardinal Arthur Roche, prefect of the dicastery, and Archbishop Vittorio Francesco Viola, its secretary. 

At the request of Archbishop George Antonysamy of Madras and Mylapore, the dicastery “gladly adorns the Parish Church and Archdiocesan Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, commonly called Annai Vailankanni,” with the “title and dignity of a Minor Basilica.” 

The decree says the church receives “all the rights and liturgical concessions duly pertaining thereto,” while preserving the provisions of the 1989 decree governing the title of Minor Basilica. 

A shrine shaped by Marian devotion 

The shrine is dedicated to Our Lady of Good Health, known in Tamil as Annai Vailankanni. Its origins are linked to devotion inspired by the reported apparitions of Mary at Vailankanni in Nagapattinam district in Tamil Nadu. 

The Besant Nagar shrine began in April 1970, when Father P.T. Arulappa, then parish priest of St. Louis Church, Adyar, established a simple chapel near Elliot’s Beach. 

The thatched chapel was replaced by a brick church. On June 24, 1973, the church was blessed by the then Archbishop Anthony Rayappa Arulappa in the presence of more than 15,000 people. A 92-foot belfry was also built that year. 

The shrine’s annual feast celebrations begins Aug. 29 with the hoisting of a special flag and a nine-day novena, culminating Sept. 8, the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lady of Good Health. 

Nearly a million pilgrims now visit the shrine each year. 

From parish church to archdiocesan shrine 

As the number of pilgrims grew, a larger church was built in 1985. Shaped like a ship, it was blessed that year on Aug. 15, the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and Indian Independance Day. 

The shrine continued to develop through the 1990s and early 2000s, adding a Museum of Votive Offerings, Blessed Sacrament Chapel, open-air stage, grotto depicting the apparitions of Our Lady of Good Health and Mother Mary’s Square. 

On Sept. 8, 2005, then Archbishop Malayappan Chinnappa formally declared Annai Vailankanni Church an Archdiocesan Shrine. 

The church was demolished in 2017 because of structural concerns. A new white, Gothic-inspired sanctuary was subsequently built and solemnly blessed and dedicated by Archbishop George Antonysamy of of Madras and Mylapore on Dec. 8, 2021. 

The shrine celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 2022. 

Plenary indulgence opportunities 

With its elevation as a Minor Basilica, the shrine also becomes a place where Catholics can obtain a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions. 

An additional document issued by the Archdiocese of Madras and Mylapore states that those who devoutly visit the basilica and participate in a sacred rite, or at least recite the Lord’s Prayer and the profession of faith, may obtain the indulgence after sacramental confession, Eucharistic Communion and prayer for the intention of the pope. 

The specified days include April 25, the anniversary of the granting of the title; Sept. 21, the liturgical celebration of the elevation; Sept. 8, the annual feast of Annai Vailankanni; Dec. 8, the anniversary of the basilica’s dedication; and June 29, the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. 

The faithful may also choose one day each year for the indulgence. 

From its beginnings as a thatched chapel by the sea, the shrine has grown into a major pilgrimage centre serving a large fishing and working-class Catholic community, including more than 1,600 families. 

Read the official documents: 

• Decree in Latin 

• Decree in English 

• Notification on Plenary Indulgence