Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine, Villianur

2021-09-29T01:33:44Z

205.186.0.10:

{{Use Indian English|date=January 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2015}}
{{Infobox church
|name = Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine, Villianur, Puducherry
|fullname =
|image = Villianur shrine.jpg
|caption = Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine, Villianur

|pushpin map =
|pushpin label position =
|pushpin map alt =
|pushpin mapsize =
|map caption =
|coordinates = {{coord|11.911262|79.760664|region:IN_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
|location = Villianur, Puducherry
|country = [[India]]

|denomination = [[Catholic]]
|website = {{URL|http://www.villianurshrine.in/}}

|bull date =
|founded date = {{start date|df=yes|1877|04|08}}
|founder =
|dedication = [[Our Lady of Lourdes]]
|dedicated date =
|consecrated date =
|cult =
|relics =
|events = 8, May 1886 - The statue was crowned in the name of [[Pope Leo XIII]], and permanent plenary indulgence attached, declared as a Shrine.

|status = [[Parish church]] and [[Marian shrine]]
|functional status = Active
|architect = Fr. Tarbes, M.E.P
|architectural type = [[Chapel]]
|style = [[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothic Revival]]
|groundbreaking = 1866
|completed date =
|demolished date =
|capacity =

|parish = Villianur
|archdiocese = [[Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore|Pondicherry and Cuddalore]]

|archbishop = Rev. Mgr. [[Antony Anandarayar]]
|priestincharge =
|rector = Fr. S. Pitchaimuthu
|asstpriest =
|chaplain =

|logo =
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'''Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine''' is a famous [[Marian shrine]] located in [[Villianur]] Town, [[Puducherry (union territory)|Puducherry]], India. This Roman Catholic shrine is devoted to [[Our Lady of Lourdes]].

The venerated Marian image enshrined within received a Pontifical decree on 21 February 1886 from [[Pope Leo XIII]] to declare the site an official Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes and to canonically crown the statue.

==History==
[[File:Villianur shrine old picture.jpg|thumbnail|left|A rare old picture of the shrine]]

In 1867, the [[Paris Foreign Missions Society|MEP]] missionaries in [[Pondicherry|Puducherry]] wished to build a Chapel at Villianur which is 13 kilometers from [[Pondicherry (city)|Pondicherry]], on the road to [[Villupuram]]. Hence they bought a piece of land at Villianur and Rev.Fr.Gou, then procurator of the Puducherry mission after a long negotiation with the Hindu temple authorities of Thirukameswarer Gogilambigai Temple started to build a Chapel at Kanuvapet on the outskirts of Villianur. It is said that the building of the church was sponsored by the thanksgiving offering of Dr.Lephine's family for the miraculous cure of his daughter.

It took 10 years to complete the Chapel. And Rev.Fr.Tarbes a cousin brother of [[Bernadette Soubirous|St. 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, this chapel is the first in the world to be named after Our Lady of Lourdes outside [[Lourdes, France]].

[[File:Villianur shrine altar.jpg|thumbnail|left|Central Altar with the Miraculous Statue]]
A parishioner of Our Lady of Lourdes commissioned a six foot tall statue for the site, which arrived in Puducherry on 4 April 1877. The box containing the statue was dropped three times on the way to the Cathedral, but arrived intact, and was sent on to Villianur.

The statue was claimed to be associated with a number of miracles in the late nineteenth century. In 1885 the archbishop [[François-Jean-Marie Laouënan|Laouënan]] went to Rome and provided a report of the alleged miracles that took place at the shrine to [[Pope Leo XIII]]. The Archbishop received the Pontifical decree on 21 February 1886 to declare the site an official Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes and to [[Canonical Coronation|canonically crown]] the statue.

On the archbishop's return from Rome on 8 May 1886, a pontifical high mass was held, with the celebration being witnessed by around 40,000 people. At the mass, the archbishop crowned the statue in the name of the pope, and declared the church as the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, Villianur, attaching permanent plenary indulgences to the shrine.

===Pond===
[[File:Villianur shrine pond.jpg|thumbnail|left|Church 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 km 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 miracles 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 was 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 according as per the instruction of the [[Second Vatican Council]].

===The 125th Anniversary Celebrations===
In 8 October 2011, on the 125th anniversary of the crowning of the statue by the Pope, Archbishop Monsigneur [[Antony Anandarayar]] crowned the image again with a genuine diamond crown donated by its devotees.

===Annual feast===
Annual feast of Our Lady of Lourdes shrine commence 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 (city)|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 km.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine Flagpole.jpg|Church flagpole, renovated in 2014
Oswald Gracias at Villianur shrine 01.jpg|Benediction sermon by Card. [[Oswald Gracias]]
Oswald Gracias at Villianur shrine 02.jpg|[[Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament]]
Oswald Gracias at Villianur shrine 03.jpg|Blessing of the new gate
Villianur shrine Grotto.jpg|Grotto
Villianur shrine Grotto Altar.jpg|Grotto Altar

</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore]]
* [[Our Lady of Lourdes]]

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130719003146/http://villianurshrine.com/ Official Website]
* [http://catholicchurches.in/directory/pondicherry-churches/our-lady-of-lourdes-shrine-villianur.htm CatholicChurches.in Directory]
* [http://www.pondicherryarchdiocese.org/PARKEDDOMAINS/villianur.org/ http://www.pondicherryarchdiocese.org/PARKEDDOMAINS/villianur.org/]

{{commons category|Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine, Villianur}}

{{RC Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore}}

[[Category:Roman Catholic churches in Puducherry]]
[[Category:Shrines to the Virgin Mary]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic churches completed in 1877]]
[[Category:Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic shrines in India]]
[[Category:19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in India]]
[[Category:1877 establishments in the French colonial empire]]

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Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine, Villianur