Velankanni annual fest begins, car procession on September 7

Lakhs of devotees gathered on the church premises and the holy flag of Our Lady of Good Health was hoisted by the Arch Bishop of Thanjavur, Rev Devadoss Ambrose, along with the prayers of the devotees. Before the hoisting ceremony, the flag was taken in a procession through the Beach Road and Aariyanatu Street to the Basilica premises at 6.35 pm.

The car procession, a major event of the festival, which is scheduled to go on till September 8, will be held on September 7. The procession being considered as the major attraction of the festival, draws devotees from all over the world, besides the domestic pilgrims.

High Masses would be offered in various regional languages including Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Konkani and Marathi, besides English.

Exceeding the previous year’s footfall, pilgrims from various parts of the state, including Chennai, Vellore, Karur and even Puducherry, arrived at Velankanni by foot on Wednesday. 

To avoid any untoward incidents such as drowning of pilgrims in the sea off Velankanni, surveillance towers have been installed at multiple locations to monitor the crowd movement. Similarly, seasoned swimmers on motor boats have also been deployed to ensure safety of the pilgrims.

Meanwhile in Chennai, a large number of devotees from various parts of the city and neighbouring districts on Wednesday started thronging the Annai Velankanni church in Besant Nagar to attend the annual festival.