Konankuppam: The bicentennial celebration of the belfry of Our Lady Periyanayagi Shrine, Konankuppam, in the Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu in southern India, was inaugurated yesterday by His Eminence Cardinal Anthony Poola with a festive Eucharistic celebration in the presence of Most Rev. Dr. Francis Kalist, the Archbishop of Pondicherry – Cuddalore and the priests present.
Earlier in the day, around 2000-2500 pilgrims participated in the annual pilgrim walk from Infant Jesus Church, Ulundurpet to Our Lady Periyanayagi Shrine, Konankuppam and in the festive Mass followed thereafter.
The Konankuppam Our Lady Periyanayagi Shrine, famously known for its gift of blessing the
barren couple with a child when they pray here, was built by the Italian Jesuit missionary Fr.
Joseph Constantine Beschi in the 17th century. Hailing from Italy, he was very much interested
in inculturation; hence, upon reaching Tamil Nadu, he learnt Tamil, preached all over Tamil
Nadu and came to be known as ‘Veeramamunivar’ (Resilient Sage).
The place where the shrine is located was once a forest place and people used to come here for feeding their flocks. Once, on his way to Elakurichi (now in Kumbakonam diocese) with the two statues he had brought from Italy, Veeramamunivar happened to pass through this forest area. As he was tired, he slept under a tree with the two statues. The boys who were looking after their cattle, playfully hid one of the statues behind the bush. Upon waking up, he was shocked to know that one statue was missing and went on his way sadly.
There was a man called Kachirayar in Mugasaparur, a village near Konankuppam. As he had no child, he used to regularly pray to god for the gift of a child. One day, Our Lady appeared to him in his dream and said, “Kachirayar, I’m alone in the forest. If you build a chapel for me, I’ll give a child to you.” After saying this, she disappeared. Hearing this, he was very much happy and began to search for the statue in the forest. As they cut the bushes and trees, they found the statue behind a big bush.
This statue is placed in the shrine till today. He, then, is believed to have built the first small thatched room chapel for Mother Mary in the place where the now 200-year-old belfry stands and placed the statue there so that the people may worship.
After some time, Veeramamunivar happened to hear about this and came to Konankuppam and saw the small chapel built for the statue which he lost once. He was very much delighted and decided to make Konankuppam as his work place. He, with the help of Kachirayar, constructed the now existing shrine in 1720 (now 302 years old). It is said to have been the first place of worship he erected and when it was completed, he went to Madras and asked the Bishop of Mylapore to procure for him a statue from Manilla, an image of the virgin, in native dress of Tamil Nadu and bearing the child Jesus in her arms, fashioned after a model he had made. (It is in this regard, the devotees offer saris and ornaments to Our Lady Periyanayagi when they pray to her.) The image eventually arrived and was set up in the Church, where it still is today.
He also named Our Lady in Tamil ‘Peiryanayagi Madha’ after the ‘Basilica of Mary Major’ in Rome, Italy. To make the inauguration of the bicentennial celebration of the belfry more meaningful, now a replica of the ‘Queen of Peace’ statue kept in the Basilica of Mary Major is placed in the ground floor of belfry, which was blessed and opened by His Eminence Cardinal Anthony Poola yesterday.
Prior to this, His Eminence Cardinal Anthony Poola, along with the Archbishop, was given a motorcade reception from Mangalampet by the parishioners of Konankuppam. It is to be noted that His Eminence was one of the only two Indians among the 23 Bishops elevated to the Cardinalship at a consistory held in Vatican by Pope Francis on 27 August, 2022. Hence, His Eminence was honoured during the felicitation ceremony held later that day during which he also blessed and opened the ‘selfie wall’ built in the Shrine campus.
Rev. Fr. Z. M. Devasagayaraj, the Rector of the Shrine and Rev. Fr. P. Antony Raj, the Assistant
Parish Priest organized all the programmes of the day and thereby enabled the devotees of Our Lady Periyanayagi, Konankuppam get the blessings of Mother Mary in abundance.