By Verghese V Joseph –
The Annual Feast of Our Lady of Perianayagi will take place from 14th to 23rd January 2020 during the Pongal season. The shrine is located in Konankuppam, in Cuddalore district of India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu.
The feast day flag will be hoisted by Most Rev. Sounderaraju, Bishop of Vellore on 14th January 2020 at 5 PM. Starting with the solemn Eucharistic celebrations.
Most Rev. Antony Anandarayar Archbishop of Pondicherry- Cuddalore will celebrate the Feast day mass on 23rd January, 2020 at 7.30 am. A grand car procession will take place on 23rd at 9 am. The flag will be lowered on 23rd morning.
During Novena days the masses will be offered for different age groups like Silver Jubilee, Golden Jubilee and newly-married couples, entrepreneurs, farmers, fishermen, educationists, Government staff, women children and youth.
Besides Tamil Nadu, people from neighbouring states Andhra, Telegana, Karnataka and Kerala come to this shrine.
The shrine Rector and Parish Priest Rev. (Dr.) Fr. Devasagayaraj and assistant priest Rev. Fr. Olil Kumar have greeted the people on the occasion.
History of the church
The place where Perianayagi Madha Shrine is located was once a forest place. People used to come here for feeding their flocks. In the 17th century, an Italian Jesuit missionary Fr. Constantine Beschi who is also called as Veeramamunivar (Father of Tamil prose), brought two statues of Mother Mary to be kept in the place where he worked, namely Elakuruchi / Thirukavalur (now in Kumbakonam Diocese). He preached all over Tamil Nadu and on the way to his place he happened to pass over this forest and due to tiredness he slept under a tree with the two statues. The boys, who were looking after the cattle, playfully hid one of the statues behind the bush. Fr. Beshi was shocked to know that one of the statues was missing and went to his place sadly.
Legend has it that there was a man called Kachirayar in M. Parur a village in Cuddalore district. He had no child. Every day he used to pray to God. 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. People constructed a small chapel and placed this statue there and began to worship.
After some time Fr. Beshi 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 constructed the shrine which exists today. 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 Manila, an image of the virgin, in native dress of Tamilnadu and bearing the child Jesus in her arms, fashioned after a model he had made. The image eventually arrived and was set up in the church.
ஓவர் லேடி ஒப்பி பெரியநாயகி – பிறை போர் உச.