Velankanni Mother Mary ( Matha )
Velankanni, officially spelled as Vailankanni (Virgin of Velai, the town), also spelled as "Velanganni" (due to Tamil to English Transliteration), is a panchayat town in Nagapattinam district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, and a parish under Tanjore Roman Catholic Diocese. It is a small town located on the shores of the Bay of Bengal 350 km south of Chennai (Madras) and 12 km south of Nagapattinam on the Coromandel Coast, in Tamil Nadu, India.
Once a port that traded with Rome and Greece, the tiny commercial center gradually lost its importance to the larger city of Nagapattinam. The canal built to link this town with Vedaranyam still lies to the west. The Vellayar, a minor branch of the Cauvery River, runs south of the town and discharges into the sea.
The town is home to a significant Roman Catholic shrine dedicated to Our lady of Good Health.
