Last night in #Karachi an incredible event began which has been a mainstay of the Christian community in the country for half a century, and a major Tamil Pakistani event: The Novena of Our Lady of Velankanni at St. Anthony's Catholic Church at Cannt. :)
Thread:

#Karachi boasts a large population of Tamils, hailing from a century or more ago, who didn't migrate from India but were always there, part of British India, as mostly Christians and Hindus. The Swaminarayan Mandir near Lighthouse is a great mainstay of this era gone by.

My family is part of both, Hindu and Christian Tamil history in Pakistan and even today in 2020 my grand uncle's family is involved with the temple's upkeep.

Jubilee Market near Saddar is a major Tamil Christian neighbourhood, with thousands of them living and working there.

The 4 major churches in the greater area cater to alot of the Catholic Tamils, namely St. Lawrence's in Cincinnatus Town, Our Lady of Fatima in Preedy Quarters, St. Patrick's Cathedral in Saddar and St. Anthony's in Cannt.

But of these, St. Anthony's is the crown jewel. Why?

Because it is
a) Modeled on the iconic Basilica of Our Lady of Health, Velankanni in Tamil Nadu in India and
b) Houses a replica of the great statue of Our Lady of Health, blessed and officially a shrine

It is here that on the 29th of August every year, The Novena begins.

9 days of the air filled with prayers and songs in the world's oldest language, Tamil, right here in Karachi.

Thousands flock to St. Anthony's every evening (I'm not sure how it'll be handled during COVID19 times, but all our homes are for sure now partaking, personally.)

On the 10th day, 8 Sep, the world celebrates the Feast of Mother Mary, birth of the Virgin herself.

It's also the Feast of Our Lady of Health, the end of the Novena, which means a massive celebration, again in Tamil.

But who IS Our Lady of Health? Why that title?

The story begins in the 16th century. Paraphrasing Wiki and my own memory: oral tradition passed down tells the story of two Marian apparitions at Vailankanni in the 16th century and the saving of Portuguese sailors from a storm in the Bay of Bengal in the 17th century.

Tradition holds the 1st apparition occurred to a young boy delivering buttermilk to someone far away. Once, the boy stopped to rest by a lake shaded by a banyan tree. A beautiful woman carrying a child appeared and asked the boy for some milk to feed her child, which he gave her.

When he reached the place for his delivery, he apologised for the delay and said there would be less milk in his pot due to what happened.

However, when they opened the lid of the milk pot, the container was brimming with milk!

Second:

The 2nd apparition occurred years later. A lame boy selling buttermilk to passing travellers paused in the shade of a banyan tree to escape the heat. One day he had no customers, and suddenly an ethereal woman holding a child appeared before him, asking for a cup of buttermilk.

He gave her a cup which she fed to her child. She asked the boy to go to Nagapattinam and find a certain Catholic man in the town and tell him to build a chapel at Vailankanni in her honour. Apparently cured, the boy was able to run to Nagapattinam, where he found the man and

told him his story. The Catholics of Nagapattinam subsequently built a thatched chapel at Vailankanni, dedicated to Mary under the title of "Our Lady of Good Health".

But what of the Portuguese sailors?

Well..

In the 17th century, a Portuguese merchant vessel sailing from Macau to Sri Lanka was caught in a severe storm in the Bay of Bengal. The sailors prayed fervently for Mary, Star of the Sea to save them, and promised to build a church in her honor wherever they could land.

The sea became calm and their ship landed near Vailankanni on 8 September, the birthday of Mary.

Honoring their promise, the Portuguese rebuilt the thatched chapel they found there into a stone church. The church was later renovated twice in the early 20th century.

This feast is possibly the biggest continuous Catholic event in Pakistan since the incredible Christ the King procession in Saddar of the 60s and 70s which was later cancelled after increasing Islamisation.

Here's a few pics of the Velankanni Church in India

And here's a few of St. Anthony's Catholic Church, Karachi, near the start of Clifton, in Cannt.

I'll end with a prayer:

Our Lady of Health, Velankanni, protect your children in Karachi, esp those who're losing their homes, jobs and lives because of the rains. Give us all good health, and keep us safe. Amen.