Marian Shrine of Annai Velangkanni
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Do you know the sanctuary dedicated to Marian Shrine of Annai Velangkanni in Indonesia? Did you know it is one of the most beautiful Catholic churches in Indonesia?
Marian Shrine of Annai Velangkanni is a sanctuary (also known as Graha) dedicated to the Blessed Mary Mother. In India, She is known as Annai Velangkanni Arokia Matha and this means Our Lady of Good Health.
Marian Shrine of Annai Velangkanni is also the first one in Indonesia, located in Medan, making it a must visit pilgrimage center to all the devotees of Mary.
Marian Shrine of Annai Velangkanni: the story
Marian Shrine of Annai Velangkanni was the dream of Father James, who wanted to build a church of proclamation. A place where everybody, people of all races, cultures and religions, rich or poor, would be welcome to enter, to pray and even to call home.
Father James wanted everybody to feel free to seek for solace, peace, healing and divinity in Marian Shrine of Annai Velangkanni. A place where Catholics could reinforce their faith in God and non-Catholics could experience and learn about another faith, in a place where their own faith would be accepted and respected.
The Marian Shrine of Annai Velangkanni sanctuary has an Indo-Mughal design that gives it the look of a church, a temple and a mosque, all at the same time. With this, they reinforce the invitation of people of all faiths to enter the sanctuary.
With the Marian Shrine of Annai Velangkanni, Father James also intended to remind humanity that we are all one of a kind, all brothers and sisters and that we should respect and tolerate one another despite of our cultural, race, financial or religious differences.
How was it built?
Marian Shrine of Annai Velangkanni was built by the hands of amateurs, with the exception of the a highly qualified Catholic engineer, Dr. Ir. Johannes Tarigan, who offered his free services to help out with the structure and to supervise the building construction. Besides that, it depended only on funding from donors.
When the construction started, the available funds were of USD 12.000 and miraculously, the money kept entering from donations from benefactors of all races, nationalities and religions.
It cost about USD 500.000 and it is said that it was Divine Providence that helped build the sanctuary that is the only one in the world outside of India dedicated to Our Lady of Good Health as an official place of pilgrimage.
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