Pope Leo XIII issued a pontifical decree of coronation on 21 February 1886 towards the venerated Marian statue and declared the site an official Marian shrine. The former Archbishop of Pondicherry, François-Jean-Marie Laouënan executed the rite of coronation on 8 May 1886.
History
A rare old picture of the shrine
In 1858, following the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Bernadette in Lourdes, France, the first church and grotto dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes outside France were constructed in Villianur.
In 1867, the MEP missionaries in Puducherry wished to build a Chapel at Villianur which is 13 kilometers from Pondicherry, on the road to Villupuram. Hence they bought a piece of land at Villianur and Rev. Fr. Gou, then procurator of the Puducherry mission after a long negotiation with the Hindu temple authorities of Thirukameswarer Gogilambigai Temple started to build a Chapel at Kanuvapet on the outskirts of Villianur. It is said that the building of the church was sponsored by the thanksgiving offering of Dr.Lephine's family for the miraculous cure of his daughter.
It took 10 years to complete the chapel. Rev. Fr. Tarbes a cousin brother of St. Bernadette, the visionary of Lourdes, was appointed as the parish priest of Villianur mission. Since he had a direct report of the apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes, this chapel is the first in the world to be named after Our Lady of Lourdes outside Lourdes, France.
Central Altar with the Miraculous Statue
In 1877, with the help of St. Bernadette, a beautiful statue of Our Lady of Lourdes was brought from Lourdes, France, and installed in the chapel's grotto. The statue, associated with numerous miracles, arrived in Puducherry on 4 April 1877. The box containing the statue was dropped three times on the way to the cathedral, but arrived intact and was sent on to Villianur.
The statue was claimed to be associated with a number of miracles in the late nineteenth century. In 1885 the archbishop Laouënan went to Rome and provided a report of the alleged miracles that took place at the shrine to Pope Leo XIII. The archbishop received the pontifical decree on 21 February 1886 to declare the site an official shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes and to canonically crown the statue.
On the archbishop's return from Rome on 8 May 1886, a pontifical high mass was held, with the celebration being witnessed by around 40,000 people. At the mass, the archbishop crowned the statue in the name of the pope, and declared the church as the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, Villianur, attaching permanent plenary indulgences to the shrine.
Pond
Church Pond
In 1923, walls were constructed around the pond in front of the chapel. The pond, once used as a water reservoir for the irrigation of the lands around and water came from the big Ousteri Lake which is 10 km away from here. And this pond was constructed by Fr. Lesbond, the Parish Priest, with donations from Zigon organized by Mr. Lesage. Mr. Larocgue from the people in Zigon got a statue from Lourdes and in 1924 and a solemn ceremony took place to install the statue in the middle of the sacred pond after the due consecration of the statue and the pond.
It is believed by the people here that the pond water is miraculous and has the ability to cure the sick and bring good fortune. This is the only Catholic church in Asia having a sacred pond in front of the church.[1]
In 1930, the shrine's flagpole was installed. In 1956, a home and school for orphans were established in the name of Our Lady of Lourdes.
The grotto
19 years after Lourdes apparitions, the first church and grotto for Our Lady of Lourdes was constructed in 1877. The centenary celebrations was celebrated on 10 September 1977. As a remembrance of the centenary celebrations, Rev. Fr. Duissen built a big grotto in the garden of the church, which was consecrated by bishop Venmani S. Selvanather on 10 October 1978. The grotto which was inside the church was modified according as per the instruction of the Second Vatican Council.[citation needed]
The 125th Anniversary Celebrations
On 8 October 2011, on the 125th anniversary of the crowning of the statue by the Pope, Archbishop Antony Anandarayar re-crowned the image with a diamond crown donated by devotees.
Annual feast
Annual feast of Our Lady of Lourdes shrine commence with the nine days of Novena and flag hoisting on the 6th day after Easter Sunday. The car procession is done during these days. The feast day is on the 15th day after Easter. This is a Puducherry state Christian festival.
The Holy Water from Lourdes
Every first Saturday in the month of August, The Holy Water from Lourdes Church, France is poured into the 'Sacred Pond' at Villianur Shrine. This event is attended by thousands of devotees every year.
Pilgrimage on foot
As a sign of gratitude to Our Lady, for saving the city from a cyclone, the first pilgrimage on foot took place on 10 October 1977 from Pondicherry and this tradition is still continued on the second Saturday in the month of October. It starts from Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Pondicherry and ends in the shrine covering approximately 12 km.
Subsequent Developments
In 2009, stations of the cross were established around the pond.
In 2013, a new entrance gate to the shrine was constructed.
A new chapel was built in 2017.
In 2019, a grotto similar to the one in Lourdes, France, was constructed.
In 2023, a monolithic column with an image of Our Lady of Lourdes was erected, and stations depicting the mysteries of the Rosary were installed.
New Church
The Altar of Gratia Plena Church
As the existing Church could not accommodate the growing number of pilgrims, a new Church is planned with the approval of our Archbishop Most. Rev. Dr. Antony Anandarayar. On 10 September 2011, Rev. Fr. A. Arulanandam, the Vicar General of Archdiocese blessed and officially commenced the construction work for the Church. Rev. Fr. C. Joseph Arumaiselvam, the procurator and many other priests were present at the event. Construction was completed in 2017.
