In the beginning of the 18th century a great Italian Jesuit missionary Rev. Fr. Constantine Joseph Beschi S.J. popularly known as "Veeramamuniver" built a church and named it as the church of "Mary Queen of Immaculate Conception". It is in the dome of this church the statue of the miraculous Lady of Poondi is placed. This miraculous statue is one of the three statues that were made in France after the apparition of Our Lady at Lourdes. Rev.Fr.Darres, MEP, brought these statues from France.
Rev. Fr. Constantine Joseph Beschi S.J. popularly known as "Veeramamuniver"
According to the available records in the Basilica archives the French Missionary Fathers ( MEP Fathers ) were taking care of the Pastoral Mission in Kumbakonam Diocese in the beginning of 20th Century. Fr. Mette Louis Jules started a Catechetical School in Alamelupuram-Poondi around the year 1900 to train Catechists.
Rev. Fr. Lourdes Xavier after being appointed as Parish Priest of Alamelupuram-Poondi on 1 September 1955, paid immediate attention to improve the condition of the Church, the central roof of which was in a bad condition and it was feared that it might collapse at any moment causing great damage. So he consulted an engineer. They wanted to demolish only the central roof without any damage to the front elevation, the doom and the altar. Fr.Lourdes Xavier was worried as it would cost too much and it would be beyond his means to find the necessary funds to reconstruct the Church. Fr.Lourdes Xavier, a great devotee of Our Lady, trusted and prayed to Our Lady of Poondi to reveal to him a way out to this problem. Inspired by an inner voice he predicted that the central roof of the church would come down on a particular day and time and it did. This is vividly remembered and described by people even today.
Simon Cardinal Lourdusamy declared the Shrine of our Lady of Poondi as a permanent pilgrimage centre of our Lady of Immaculate Conception. On 03.08.1999, the shrine was declared as Minor Basilica by Pope John Paul II.
basilica, lady, lourdes, poondi, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, basilica, lady, lourdes, poondi, ne. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Basilica of Our Lady of Lourdes Poondi news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2010 Learn how and when to remove this template message Our Lady of Lourdes Basilica also known as Poondi Madha Basilica is a Catholic pilgrimage centre located in Tamil Nadu South India It is located in Alamelupuram Poondi a small village located adjacent to Thirukattupalli in Thiruvaiyaru taluk of Thanjavur district The shrine was consecrated as a Minor Basilica in 1999 by Pope John Paul II Poondi Madha BasilicaReligionAffiliationRoman CatholicEcclesiastical or organizational statusMinor BasilicaYear consecratedEighteenth century beginningLocationLocationAlamelupuram Poondi Tamil Nadu IndiaArchitectureStyleGothic and French architectureWebsitehttps poondimadhabasilica org Contents 1 History 2 Shrine 3 Gallery 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksHistory EditIn the beginning of the 18th century a great Italian Jesuit missionary Rev Fr Constantine Joseph Beschi S J popularly known as Veeramamuniver built a church and named it as the church of Mary Queen of Immaculate Conception It is in the dome of this church the statue of the miraculous Lady of Poondi is placed This miraculous statue is one of the three statues that were made in France after the apparition of Our Lady at Lourdes Rev Fr Darres MEP brought these statues from France Rev Fr Constantine Joseph Beschi S J popularly known as Veeramamuniver According to the available records in the Basilica archives the French Missionary Fathers MEP Fathers were taking care of the Pastoral Mission in Kumbakonam Diocese in the beginning of 20th Century Fr Mette Louis Jules started a Catechetical School in Alamelupuram Poondi around the year 1900 to train Catechists Rev Fr Lourdes Xavier Parish Priest of Alamelupuram Poondi 01 09 1955 16 04 1972 Rev Fr Lourdes Xavier after being appointed as Parish Priest of Alamelupuram Poondi on 1 September 1955 paid immediate attention to improve the condition of the Church the central roof of which was in a bad condition and it was feared that it might collapse at any moment causing great damage So he consulted an engineer They wanted to demolish only the central roof without any damage to the front elevation the doom and the altar Fr Lourdes Xavier was worried as it would cost too much and it would be beyond his means to find the necessary funds to reconstruct the Church Fr Lourdes Xavier a great devotee of Our Lady trusted and prayed to Our Lady of Poondi to reveal to him a way out to this problem Inspired by an inner voice he predicted that the central roof of the church would come down on a particular day and time and it did This is vividly remembered and described by people even today Simon Cardinal Lourdusamy declared the Shrine of our Lady of Poondi as a permanent pilgrimage centre of our Lady of Immaculate Conception On 03 08 1999 the shrine was declared as Minor Basilica by Pope John Paul II Shrine Edit Poondi Church Side View The present structure of the shrine has a mixture of Gothic and French architectural styles The facade above the portico has a row of statues of the Twelve Apostles St Francis Xavier and Fr Constantine Joseph Beschi The church has a relic of the True Cross believed to be the one on which Christ was crucified 1 Gallery Edit Poondi Basilica View Poondi Basilica pleasant View Holy Land Gallery in Poondi See also EditBasilica of Our Lady of Good Health Our Lady of Snows Basilica Elakurichi Kamanayakkanpatti Our Lady of Snow Kallikulam The Perianayagi Madha Shrine Villianoor KonankuppamReferences Edit Poondi Madha Basilica Original Cross www poondimadhabasilica org Archived from the original on 27 January 2016 Retrieved 20 January 2016 Indian Oil Petrol Bunk Alamelupuram Poondi Madha Kovil ThanjavurSaraswthi Marriage Mahall in Alamelupuram Poondi village near Poondi basilicaExternal links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Poondi Madha Basilica Official website Coordinates 10 51 40 N 78 56 18 E 10 8611 N 78 9383 E 10 8611 78 9383 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Basilica of Our Lady of Lourdes Poondi amp oldid 1072903412, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
