8th September 2024 is the feast of the Nativity of Our Lady, which is also the 19th Annual Feast day of the Marian Shrine of Graha Maria Annai Velangkanni. Every year we celebrate the annual feast on a large scale together with pilgrims from all over Indonesia and neighboring countries.
Come and join us to enliven the atmosphere of the feast of the Nativity of Our Lady.
May Our Lady bless you.
Annual Feast Organizing Committee.
Marian Shrine of Graha Maria Annai Velangkanni.
Father James Bharataputra, the Rector of the Marian Shrine of Annai Velangkanni in Medan has retired after more than 50 years as a priest. He has been a priest in Indonesia for over 51 years with 47 years serving the archdiocese of Medan and 4 years in Manokwari diocese of Sorong, Western Papua.
He has been the Rector of the shrine since its inception on Oct 2005. A Mass was celebrated on 10 June 2023 for the handover and appointment of a new Rector. Father Gundo Franci Saragih has been appointed as the next Rector.
In his retirement, Father James who is 85 years old will continue to live in the shrine retirement home and pray for the faithful. We pray, O Lord, for Father James and thank him for his invaluable services and being a source of inspiration. Strengthen him with your grace and gladden his heart with your love so that he will continue to spend his life in the service of your holy People.
We also thank Father Gundo Franci Saragih for his willingness in accepting the position as the new Rector and pray for his mission at the Shrine.
God bless.
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam.
(Everything is for God’s greater glory)
Feast Organizing Committee.
Marian Shrine of Graha Maria Annai Velangkanni.
Watch the Video of the Eucharistic Celebration.
Speech by Father James Bharataputra on His retirement.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Christmas always brings joy and peace to our lives. Let us be the bearers of love, peace and light for the world. Merry Christmas, may our lives and families always be filled with love, peace and prosperity throughout 2023.
Gloria in excelsis Deo! Peace on earth, peace in the heart.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Father James Bharataputra, SJ
Rector, Marian Shrine of Graha Maria.
Adeste Fideles (O Come All Ye Faithful)
This beautiful song is our heart’s expression to commemorate Christmas where the great King was born in the world.
We are celebrating the 17th Annual Feast this year, and we are delighted to inform you that the Graha Maria Annai Velangkanni is now open to the public. After two years of celebrating the Annual Feast online, the Organizing Committee for the Annual Feast humbly urges all parishioners to come to church during the 17th Anniversary celebrations and Novena.
8 September is the Birthday of Our Lady, which is also the Annual Feast of Graha Maria Annai Velangkanni. The Organizing Committee for the Annual Festival has moved this year’s celebration to Saturday, 10 September 2022, to enable as many people as possible to join in the celebration.
Please come and enliven the atmosphere of the 17th Anniversary and Novena celebrations. Congregants must comply with Health Protocols where they are required to be vaccinated and must continue wearing masks, except when receiving Holy Communion.
May Our Lady bless you.
Annual Feast Organizing Committee.
Marian Shrine of Graha Maria Annai Velangkanni.
A Thanksgiving Mass was celebrated on Tuesday 31st May 2022 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Father James as a Missionary in Indonesia. The Thanksgiving Mass began at 5.00 pm at Graha Maria Annai Velangkanni and was celebrated by Father Michael Manurung OFM Cap, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Medan, and accompanied by Fathers, Sisters and Brothers. The Thanksgiving Mass was also supported by a choir performance from the postulants of the spiritual orientation year program in Pematangsiantar, and well attended by the parishioners from the various parishes in Medan Archdiocese.
In his homily Father Michael thanked Father James and the congregation, for establishing the Marian Shrine as a place of pilgrimage for everyone regardless of race and creed. Meanwhile, the Chairperson of the Organizing Committee Jeffri Siallagan in his speech thanked all those who had helped organize the event, and hoped the commemoration of the Golden Jubilee will make everyone more passionate in realizing Father James’ vision for the Marian Shrine of Graha Maria Annai Velangkanni as a place of worship for all.
In 1972, Father James was sent by Hong Kong Jesuit Provincial, Fr. Fergus Cronin S.J. of happy memory at the request of the archbishop of Medan, Msgr. A. H. Van den Hurk OFM Cap. On 18 May, 2022, Father James marked the 50th year of his missionary life in Indonesia, where he served 46 years in the Archdiocese of Medan in North Sumatra and 4 years in the Diocese of Manokwari-Sorong in West Papua.
Apart from that Father James also served as a Parish Priest of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Banda Aceh. From 1996 – 2000 served as the Rector of the spiritual orientation year program in Pematangsiantar. The last 22 years, since 2000, he has been responsible for establishing the Marian Shrine of Graha Maria Annai Velangkanni Pilgrimage Center for the Medan Archdiocese in Tanjung Selamat Medan and is currently serving as its Rector.
Looking back on 50 years of awe-inspiring missionary life, Father James believes that God’s loving providence had led him to Indonesia, a land that he never dreamed of, to grow and bear fruits.
We pray, O Lord, for Father James who celebrated his Golden Jubilee as a Missionary in Indonesia and thank him for his faithful service to your Church in Indonesia. Strengthen him with your grace and gladden his heart with your love so that he will continue to spend his life in the service of your holy People.
Thank you to the Vicar General, the priests, sisters, brothers, the congregation and the committee who have made this Thanksgiving Mass an auspicious occasion to glorify God.
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam.
(Everything is for God’s greater glory)
Feast Organizing Committee.
Marian Shrine of Graha Maria Annai Velangkanni.