14 February, 2018 is Ash Wednesday and together with the whole church we will be starting the Lenten Season for 2018. Lenten is a time of grace and opportunity for us to open our hearts to God who always accompanies, guides and strengthens us.
I wish you all a holy Lenten season and the joy of Easter to come!
Fr. James Bharataputra S.J
Shrine Rector
Graha Maria Annai Velangkanni
It is a great pleasure to invite you to the inauguration of the Maranata Park located in the Graha Maria Annai Velangkanni Complex. Details as follows:
Date : Saturday, 6 January, 2018
Inauguration Time : at 17:15
Eucharistic celebration : at 18:00
Place : Graha Maria Annai Velangkanni
The inauguration ceremony will be led by culturalist RP. Leo Josten, OFM. Cap. We hereby invite Fathers / Brothers / Sisters and all the Faithful to attend the ceremony. Your presence is our happiness. We look forward to seeing you.
Greetings and prayers.
RP. James Bharataputra S.J
Rector Graha Maria Annai Velangkanni
Watch the recording of the event here
We wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and hope that we all get the blessings of Christmas and happiness, especially in the coming New Year 2018.
Father James Bharataputra, SJ
Shrine Rector
The Catholic Church dedicates May as the Marian Month, while the month of October is dedicated to the Rosary. The feast of the Holy Rosary was established by Pope Pius V on the anniversary of the naval victory won by the Catholic fleet over the Turks at Lepanto on 7 October, 1571.
The victory was attributed to the direct intervention of the Blessed Mother, through the prayers of the Holy Rosary. The Church has since dedicated the entire month of October to the Holy Rosary so that individuals, families, and communities would pray the Holy Rosary.
The Graha Maria Annai Velangkanni will observe the devotion to the Rosary during the month of Holy Rosary as follows:
Note: There will be no Rosary Devotion or Mass on Sundays.
We invite everyone to join and pray together with us during the Month of Holy Rosary. May The Blessed Virgin Mary Bless All of Us.
Father James Barataputra S.J
Shrine Rector
Why May And October are called the Marian Months?
The Nativity of the Blessed Mother Mary on September 8 is celebrated as the annual feast of the Graha Maria Annai Velangkanni as it is also the day when this holy place was built.
The Marian Shrine of Annai Velangkanni is a Center of Pilgrimage in the archdiocese of Medan and has been attracting Marian devotees from all the parts of the Indonesian archipelago and South East Asian countries like Malaysia and Singapore since its inauguration in 2005. Not only during the feast days but all through the year the Shrine is full of devotees thronging to seek the blessings of the Holy Mother.
This year’s 12th Anniversary feast celebration starts on 31 August 2017, with the raising of the Marian Flag and a procession, praying the rosary and singing hymns of praise to the Blessed Mother. Marian devotees prepare for the feast with a nine day novena including evening Mass followed by the recital of the rosary and benediction.
The Graha Maria Annai Velangkanni is a holy place where people receive favors through the intercession of Our Lady who is dispensing God’s blessings to those who come to her with faith and confidence. Many pilgrims attend the feast celebrations to intercede before the Holy Mother for getting children, normal delivery, healing, marriage, getting jobs, success in examination, peace in family life, recovery from debts, release from habitual sins etc. Newly married couples come to pay offering and homage for their marital success. The ill and the infirm participate in the blessing of the sick.
Since the September 8 feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Mother falls this year on a Friday – a working day for many people – it will be observed locally on the SATURDAY within its octave, September 9, so that more pilgrims from neighboring countries too could participate.
Come and Celebrate the birthday anniversary of our Blessed Mother together with us.
LJC et MI.
Father James Bhartaputra S.J.
Shrine Rector
Watch the recording of the event here