Dawn Star Temple, Velankanni

Feast Day

Festival: Days covering 8th September.
On the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of Velankanni Holy Mother Church being declared as Minor Basilica (year 1962) a new temple called Vidiyakalai Vinmeen has been built near the parish Mata Kulam temple. Its foundation stone ceremony was held on December 8, 2011.
In commemoration of the golden jubilee of the cathedral status, the Indian Department of Posts

History

About 90 years after the first temple was built, another miracle happened. The Portuguese merchants who were caught in the rough sea due to a heavy storm reached the shore safely at Velankanni with the help of Mother Mary.
In September 1771, Velankanni came into existence under the supervision of Reverend Antonio de Rosario Adikala. The Franciscan friars maintained this church, which was then under the old Diocese of Mylapore.
During the reign of Reverend Sebastian Xavier (1910-1942), the structure of the Velankanni temple was changed to a cruciform shape. For this purpose, in 1933, the right and left sides of the temple were expanded around the Mother’s pedestal.
This created an opportunity for additional devotees to participate inside the temple during worship times. Tanjore Diocese was created in 1952. Subsequently, the Velankanni temple came under the supervision of the Thanjavur Diocese.
Also, he connected the Velankanni Cathedral with the Saint Marian High Cathedral in Rome. Due to the increase in the number of devotees visiting Velankanni, a two-storied extension temple was constructed in 1974-75 at the rear of the first temple to facilitate them to participate in multilingual worship.

Source: catholictamil.com