Sample entry
Flag hoisting for the parish feast
The feast flag will be blessed and raised, opening the ten days feast. Followed by novena Mass and sermon.
The parish feast
8 September — the Birthday of Our Lady
The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is one of only three birthdays the Church celebrates. For us it is also the day the Portuguese sailors, saved from the storm, came ashore at Velankanni — and so it is the feast of Our Lady of Health, and the feast of this parish.
The celebration is not a single day but a season. The flag is hoisted on the golden kodimaram before the church on 29 August, and the ten days that follow are given to novena prayer, a car procession each evening and Mass. Lights are strung across the façade, the tower and the street. Families who have moved away come home for it.
Our parish feast falls each year on 8 September.
Programme
Ten days feast
29 August to 8 September 2026 — the parish’s 37th annual feast, kept this year in our Silver Jubilee. Below is the parish’s own printed invitation, with the full order of every evening: who presides, the theme of the day, the anbiyams celebrating it, and the special day it is kept as.
At a glance
The shape of the ten days
For anyone who cannot read the invitation above — on a screen reader, or in another language — here is the same programme in summary. The invitation is the authority if the two ever differ.
| Date | Time | The evening | Kept as |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 29 Aug | 6:00 PM | Flag procession, flag hoisting & Holy Mass | Day of the Faithful |
| Sun 30 Aug | 5:30 PM |
Rosary, car procession & Confirmation feast Mass
Presided by the Archbishop of Madras–Mylapore |
Feast of the Holy Spirit |
| Mon 31 Aug | 6:00 PM | Rosary, car procession & Holy Mass | Workers’ Day |
| Tue 1 Sept | 6:00 PM | Rosary, car procession & Holy Mass | Vocations Day |
| Wed 2 Sept | 6:00 PM | Rosary, car procession & Holy Mass | Day of the Elderly |
| Thu 3 Sept | 6:00 PM | Rosary, car procession & Holy Mass | Day of Families |
| Fri 4 Sept | 6:00 PM | Rosary, car procession & Holy Mass | Day of Married Couples |
| Sat 5 Sept | 6:00 PM | Rosary, car procession & Holy Mass | Teachers’ Day |
| Sun 6 Sept | 5:30 PM | Rosary, Holy Mass, Blessed Sacrament procession & Benediction | Day of the Sick |
| Mon 7 Sept | 6:00 PM |
Grand car procession & feast Mass
Theme: “Behold your Mother” |
Youth Day |
| Tue 8 Sept | 7:00 AM | Nativity of Our Lady — feast Mass | Benefactors’ Day |
| Tue 8 Sept | 6:00 PM | Rosary, Holy Mass & lowering of the flag | Benefactors’ Day |
A meal is served after the flag-hoisting Mass on 29 August, and again after the grand procession Mass on 7 September.
Through the year
The parish calendar
Beyond the feast, these are the celebrations that mark our year. Dates for the movable feasts change annually.
| When | Celebration | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January | Mary, Mother of God | New year thanksgiving Mass and blessing for the year ahead. |
| Mid-January | Pongal & thanksgiving | Blessing of the harvest and of the year’s first fruits. |
| 2 February | Presentation of the Lord | Blessing of candles; Candlemas procession. |
| Ash Wednesday | Beginning of Lent | Ashes at all Masses; Way of the Cross each Friday of Lent. |
| Holy Week | Palm Sunday to Easter | Palm procession, Holy Thursday washing of feet, Good Friday liturgy and Way of the Cross, Easter Vigil and Easter Masses. |
| Easter season | First Holy Communion | The catechism children receive the Eucharist for the first time. |
| May | Month of Mary | Daily rosary and Marian devotions; May procession. |
| June | Sacred Heart of Jesus | First Friday devotions and consecration of families. |
| 15 August | Assumption of Our Lady | Solemn Mass; also India’s Independence Day. |
| 29 Aug – 8 Sept | Ten days feast | Flag hoisting on 29 August, then ten days of novena, car procession and Mass, closing with the feast on 8 September. See the programme above. |
| October | Month of the Holy Rosary | Rosary prayed daily in the church and in the anbiyams. |
| 1–2 November | All Saints & All Souls | Mass for the departed and the blessing of graves. |
| Advent | Preparation for Christmas | Advent wreath, carol practice, confessions and the parish carol round. |
| 24–25 December | Christmas | Midnight Mass, crib blessing and Christmas Day Masses. |
Coming up
Upcoming events
Sample entry
Car procession through Muthamizh Nagar
The statue of Our Lady of Health will be carried in procession through the parish streets on the eve of the feast.
Sample entry
Festal Mass — 8 September
The solemn Mass of Our Lady of Health, followed by the blessing and distribution of prasadam.
These are placeholder entries showing the format. Add real events with their dates, and this list becomes the parish’s public diary.
Would you like to help with the feast?
Every year the feast is carried by volunteers — decorating, singing, cooking, keeping order, cleaning up afterwards. There is room for you.