Our Lady of Snows, Gothic Revival church in Kallikulam, India.
Our Lady of Snows is a Roman Catholic Marian church in Kallikulam, Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu, built in 1886 and consecrated to Our Lady of Snow. Villagers and Jesuit missionaries decided in 1884 to replace the earlier thatched church raised in 1770. Locals call it Panimatha, from the Tamil pani (snow) and matha (mother).
A thatched church was built by local villagers in 1770 as the initial place of worship. A more substantial stone structure replaced it in 1886 with assistance from Jesuit missionaries.
Locals call the church Panimatha, from the Tamil words pani (snow) and matha (mother). The annual feast of Our Lady of Snow runs from 27 July to 5 August, drawing pilgrims from across Tamil Nadu and other parts of India. On the first Saturday of each month, devotees also walk to the nearby apparition hill.
The church stands in Kallikulam, Tirunelveli district, in the Tuticorin diocese of Tamil Nadu. Pilgrims travel from across India to the apparition hill near the church on the first Saturday of every month. The annual feast runs from 27 July to 5 August.
On 29 March 1939, around 6.30 pm, six young people said they saw Mother Mary on a hill near the church. Devotees now gather on that apparition hill on the first Saturday of every month, drawing pilgrims from across India.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,359 contributors worldwide.