Panimatha
Our Lady of Snows in Kallikulam is localy popular as "PaniMatha". In Tamil, Pani means Snow and Matha means Mother.
The Church
Our Lady of Snows Kallikulam church is one of the prominent Marian shrines in India.
Apparition Hill
On 29th March 1939, Mary appeared to six young people on the Hill.
Annual Feast
Every year Our Lady of Snows Kallikulam annual feast is celebrated from 27th July to 5th August.
Welcome to Panimatha
Our Lady of Snows Kallikulam shrine is one of the prominent Marian shrines in India. It is located at Tirunelveli district in the
state Tamilnadu of India. In the recent years, it became popular in India
because of vision and apparition of Our Lady. A strong oral tradition attests to Our Lady’s
apparition at Kallikulam. The tradition is built around the following few significant events:
On 1884, the villagers and Jesuits decided to build a new church at Kallikulam for Our
Lady. They were undecided about the size and location of the church. They prayed to Our Lady and requested her intercession to
choose the location and size of the church. At that time, on a hot summer morning, they found a piece of land wet with morning dew.
They wondered about that unusual thing, and believed that that was a miraculous intercession of Our Lady to mark the location of
the church. On 1885 they built a magnificent church on that location and consecrated to Our Lady... read more
The Church
People inhabited Kallikulam as early as 1700. They built a small temple to a Hindu deity for worship. The village leader performed religious service in that temple. Sometime after, a lady with a child in her arm, frequently came in the dream of the village leader and asked a particular portion of land at Kallikulam. That time the village people were legally fighting for the ownership of Kallikulam village land in the district court. The woman again came in the dream of village leader and assured her blessing to win the legal battle.
On the next day, the village leader and people got final judgment in favor of them. So they decided to honor that lady. With the help of a European Roman Catholic priest they came to know that that lady was Mary. On 1770 AD, a thatched church was built in the name of Holy Mary by village people. Jesuits helped them to convert into Christianity and formed small Christian community. As catholic population increased, that church was enlarged, by Fathers Martin and Mossette... read more
Apparition Hill
From the time of Adam, God has spoken to his saints and prophets through visions, dreams, and inner voices. Miraculous events are common in the worlds of the Old and New Testaments, and the lives of the saints are marked by supernatural intervention.The last century-and-a-half has seen numerous accounts of appearances of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Jesus, Himself, is said to speak to a few of the seers. Some of the apparitions have received official approval by the Roman Catholic Church.
On 29th March 1939, evening around 6.30 pm, Mary appeared on a hill near to the church at Kallikulam. She appeared in the middle of bright white light. Veiled in white, she stood towards the church and worshipped with folded hands. A water fall was falling down from her feet. Six young people (Gnana Athikkam, S.P.John, M.G.Thomas, D.Thasan, R.Thasan, M.A.Thasan) saw that apparition... read more
