Our Lady of Lourdes in Queens Village celebrated the birthday of Our Blessed Mother and the Feast of Our Lady of Velankanni (Our Lady of Good Health) with a Novena of Masses that started on August 31st. The last day of the novena was the big feast that was celebrated with Mass, a procession around the neighborhood, and a community sharing of international foods. Leading the concelebrated Mass was Bishop Raymond F. Chappetto with Indian and Tamil priests from the Brooklyn and neighboring Dioceses. This is now the fourth year the parish community has done the feast of Our Lady of Good Health under the direction of Fr. Robert Ambalathingal, Coordinator of the Indian Ministry in the Diocese of Brooklyn, and Father Patrick Longalong, Pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes. The Feast of Our Lady of Velankanni is inspiring and bringing more than over a thousand people breaking the barriers of language, culture and color. Our Lady of Lourdes is a unique parish where we celebrate many different cultural Marian devotions allowing us to be a pilgrimage center to those who love our Blessed Mother. Despite our cultural differences, Mary unites us as one Church.
