The Annai Vailankanni Shrine in Besant Nagar, Chennai is a church dedicated to Our Lady of Good Health, a couple of hundred metres from Elliot’s Beach. It is often just called “Besant Nagar church”. It is not the Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health in Velankanni town, which is a separate church far to the south in Nagapattinam district, but many people searching for one find the other, so this page gives the Besant Nagar timings clearly.
This is an independent guide, not the shrine’s website. The times below are from the shrine’s own site, vailankannishrinechennai.in, read on 27 September 2026. That page was last updated in 2021 according to the site itself, so call the shrine on +91 44 2491 1246 before you travel for a particular Mass.
Mass timings at Besant Nagar church
Monday to Friday
| Time | Mass |
|---|---|
| 6:30 AM | Tamil |
| 11:00 AM | Tamil |
| 6:00 PM | Tamil |
Saturday
| Time | Mass |
|---|---|
| 6:30 AM | Tamil |
| 7:45 AM | English |
| 11:00 AM | Tamil |
| 6:00 PM | Tamil |
Sunday
| Time | Mass |
|---|---|
| 6:15 AM | Tamil |
| 7:45 AM | English (and a separate English Mass for catechism children) |
| 9:00 AM | Tamil (and a separate Tamil Mass for catechism children) |
| 12:00 noon | Tamil |
| 5:00 PM | Tamil |
| 6:30 PM | English |
First Friday and First Saturday
First Friday: 6:30 PM, Divine Mercy novena and Mass in English.
First Saturday (the day dedicated to Our Lady):
| Time | Service |
|---|---|
| 5:30 AM | Mass in Tamil |
| 6:30 AM | Novena and Mass in Tamil |
| 7:45 AM | Novena and Mass in English |
| 10:30 AM | Novena and Mass in Tamil |
| 12:00 noon | Novena and Mass in Tamil |
| 5:30 PM | Rosary, special novena, Mass in Tamil, blessing of the sick, Eucharistic blessing and car procession of Our Lady of Health |
The shrine also lists a First Tuesday Mass in Tamil at 6:30 PM at St Antony’s Grotto, CPWD Quarters, followed by a car procession in honour of St Antony.
Confession, adoration and baptism
- Confession (sacrament of reconciliation): 5:30–6:30 AM, 9:00 AM–1:00 PM and 4:30–8:00 PM.
- Adoration chapel: open every day from about 7 AM to 8:30 PM (the shrine’s pages give 7:00 and 7:15 AM as the opening time). There is a special adoration service every Thursday from 7:30 to 8:30 PM.
- Baptism: 10:15 AM on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Sundays of the month.
Address, map and how to reach
- Address: Annai Vailankanni Shrine, Besant Nagar, Chennai 600090 (the shrine’s own wording). On the map it is on Annai Velankanni Road.
- Phone: +91 44 2491 1246
- Landmark: Elliot’s Beach, a couple of hundred metres away.
- Map: open in Google Maps
On maps the shrine is listed as “Annai Velankanni Shrine”. The shrine’s grounds also include the original Madha Church (the shrine chapel), the big church used for Sunday Masses, a grotto and an adoration chapel.
Travelling on to Velankanni?
If you are going on to the Basilica in Velankanni, in Nagapattinam district:
- How to reach Velankanni
- Velankanni Basilica Mass timings: a different timetable from Besant Nagar
- Hotels in Velankanni and the shrine room booking guide
- The annual feast at Velankanni, 29 August – 8 September 2027
