Graha Maria Annai Velangkanni

Why go

This record is the shrine complex on Jalan Sakura III in Medan, with its church and chapel. The shrine's own site says it is dedicated to Mary as Annai Velangkanni, Our Lady of Good Health, that it was built from 2001 on the initiative of Father James Bharataputra, a Jesuit priest from India, and inaugurated on 1 October 2005, and that its administration comes directly under the Catholic Archdiocese of Medan. The site says there are no visible Catholic symbols on the outside and that the Indo-Mughal design makes it look like a church, temple and mosque all in one. Its visiting page asks visitors to wear covering clothes (no short skirts or shorts) and to remove shoes and hats before entering the church or chapel, and says pilgrim groups accompanied by a Catholic priest who wish to celebrate their own Mass should confirm this with the Rector before arriving.