With their lives in tatters, faith is all that many victims of India's tsunami tragedy have left.
At a historic church that rises majestically on the devastated coastline of this sleepy fishing town, dozens of men and women gathered to pray and seek answers to the inexplicable and drastic turn their lives have taken.
Many thousands of people were missing on Wednesday with more than 160,000 homeless in India as the death toll reached 8,500 from the tsunami that slammed into the unprotected coastline on Sunday.
"Oh God! Why have you taken my son away? Oh God, bless my son," wailed an inconsolable woman who lost her son when they were on the beach selling fried fish snacks to Christmas revellers and devotees who had gathered in this church town from all over India.
Elsewhere in Nagapattinam, the worst affected district in Tamil Nadu, Muslims flocked to mosques, while the Hindus thronged to temples and lit lanterns as grief gave way to prayers.
Tamil Nadu suffered the largest loss of life on the Indian mainland with nearby Pondicherry, accounting for about 4,500 dead according to confirmed figures.
The church dedicated to the "healing lady" in Vailankanni, near Nagapattinam, about 350 kilometres south of Chennai, is an eternal source of strength to the people of this town.
{{/usCountry}}The church dedicated to the "healing lady" in Vailankanni, near Nagapattinam, about 350 kilometres south of Chennai, is an eternal source of strength to the people of this town.
{{/usCountry}}And even on the tragic day when the sea "exploded", the 2,000 people inside the church escaped unscathed.
Those outside, even at the church doorsteps, were flung into the air by the waves, which rose like a "hill", witnesses said.
"I had just finished the homily when suddenly the electricity in the church went off," said priest M John who was conducting the mass on tragic Sunday morning.