The Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount, more commonly known as Mount Mary, is a Roman Catholic church in the city of Mumbai, India. The church is one of the most visited churches in the city located in the suburb of Bandra. Every September, the feast of St. Mary is celebrated on the Sunday following 8 September, the birthday of the Virgin Mary. This is a week long celebration known as the Bandra Fair and is visited by thousands of people.
The
Church
The church stands on a hillock about 80 metres above sea level
overlooking the Arabian Sea. It draws lakhs of devotees and
pilgrims annually. Many faithful attest to the miraculous powers of
St. Mary. During the Bandra Fair, tens of thousands visit the
shrine. The shrine attracts people from all faiths who pray to the
statue for thanksgiving or requesting of favours.
During the Bandra Fair, the entire area is decorated with
festoons and buntings. Many pitch up stalls selling religious
articles, roasted grams and sweets. Stalls sell sticky Goan
sweets and wax figures of the Virgin Mary along with an assortment
of candles shaped like hands, feet and various other parts of the
body. The sick and suffering choose one that corresponds to their
ailment and light it in Church, with the pious hope that Mother
Mary will consider their appeals for help.
The statue of the Virgin
Mary
Although the current church edifice is just 100 years old, the
history behind the current statue of Our Lady goes back to the 16th
century when Jesuit priests from Portugal brought
the statue to the current location and constructed a chapel. In 1700
Arab pirates interested
in the gilt-lined object held in the hand disfigured the statue by
cutting off the right hand.
In 1760, the church was rebuilt and the statue was substituted
with a statue of Our Lady of Navigators in St. Andrew's church
nearby. This statue has an interesting legend. It goes that a Koli
fisherman dreamt that he would find a statue in the sea. The statue
was found floating in the sea between 1700 and 1760. A Jesuit
Annual Letter dated to 1669 and published in the book St.
Andrew's Church, Bandra (1616–1966) supports this claim. The
Koli Fishermen call the statue as Mot Mauli, literally meaning The
Pearl Mother (Mot= Moti= pearl and Mauli= Mother). Both Hindu and
Christian Kolis visit this shrine often giving it a kind of
syncretic nature.
Mumbai
topics |
History |
Timeline · Silhara dynasty ·
Bombay
Presidency · Seven islands of Bombay ·
Elephanta
Caves · Kanheri
Caves · Banganga Tank ·
Old Bombay ·
Worli
Fort · Girangaon · Samyukta Maharashtra
movement · 1992-93 riots ·
1993 bombings ·
2006 train
bombings · 2008
Mumbai attacks · Tanks · Growth of Mumbai
|
Geography |
|
Buildings |
|
Transport |
Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport
(BEST) bus · Mumbai Suburban Railway ·
Central
Railway · Western Railway ·
Harbour Line ·
Chhatrapati Shivaji International
Airport · Juhu
Aerodrome · Auto rickshaw ·
Mumbai Metro ·
Mumbai Monorail
· Mumbai
Maglev · Western Railway Elevated
Corridor · Mumbai BRTS · Bandra-Worli Sea Link
|
Economy |
Bombay Stock Exchange ·
Reserve Bank of
India · Mint · Dalal Street · Nariman Point ·
Telecom companies
|
Education |
Mumbai University ·
SNDT Women's
University · Indian Institute of
Technology · St. Xavier's College ·
Veermata Jijabai Technological
Institute · UICT · Bombay Scottish School ·
Cathedral and John Connon
School · Colleges
|
Institutes for Science
and Learning
|
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
(TIFR) · Bhabha
Atomic Research Centre (BARC) · Nehru Planetarium ·
Nehru Science
Centre · Tata
Institute of Social Sciences (TISS)
|
|
Civic |
Mayor · Police Commissioner ·
Municipal
Commissioner · Brihanmumbai Municipal
Corporation · Mumbai Police ·
Wards ·
Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and
Transport · Demographics · Water sources ·
Bombay High
Court · Sheriff
|
Culture |
Marathi · Mumbaiya/Bombaiya/Bambaiya ·
Dabbawalas ·
Vada pav ·
Bhelpuri ·
Cultural
centres · Cinemas · Kala Ghoda festival ·
Tourist attractions
|
Parks and
grounds |
Horniman Circle Gardens ·
Cross Maidan ·
Kamala Nehru
Park · Hanging
Gardens · Sanjay Gandhi National
Park · Jijamata
Udyaan · Brabourne Stadium ·
Wankhede
Stadium · Mahalaxmi Racecourse ·
Shivaji Park
|
Other topics |
Bombay High · Marine
Drive · Kamathipura · Dharavi · People from Mumbai
|
|
|
Pre-colonial |
|
Colonial |
|
Beaches |
Girgaum Chowpatty ·
Dadar
Chowpatty · Juhu Beach · Versova Beach ·
Madh Island ·
Aksa Beach ·
Marvé Beach ·
Powai Lake
|
Places of
worship |
Mumba Devi Mandir ·
Mahalaxmi
Temple · Siddhivinayak temple ·
Sitala Devi
Temple · Walkeshwar Temple ·
Swaminarayan Mandir
· Haji Ali
· Mahim
Church
|
Cultural |
National Centre for the Performing
Arts · Jehangir
Art Gallery · Taraporewala Aquarium ·
National Gallery of Modern
Art · Asiatic
Society of Bombay · Marine
Drive · Royal Opera House ·
Regal Cinema ·
Eros Cinema ·
Metro Adlabs ·
Nehru Science
Centre · Film
City
|
Boulevards |
Marine
Drive · Fashion Street ·
Linking Road ·
Nepean Sea
Road · Breach
Candy · Bandstand Promenade ·
Worli Seaface ·
Bandra-Worli Sea Link
|
Districts |
Nariman Point ·
Malabar Hill ·
Kala Ghoda ·
Colaba ·
Bandra-Kurla complex
|
Shopping |
Chor Bazaar · Fashion Street ·
Colaba
Causeway · Lamington Road ·
Linking Road
|
Buildings |
Bombay Stock Exchange ·
Hutatma Chowk ·
David Sassoon
Library · Taj
Mahal Palace & Tower · Nehru Planetarium ·
India Government Mint
|
Parks, zoos
and stadia |
Hanging Gardens ·
Gowalia Tank ·
Sanjay Gandhi National
Park · Kamala
Nehru Park · Jijamata Udyaan ·
Horniman Circle
Gardens · Cross
Maidan · Brabourne Stadium ·
Wankhede
Stadium · Mahalaxmi Racecourse ·
Shivaji Park ·
Mumbai Port Trust
Garden · Essel
World · Water
Kingdom
|
|
External
links