Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount, Bandra: Difference between revisions

The [[shrine]] celebrates the [[festival]] commemorating the [[nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary]] or [[Marymas]] on September 8. The annual feast is followed by a week-long [[fete]] known in the [[Konkan region]] as the [[Bandra Fest]] celebrated on the closest [[Vigil]] Sunday celebrated to the next Sunday completing a grand total of “eight days”. <ref>[http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=255163 Mount Mary fair begins today]{{dead link|date=July 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} ''[[Indian Express]]'', 8 September 2007.</ref><ref>[http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_devotees-throng-to-bandra-fair-on-opening-day-as-stall-owners-protest_1437121 Devotees throng to Bandra Fest on the opening day as stall owners protest] ''[[DNA (newspaper)]]'', 13 September 2010.</ref><ref name="CT2018"/>▼

[[Pope Pius XII]] granted a decree of [[pontifical coronation]] to its venerated Marian image on 21 October 1954, signed and notarised by Cardinal [[Giovanni Battista Montini]] of the [[Sacred Congregation of Rites]]. The former [[Archbishop of Bombay]], Cardinal [[Valerian Gracias]] executed the rite of coronation on 5 December 1954. [[Pope Benedict XVI]] gifted towards the Marian shrine a blood relic of [[Pope John Paul II]], who made an Apostolic Visit in 1986.▼

==The Basilica==▼

The basilica stands on a hillock, about 80 metres above [[sea level]] overlooking the [[Arabian Sea]]. It draws [[lakh]]s of devotees and pilgrims annually. Many of the faithful attest to the miraculous powers of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The shrine attracts people from all faiths who pray to the Virgin Mary for expressing their gratitude or requesting favours. The church was [[raid]]ed and destroyed in 1738 during the [[Mahratta Invasion of Bassein]], led by the [[Peshva]] Brahmin [[Chimaji Appa]]. It was rebuilt in [[British Bombay]].▼

During the Bandra Fair, the entire area is decorated with festoons and buntings. Many pitch up stalls to sell religious articles, roasted grams, snacks and sweets. Wax figures of the Virgin Mary along with an assortment of candles shaped like hands, feet and various other parts of the body are sold at kiosks. The sick and the suffering choose a candle or wax figure that corresponds to their ailment and light it in Church, with the pious hope that Mother Mary will consider their appeals for help.<ref name="CT2018">{{cite web |title=Mount Mary Church In Bandra Is Believed To Make All Your Wishes Come True |url=https://curlytales.com/mount-mary-church-bandra-believed-make-wishes-come-true/ |publisher=Fork Media |access-date=29 May 2020 |language=en |date=31 January 2018}}</ref>▼

Although the current structure and edifice of the shrine is just 100 years old and was rebuilt in [[British Bombay]]; the history behind the current statue of the St of Sts Mary, goes back to the 16th century when [[Jesuit]] priests brought the statue and constructed a [[chapel]] in what was then, the [[Portuguese East Indies]]. In 1700, [[Trucial States|Sunni Arab pirate]]s raiding the area were interested in the gilt-lined object held in the hand, they [[desecrate]]d 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 the St Andrew's Church nearby. Legend has it that a [[Koli Christian]] fisherman dreamt of the statue floating in the sea, and as prophesied in the dream the statue was indeed found the next day, floating in the sea. A Jesuit Annual Letter dated to 1669 and published in the book ''St Andrew's Church, Bandra'' (1616&ndash;1966) supports this claim. The Koli Fishermen call the statue as Mot Mauli, literally meaning the Pearl Mother or the Mother of the Mount, ''Mot'' could be a corruption of the [[Indo-Portuguese]] word ''monte'' for "mount"; ''Maoli'' is a [[Marathi-Konkani]] word for "mother". However, the previous statue is now restored, is enshrined in a [[place of honor|place of honour]] in the basilica. Both Hindu and Koli Christians ([[Bombay East Indians]]) visit this shrine often making the place a prominent feature of [[religious pluralism|intercommunal harmony]] and [[interfaith]] dialogue in Bombay.<ref>[http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Hindu-nationalist-BJP-leader-LK-Advani-prays-at-Marian-shrine-22615.html A Hindu nationalist leader at the Marian Shrine] ''[[AsiaNews]]'', 12 September 2011.</ref>▼