The Tale Of Two Mother Mary's

For almost a 100 years city historians have been struggling to untangle a knotty web of legends surrounding 2 Mother Mary’s Statues in Bandra
Our Lady Of The Mount
Our Lady Of The Navigators 

The basillica stands on a hillock, about 80 metres above sea level overlooking the Arabian Sea. It draws lakhs 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 Virgin Mary for expressing their gratitude or requesting favours.

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.

Our Lady Of The Navigators Statue has an interesting legend. It goes that The church was destroyed in 1738 during a raid by the Marathas , Some Koli fisherman dreamt that he would find a statue in the sea. The statue was found floating in the sea between 1700 and 1760.

The kolis fished not a fish but a statue of true Mother of Pearl within which the Pearl Jesus was found Our Lady Of Navigators cradles a Baby Jesus in her arms . 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

Similarly legends associated with our Lady Of Mount , One tale goes that during the 1739 Maratha invasion of salsette ( islands adjoining the seven islands that merged Bombay ) The chapel was destroyed and the statue thrown into the sea Fisherman found it and ferried it to Saint Micheals Church at Mahim for safekeeping , In 1761 it was returned with much fanfare to Mount Mary

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 being corruption of the word "mount" and Mauli, meaning Mother). However the previous statue is now restored and now enjoys the place of honour in the basilica. Both Hindu and Christian Kolis visit this shrine often giving it a kind of syncretic nature.

BABY JESUS IS ALWAYS ON LEFT HAND SIDE OF MOTHER MARY
EVER WONDERED OUR LADY OF MOUNT MARY HOLDS BABY JESUS ON RIGHT HAND 

Another interesting tale associated with Our Lady Of The Mount , Pirate Army of Muscat Arabs who invaded Bandra around 1700 Arab pirates interested in the gilt-lined object held in the hand disfigured the statue by cutting off the RIGHT HAND . Ransacked the shrine hoping to find treasures disappointed in their expectation they intended to set fire to the church when a huge army of angry bees attacked them so cruelly that they were forced to abandon their evil intentions

Skeptical of 2 such miraculous catches by fisherman , Bombays 20th century historians spent considerable time trying to decipher which statue was originally believed to be fished out of the sea , And most agreed it was Our Lady Of The Navigators in Saint Andrews

The Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount, more commonly known as Mount Mary Church, is a Roman Catholic Basilica located in Bandra, Mumbai. The feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated here on the first Sunday after 8 September, the birthday of the Virgin Mary. The feast is followed by a week-long celebration known locally as the Bandra Fair and is visited by thousands of people

Initiative  By : Ashley D’souza