Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount, Bandra

For the Milwaukee, WI women's university, see Mount Mary University.

Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount
Pontifical Shrine of Saint Mary of Bandra
19°2′48″N 72°49′21″E
Location	Bandra, Archdiocese of Bombay.
Country	India
Denomination	Roman Catholic
History
Status	Minor Basilica
Dedication	Blessed Virgin Mary
Cult(s) present	Marian
Relics held	Pope John Paul II
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Style	Gothic
Completed	Rebuilt 1904
Specifications
Number of spires	2
Administration
Archdiocese	Bombay
Clergy
Archbishop	Oswald Cardinal Gracias
Rector	Bishop John Rodrigues Father Michael Goveas

The Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount Bandra also known as the Pontifical Shrine of Mount Saint Mary Church is a Roman Catholic minor basilica located at Bandra in Bombay (Mumbai), India.

The shrine celebrates the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on September 8. The annual feast of Bandra Fest is celebrated on the closest Vigil Sunday celebrated to the next Sunday completing a grand total of “eight days”.

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 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 the Virgin Mary for expressing their gratitude or requesting favours. The church was raided 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.

Marian cult and veneration

The venerated statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary vernacularly called Moti Saibini.

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 Blessed Virgin 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, Sunni Muslim Arab pirates raiding the area took interest the golden object held by the image, so that they vandalized the statue by cutting off the right hand.

In 1760, the church was rebuilt and the broken statue was temporarily substituted with a statue of “Our Lady of Navigators” in the Saing 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 (1616–1966) 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".

Accordingly, the previous original statue is now restored, is enshrined in a 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 intercommunal harmony and interfaith dialogue in Bombay.

Pontifical approbations

Pope Pius XII issued the following decrees for the shrine:

• Issued a decree In Latissimis Indiæ Orientalis on 16 November 1954, which appointed the Archbishop of Bombay, Cardinal Valerian Gracias as legate to the Marian congress at this exact shrine.
• Issued a Pontifical decree Perfugium Salutis raising the shrine to the status of Minor Basilica on 21 October 1954.
• Granted a separate Pontifical decree of canonical coronation to its venerated Marian image on 21 October 1954, which was 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.
• Congratulatory Apostolic Letter Christifidelibus ex Indiæ for the Indian faithful during a Marian Congress in Bandra signed on 8 December 1954.

Pope Benedict XVI in 2010 gifted towards the Marian shrine a blood relic of Pope John Paul II, who previously made an Apostolic Visit in 1986.

Inner View of The Church

See also

• Mother goddess#Christianity
• Weeping Crucifix in Bombay
• Bandra Fest

External links

Media related to Mount Mary Church, Bandra at Wikimedia Commons

• Official Web Site