Our Lady of Mercy Church – Goa | Explore The Architectural Marvel
The Our Lady of Mercy Church in Colva, Goa, is also known as ‘Nossa Senhora das Merces Igreja em Colva, Goa’ in Portuguese. Locally, people often call it ‘The Colva Church.’ A long time ago, in 1630, it was first built as a small chapel and was connected to the nearby parish of Benaulim. Today, it’s a well-known church in the area.
In 1635, the Our Lady of Mercy Church in Colva became a full parish, meaning it became an important church for the community. People in the church show a lot of special respect and devotion to Infant Jesus, also known as Menino Jesus de Colva.
Long before Colva’s beautiful white sandy beaches became popular with tourists, the village was famous for a special celebration.
This celebration is called the ‘Fama’ of the feast of Menino Jesus (Infant Jesus). It is a big and important event, celebrated with a lot of excitement and tradition at the Our Lady of Mercy Church. This made the village of Colva well-known to many people, even before it became a tourist spot.
Colva is the only place in Goa where the excitement on Fama day is even bigger than on the actual feast day. Fama day is special because it marks the start of novenas, which are nine days of prayers leading up to the feast day. On this day, there is a special ceremony where they bless a symbolic ‘maddi’ (a kind of pole) that is put up in front of the church. The whole village gets into a festive mood, and it’s a big deal in Colva.
Our Lady of Mercy Church | Pilgrimage and Devotion
A long time ago, in the 17th century, some sailors were shipwrecked off the coast of Mozambique and found a special statue of Menino Jesus (Infant Jesus). The leader of the group was a Jesuit missionary named Fr. Bento Ferreira.
In 1668, he was sent to Colva, and he brought the statue with him. He placed it on a special altar in the church, and people began to gather to see it and pray. This started the annual Fama celebration, where the statue is honored and kept for everyone to visit and venerate.
In Portugal, there were big power struggles that caused the government to shut down religious groups. Because of this, the Jesuits had to leave Colva and took the statue of Menino Jesus with them to a place called Rachol Seminary. The people of Colva tried to get their statue back, but they couldn’t succeed.
Since the people of Colva couldn’t get the original statue back, they decided to make a new one. They had a special golden ring, which they believed had fallen off the original statue. They put this ring on the new statue, and that’s how they started their devotion to Menino Jesus all over again.
Today, the statue is kept very safe in a vault that has three locks. Every year, on the second Monday of October (but not before the 12th), the Colva Fama celebration happens. This event brings people from all over the world to the Our Lady of Mercy Church in Colva to see the statue and be part of the celebration.
The Feast of Our Lady of Mercy Church in Colva, Goa, is celebrated every year on the Sunday that falls on or after September 8th.
Mass Timings:
The weekday services are held at 6:30 am every morning and at 7:00 pm in the evening.
The Address of the Colva Church is Our Lady of Mercy Church at Colva, Goa 403708.
Image Credit: GOA – Edu’s World
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