(Extreme left) A view of the Church of St Andrew; (left) A close-up of the cross depicting one side of the 45 symbols. Pic/Sneha Kharabe

It’s rare to enter a church complex and not spot devotees offering prayers at a giant-sized crucifix within the enclosure. Now imagine a scene from Bandra in the 1800s. The Arabian Sea lashes the rocky, palm-fringed shore that lines the Church of St Andrew. Inside the complex, a few parishioners gather around the Cross of Santa Anna as a Jesuit padre explains the Biblical significance of each of the 45 symbols carved on it.