The Bandra Fair is supposed to have started around 300 years ago, according to a popular legend. It states that the statue of Mother Mary was found floating somewhere between 1700 and 1760 in the Arabian Sea by a Koli Christian fisherman, after he already had a dream about it earlier.
Believed to be a miracle by the locals, it led to the start of the Bandra Fair to celebrate the event. It is said that in 1761, the original statue was renovated with a child in her arms and returned to the church.
Ever since then, there have been many devotees that have been visiting Mount Mary, and were known to come in bullock carts till the foot of the hill. It was not only the bullock carts but also others who came by boat across the Mahim Creek to pay their respects.
In one of the most fascinating and touching facts that has been passed down over the years about Mount Mary is that of Lady Avabai Jamshedji Jeejeebhoy. The wife of wealthy merchant Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, she had prayed to Mount Mary for a healthy daughter, and that very wish came true in 1834.
At the time, people had to cross over from Bombay to Salsette Island using boats to travel by creek to the church. In 1841, after a boat capsized, Lady Avabai paid Rs 1.5 lakh to help the government build a passage, what we know today, as Mahim Causeway
The inner sanctum and Mother Mary’s statue, which earlier had a blue and gold background, have been painstakingly restored by Vasai’s Sequeira Brothers
During the renovation, Rector Fr Vernon Aguiar and Vice Rector Fr Sunder Albuquerque in an earlier interview with mid-day revealed they had discovered an original canvas painting that once hung over the arch of the inner sanctum in the godown. It depicts Mother Mary as the Queen of Heaven, holding Baby Jesus and surrounded by angels and saints.
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