Colva Fama

Every year, on the second Monday of October, the Church of Our Lady of Mercy, in Colva, celebrates the Colva Fama. A feast of the celebration of infant Jesus. During the feast, a wax statue of the infant Jesus is brought down from the altar and venerated by the devotees. Folks say the statue has miraculous powers.According to a 17th-century legend, a Jesuit priest and sailor, Fr Benito Fereirra, sj. found the statue off the coast of Mozambique. When Fr. Benito got  posted to the church of Our Lady of Mercy, in Colva, Goa, he brought the statue with him and enthroned it on an altar in the church. Later, when he was transferred to the Rachol seminary, he took the statue with him to the seminary. The villagers begged him to return the statue but he refused. Disappointed, the villagers made their way back. On their return journey, they found a diamond ring (the same ring that was on the finger of the infant Jesus). They rejoiced, went back, made a replica of the statue and put the ring on its finger. Parishioners of the nearby villages of Colva, Sernabatim, Gaundalim and Velim, contributed towards building a separate altar for the statue. To this day they still venerate that statue, which they say has miraculous powers.