MARGAO, OCT 17
The Traditional Fama of Menino Jesus will be celebrated at Colva Church on Monday on October 18.
The Eucharistic celebration will begin at 5.30 am on Monday at the hands of Parish Priest, Fr Diogo Fernandes, after which the image of Infant Jesus will be brought down from the glittering bullet proof vault on the Altar and taken in a procession, followed by kissing by the devotees till 10.30 in the evening.
Parish Priest Fr Diogo Fernandes said the entire village of Colva is geared up to celebrate the Fama of Menino Jesus. “The Fama has a magnetic power as the grand celebration grips the natives of Colva. People from different communities participate in the celebrations to thank Infant Jesus for the favours received as the Image is endowed with the power of performing miracles’, Fr Fernandes added.
Historically, many legends surround the statute of Infant Jesus as regards its origin, The record in the Church, illustrated by a couple of paintings on the wall of the sacristy, testifies to strange happenings in the 17th century.
The statue of Menino Jesus was located by a part of shipwrecked sailors led by a Jesuit Missionary Fr Bento Ferreira off the coast of Mozambique in the 17th century.
On his posting to Colva, in 1648, Fr Ferreira had the statue grandly enthroned on a special altar, Soon, the statue invited hordes of devotees for an annual Fama ceremony when the image was exposed for public veneration. The popularity of the event in Colva spread beyond the borders of Goa.
