The Fama at Colva: Goa's Great October Morning

If you are in South Goa this October, there is one morning worth setting an alarm for.

Fama de Menino Jesus 2026: Monday, 12 October, Our Lady of Merces Church, Colva.

The Fama falls on the second Monday of October every year, and it is the day the miraculous statue of the Infant Jesus is brought down from the altar for public veneration. Thousands come, from all over Goa and well beyond it. For many Goans living abroad, it is the reason to fly home in October.

The story behind it

Devotion in Colva traces back to a 17th-century Jesuit missionary, Fr. Bento Ferreira. Travelling from Mozambique to Sena, he and his companions were shipwrecked, and after reaching shore they found a small statue of the Child Jesus washed up on a rock. It was taken as a miracle. Fr. Bento brought the statue to Colva when he was made vicar of the newly established parish of Our Lady of Merces, which had begun as a chapel in 1630 and was raised to a parish in 1635. OurladyofmerceschurchcolvaOurladyofmerceschurchcolva

The original statue was later taken to the Jesuit-run Rachol Seminary during the ecclesiastical upheavals of the 18th century. The villagers commissioned a replica so the tradition could continue, and it carries a gold ring believed to have fallen from the original as it was removed. That ring is still on the statue people queue to venerate today. Ourladyofmerceschurchcolva

What happens on the day

The morning opens with a solemn High Mass, during which the parish priest and members of the confraria unlock the triple-locked niche holding the statue. It is brought down and placed on the altar, and the queues begin. Devotees bring candles, flowers and sacred cords, or bentin, and come asking for health, for children, for whatever they are carrying. Outside, a fair runs alongside the masses with games and stalls. OurladyofmerceschurchcolvaOurladyofmerceschurchcolva

It draws pilgrims across communities and religions, and in Colva it has grown larger than the feast day it precedes. Ourladyofmerceschurchcolva

Go early. The hour before sunrise, in the dark with the crowd gathering and the church filling, is the part people remember.

Attending respectfully

This is a living act of devotion, not a tourist spectacle, and it welcomes everyone who treats it that way.

• Dress modestly. Shoulders and knees covered.

• Photograph the fair and the crowds freely. Be discreet inside the church, and never photograph someone at prayer without asking.

• The veneration queue runs long into the day. Join it only if you mean to see it through.

• Traffic and parking around Colva are heavy from very early. Take a taxi, and leave far more time than the distance suggests.

• Carry small change for candles and offerings.

  
  

Getting there

Colva is about 7 km from Margao railway station and 18 km from Dabolim airport. From Benaulim it is a few minutes by road, which is the case for staying on this side of South Goa in October: close enough to make the 5.30 a.m. start without a pre-dawn drive.

Around the Fama

The week either side is a fine one to be here anyway. The monsoon has cleared, the paddy is still green, the shacks are back up along Colva and Sernabatim, and the season has not yet found its full volume.

At Silva Heritage we're a short drive from the church. We'll arrange an early taxi, hold breakfast for anyone coming back from the dawn mass, and tell you which end of the village to approach from. Rooms are limited over Fama week. Enquire about 10–13 October. Click here