Our Lady of Immaculate Conception Church, Mt. Poinsur

According to tradition, the intrepid Franciscan missionary, Padre Antonio do Porto was the founder of this church in 1544, ten years after the Bombay-Baçaim coastal tracts were ceded by the Sultan of Cambay, Bahadur Shah, to Portugal by the Treaty of Baçaim.[1] Fr. Meersman however holds that although Porto was its founder, the foundation could only have taken place shortly after his arrival in these parts in 1547. The church was rebuilt in 1912 and has grown to be one of the largest parishes in Mumbai. Every year on December 8, the parish celebrates the feast of its patroness. The church is crowded by thousands of pilgrims coming from all over Mumbai. After the feast mass, the smell of warm sorpotel and coffee and other confectioneries is wafting through the air. The church lies in Immaculate Conception Colony, which is near Borivali. [2]