Our Lady of Piety Church

Our Lady of Pity, The Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows and, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dollars are names by which the Blessed Virgin Mary is referred to in connection with the sorrows of her life. As Mater Dolorosa, it is also a key theme for Marian art in the Catholic Church. A popular Roman Catholic devotion is The Seven Sorrows of Mary. In typical religious Catholic imagery, the Blessed Virgin Mary is depicted to a sad and tragic effect, with seven daggers piercing her heart, often bleeding. Devotional prayers containing meditations began to elaborate on Simeon’s prophecy based on his seven woes. Common examples of devotions under this heading are the Servite Rosary, or the Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady and the Seven Joys of Mary, and more recently, the “Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary”. The Feast of Our Lady of Pettitte is celebrated every September 15 or in some cases October. The Seven Sorrows (or Dolores) are events in the life of Our Lady of Pity that are a popular devotion and often depicted in art. It is a common devotion for Catholics to say one Our Father and seven Hail Mary’s each day. Compared to the beach town of Daman, Silvassa is surrounded by green hills and meadows. Silvassa, the capital of the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, was another sleepy village until the 19th century. In 1885, the Portuguese decided to shift the headquarters from Dadra, changing the fortunes of Silvassa which later transformed into a city. After the Portuguese moved the base from Dadra, Silvassa was known as Villa de Paco d’Arques (after the town near Lisbon – Paco d’Arques, Orias). The Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady of Pity was finally built by the Portuguese in Silvassa between 1886 and 1889. The exterior of the church is built of grey stone. But the stunning interiors resemble European Gothic architecture and bear a passing resemblance to Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia, designed by Antoni Gaudi. The Church of Our Lady of Petti is one of the oldest Portuguese churches located in the vicinity of the church damaged by an earthquake that shook the area in 1912. It was closed for renovations and reopened in June 1924 It is currently managed By Silvassa Pilar Samaj.