By Michael Gonsalves
GOA, India – Last-leg preparations are in full swing at the Basilica of Bom Jesu in Old Goa and nearby areas to receive an estimated 8 million Catholics for the exposition of the sacred relics of St Francis Xavier.
The once-in-ten-year event, which lasts 45 days, starts on Nov 21 this year, when the saint’s relics kept in the silver casket will be lowered and taken to the nearby Se Cathedral for the public to view and pray to.
The Basilica, in the former capital of Portuguese India, is lit up and freshly painted for this year’s solemn exposition.
The expositions began in 1782, 230 years after the saint died in Japan and after the Archdiocese of Goa claimed control of the body to help people venerate the Jesuit missionary known for his work across Asia.
Francis Xavier was buried on an Island near Japan in 1552, and his body was found incorrupt when exhumed a year later to be taken to Portugal, the base of his mission.
However, the body was not taken to Portugal, as its well-preserved state was considered a sign of sanctity and kept in Goa, then a Portuguese colony and the base of his missionary activities.
The body is not technically considered incorrupt now, as its parts, particularly soft tissues, have decomposed. Now called relics, it is preserved in a lying position, clad in mass vestments.
This year’s exposition starts with a morning Mass at the Basilica led by Archbishop Anil Couto of Delhi and ten other bishops, joined by nearly 10,000 people from various faiths.
Organizers told UCA News that this year, the relics kept in the silver casket will be transported to the Se Cathedral, 450 meters away, in a specially adorned electric carriage, deviating from the practice of select Catholics carrying them on their shoulders.
“Designers working on the special carriage built for the Exposition have eschewed a flowery look but replicated the Basilica that has housed his relics for over four centuries,” Jesuit Father Patricio Fernandes, the rector of the Basilica of Bom Jesus, told UCA News.
Fernandes said that on Nov. 21, a group of Jesuit priests will bring the casket from the sacristy to the altar, and after the Mass, two groups of laities will take it from the altar to the entrance of the Basilica of Bom Jesus.
A team of police in civil dress will lift and place the casket on the carriage and accompany it. He said people would follow the carriage in procession, evoking deep faith.
“At the gate of Se Cathedral, the police team will lower the casket, and a group of 10 canons will carry it and place it inside the cathedral for public veneration,” Father Fernandes explained.
“We are using a special carriage to give the procession a very solemn look and help people participate in the spirit of prayer,” Father Henry Falcao, diocesan convener of the Exposition Committee, told UCA News.
The organizers want the carriage’s decoration to be “solemn with some motifs from the mausoleum and the motifs from the church as our churches have beautiful architecture,” Falco said.
“The carriage will have a three-layered tomb design with the relics in the center. The top of the canopy will have a hand carrying a crucifix,” Father Adrian Furtado, parish priest of Our Lady of Remedios Church, said.
He said the “ardent desire of the saint was to make Jesus known to the world, to baptize and save souls. The hand is a powerful image showing his great desire,” Father Furtado explained.
He said the lower tier of the carriage will be covered with angel motifs, while embroidered pictures will depict the life of St Francis Xavier.
Falcao said this year, the Goa state government built 33 cottages at Pilgrim Village in Old Goa for the pilgrims, just about 10 minutes’ walk from the Basilica of Bom Jesus.
Each cottage can accommodate 10-12 people and has “a total capacity of 400 people daily,” he said.
The cottages are cheaper than hotels. They charge only 350 rupees (some US$5) a day, including vegetarian breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
“Many parish groups from neighboring Maharashtra and Karnataka state come on foot, walking over 200 kilometers to seek the saint’s blessing. We want to cater to them but other pilgrims are also welcome to avail the facility,” Falcao said.
Falco said that during the last exposition in 2014, at least 5.5 million people from across the country and overseas visited the Basilica complex.
“This year we expect 8 million people” for the exposition, he said.
The saint “is a unifier of all faiths, known as Goencho Sahib . People of different faiths are attracted to him and easily connect with him,” said Vishvesh Kandolkar, a Hindu.
Kandolkar, who authored a book, Goa’s Bom Jesus as Visual Culture, which explains the Basilica’s architecture, image, history, and identity, told UCA News that it “is nothing short of a miracle that people thronging to Old Goa get connected to him one-on-one.”
“Even those who don’t know him come here and are touched. Something is happening here at this baroque Basilica in Old Goa.”
Francis Xavier “has been a historical icon of Asia,” he said. – UCA News
