TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: The Church and laity reacted with shock after the Holy Cross of Bambolim shrine (revered as Fulamcho Khuris) on the busy national highway-17 was broken into in the wee hours of Thursday.
Fr Alban Fernandes, while talking to a group of devotees who rushed to the shrine after hearing the news of the break-in, said he had never thought this could happen here. What else is left, if thieves dare to come here? The cross is a place where people come for blessings and for protection, he rued.
Former Minister Dr Carmo Pegado who had also come to the shrine was of the opinion that all the valuables should be locked up, a point conceded by many.
The Holy Cross is an unassuming but miraculous cross revered by people of all faiths. People rarely pass by without acknowledging the presence of the divine, as is customary. In fact many travellers break their journey and pray there regularly.
According to reports, it could have been originally built by quarry workers when there was quarrying going on around the site. Others say that it was one Albuquerque, a civil engineer from Ponda, who built it while constructing the Panjim-Agassaim mud road. According to others there used to be numerous robberies and accidents along that stretch which led to of the building of the cross. Legend goes that the miracles started happening after the cross was built.
First beautification of the Cross was done in 1969 by officers and jawans of the military camp. The marble tiles put by them are still intact.
Fr Freddy J da Costa was the person responsible for the shrine in its present grandeur. Architect, Ralino de Souza, designed the shrine for free and the foundation stone was laid by then Archbishop Raul Gonsalves on May 21, 1995 and the shrine was completed, blessed and inaugurated by the Archbishop on October 13, 1996.
The shrine is now a Church, according to a decree from the Archbishop of Goa and Daman, and Patriarch of East Indies dated October 3, 1996, which states, “We do hereby formally and canonically constitute the said building at the Holy Cross of Bambolim, Alto de Bambolim into a Church, dedicated to the Holy Cross.” The decree further states that “the new Church will be under the jurisdiction of the Parish of Our Lady of Bethlehem, and under direct responsibility of its Parish Priest.”
