Goa has a very unique celebration when on a single evening, the Saints walk along with the faithful. The annual Penitential Procession of Saints will be held on March 27, at St Andrew’s Church, Goa Velha. On the first Monday of the fifth week of Lent, the procession of All Saints of the Franciscan Third Order, the only one of its kind besides Rome is held. The statues include saints, popes, kings, martyrs, queens and cardinals. This tradition has been followed since the 17th century by the Franciscan Order in Goa.
This year, Fr Emidio Pinto, parish priest
of St Andrew’s Church, Goa Velha will deliver the Homily at the High Mass in
the evening. The mass will be concelebrated by Fr Mario Carvalho, assistant
parish priest of St Anddrew’s Church and Pilar fathers. This will be followed
by the procession which begins with the Tau and the Crossed Arms, a symbol of
the Franciscan order, followed by around 31 statues including that of St
Anthony of Padua, St Peter, Ecce Homo, St Francis Xavier, St Francis of Assisi
and the patron of the Archdiocese of Goa, St Joseph Vaz. The procession ends
with the ‘Veil of Veronica.’ The statues of the saints are taken out in a grand
procession on colourfully decorated palanquins. Each Saints’ life is read out
to the devotees by a priest followed by the procession of the palanquin
carrying the life-sized statues of the Saint. During the procession, devotees
pray the rosary and sing a hymn after each decade.
The procession of the Saints draws
hundreds of people from the neighboring villages around Goa Velha. People from
different religions who throng the streets for the procession are often seen
ducking under the palanquin as a sign of penance and forgiveness. One must keep
in mind the suffering of Jesus Christ when partaking in this procession.
The procession is observed to have a better understanding of the
lives of the Saints and how to resist worldly pleasures. “Saints are divine
children of God when they were living. All of us are baptised with the Holy
Spirit when this divinity is poured into our hearts. It is important to live a
life worthy of the divine spirit. We have infinite divine power through the
Holy Spirit and there are miracles that happen every day. Saints are
interceding for us to God,” says Fr Emidio, who has been the parish priest of
St Andrew’s Church for nine years. He also conducts retreats at the church
every Wednesday at 4 pm.
The life size statues of the saints will be kept open for public
veneration on March 27, 28 and 29 at the Church. On March 28, Masses will be
celebrated at 7 am, 9 am and 4 pm and on March 29, the Mass will be at 7 am
followed by the veneration of the Saints till 9 am.
The
statues are carved out of wood and have to be handle with utmost care. “After
the veneration, the statues are dismantled and kept in boxes in a huge room
that is designated for the statues. A month before the Procession of the
Saints, they are assembled by the carpenters who carefully examine and take
care of them,” explains Fr Emidio.