Since graduating, I’ve been working in the Middle East and in January 2012 visited the Sancoale Sanctuary. To my surprise, I got a call from my previous company the next day, offering me a job in Colombo on a construction project on Slave Island, which is a historic and very old part of Colombo. I was reluctant to accept the assignment, but finally took it. I had no expectation that I would be witnessing the canonization before too long.
Since 2002, I had been a follower and supporter of the Joseph Naik Vaz Institute of California, reading their articles and signing their petitions and joining their prayer campaigns for this canonization.
In September 2014, I joined their efforts to have supporters offer a Companion Mass for their September 23 Mass in Rome to commemorate the 329th anniversary of the founding by Bl Joseph Vaz of the Goan Oratorians and pray for his canonization. I wrote to Filomena Saraswati Giese and George Pinto that I would offer a Companion Mass at the Infant Jesus Shrine on Slave Island and another in Kandy. Because of this Mass, they learnt that I was in Colombo.
I learned from Filomena that St Joseph Vaz visited Slave Island whenever he came to Colombo. He celebrated Mass, heard confessions, administered the Sacraments, and established two underground chapels for the descendants of the slaves brought to Colombo by the Portuguese and the Dutch.
I feel truly blessed to be working and living in the places that were part of his mission and apostolate.
Filomena, George and other members of the Institute from California arrived in Colombo to witness the canonization ceremony. It’s a great honour for me that I’m with the members of the Joseph Naik Vaz Institute who have been mentioned in the document for his Canonization. They gathered at my place on Galle Face to go to the Canonization ceremony and Mass on Wednesday morning.
