KARSTEN MIRANDA
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When Auxiliary Bishop Simiao Fernandes of the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman presented a memorial plate to Pope Leo XIV during a brief per sonal audience in Rome, the Holy Father’s response was immediate and heart felt. “Oh St Francis Xavier! It’s beautiful,” the Pope exclaimed, holding the specially crafted memento that captured Goa’s rich spiritual heritage. The encounter took place during the annual formation course for newly ordained bish ops, where Bishop Sim iao joined 192 bishops from across the world for a period of spiritual enrichment and reflec tion. The memorial plate he brought was created to mark the recent decennial exposition of St Francis Xavier’s relics, with the saint at its centre surrounded by a circle depicting the historic churches and monuments of Old Goa. “We were supposed to tell him our name and the Diocese. In that short encounter, I prayed for our priests, religious, lay faithful, and placed the entire Archdiocese of Goa and Daman before the Holy Father’s blessing,” Bishop Simiao told Her ald. Though the audience lasted less than a minute given the large number of participants, he described it as deeply meaningful. The Pope presented each bishop with a rosary as a personal blessing. The formation course, organised by the Dicast ery for Bishops and the Dicastery for Evangeliza tion, carried the theme “Opening a Path to Hope: Called to the Episcopa cy in a Jubilee Context.” Over the sessions, the new bishops reflected on their ministry, learned about the Roman Curia, shared experiences and cleared doubts, and par ticipated in conferences, discussions and working groups. Bishop Simiao noted that the course un derscored the universal character of the Church, where local devotions such as Goa’s to St Francis Xavier are welcomed into the wider communion. Church leaders ob served that this marked Bishop Simiao’s first meeting with Pope Leo XIV, and the second di rect encounter between the new Pontiff and the Church in Goa. The first came when Archbishop Filipe Neri Cardinal Fer rão participated in the conclave that elected him. The Auxiliary Bishop’s gesture of presenting a memento rooted in Old Goa’s heritage once again highlighted the global resonance of St Francis Xavier and linked Goa’s Catholic tradition with the wider Church.
