Team Herald
PANJIM: The solemn feast of St Joseph Vaz, a luminous son of Goa and Apostle of Sri Lanka, who was canonised by Pope Francis on January 14, 2015, was celebrated at the site of old church of Our Lady of Health, Sancoale, whose facade has stood the test of the times, with great fervour and devotion, on Monday.
Being the Patron of Archdiocese of Goa and Daman, St Joseph Vaz, is being remembered and evoked by the faithful in all the parishes of the Archdiocese, neighbouring States and Sri Lanka.
The High Mass was celebrated by His Eminence Archbishop Patriarch Filipe Neri Cardinal Ferrao along with Bishop Alwyn Barreto (Sindhudurg Diocese), Bishop Alex Dias (Emeritus Bishop of Port Blair), priests and religious.
Thousands of people participated and praised God for the gift of this powerful Goan intercessor and paid homage to this great saint of the soil on this occasion.
In His Homily, Archbishop Cardinal Ferrao urged the faithful to take the example of St Joseph Vaz and be true disciples of Jesus Christ.
He highlighted that Jesus called his disciples, invited them to follow Him and have a deep encounter with Him so that they may go to the world and fulfil the mission entrusted to them by remaining in union with Him.
Archbishop Cardinal Ferrao further explained that St Joseph Vaz always remained in union with God, helped the people he encountered to also be in union with God and in his service to the people he tried to build union within them too. He remained firm in his faith even in the midst of trials and hardships.
His Eminence pointed out that St Joseph Vaz is a model for us to build this union with God and neighbours in our neighbourhood and society.
At the end of the celebration, His Eminence released three books; two of the books were related to Synod of Bishops 2022 to 2024, which have the synthesis, feedback and inspirational promptings from the consultations held in pre-Synodal meet in Goa. The third book was a prayer book related to St Joseph Vaz, to help in the spiritual growth of the faithful.
