MARGAO: Archbishop of Goa and Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão’s week-long UK visit from July 31 to August 8 took him across Goan and parish communities in London, Hounslow, Swindon and Southall, culminating in the Diamond Jubilee Mass of the Goan Association (GOA UK) at Cranford, attended by thousands.
The Mass, held on August 2 at Cranford Community College in Hounslow to open the UK Goan Festival, was concelebrated by Pilar Fathers serving in the UK — Fr Lucas Rodrigues, Fr Renato Andrade, Fr Feroz Fernandes and Fr Stephen Dias — along with visiting priests Fr Patrick D’Souza and Fr Francis Rosario, and Benedictine Fr Alexander Da Costa Fernandes OSB of Worth Abbey.
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In his homily, drawing on Isaiah’s invitation, “Come to the water, all you who are thirsty”, Cardinal Ferrão reflected on migration and its impact on Goan families.
“Wherever Goans have gone, they have carried something precious: their faith, their family values, their love for the parish community, their music, their generosity, and their joyful celebration of life,” he said.
He also acknowledged the challenges of migration, saying, “Migration inevitably brings opportunities, but it also brings challenges. Living in another country means learning another culture, raising children in a different environment, balancing different identities and, for people of faith, ensuring that material success does not come at the cost of spiritual depth.”
Urging families to guide the younger generation through example, he said, “Your children need your witness more than your words,” adding that they should see parents praying together, grandparents passing on stories of faith and families attending Sunday Mass. Young adults, he said, should understand that “success is measured not only by career but also by character, compassion and discipleship.”
Reflecting on the feeding of the five thousand, Cardinal Ferrão urged Goans to focus on what they could offer rather than what they lacked.
“Jesus does not ask us first what we lack. He asks us what we have,” he said, citing among their gifts “a strong faith, a tradition of prayer, respect for family life, love for the Church, hospitality, musical talent, a willingness to serve” and “professional skills in many fields”. In Christ’s service, he said, these gifts “become food for many”.
He also urged Goans to bring their missionary spirit to their adopted homeland: “Be bridges between cultures. Be witnesses of reconciliation in a divided world. Be voices for the poor and forgotten. Be joyful disciples whose lives attract others to Christ.”
The Cardinal also celebrated Konkani Masses at St Michael and St Martin’s, Hounslow, on August 3; Holy Rood Church, Swindon, on August 4; and St Anselm’s, Southall, on August 5. He returned to Holy Rood for an English Mass for the Feast of the Transfiguration on August 6 and celebrated Mass at St Vincent de Paul, Osterley, on August 7.
Over eight days, Cardinal Ferrão travelled about 770 km across England, celebrating Masses and meeting, listening to and encouraging the faithful.
Parishioners also noted his readiness to engage with them individually despite his responsibilities as President of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI), President of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC), and a member of the Vatican’s Dicasteries for Evangelization and Communication. He is also a member of the Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod.
For the communities he visited, the tour offered a rare opportunity to meet the Archbishop of Goa as a shepherd addressing the lived realities of migration, family and faith.
His closing words at Cranford, from St Paul, summed up his message: “Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
