OLD GOA, MARCH 22
Hundreds of devotees from all walks of life thronged the St Andrew’s Church at Goa Velha on Monday evening to witness the procession of all saints.
The ‘all saints’ procession is a way of paying tribute to the saints during the lent season, which is a reminder of 40-day penance that Jesus Christ had gone through before he was crucified.
Chancellor of the Archdiocese Fr Manuel Dias was the main celebrant at the mass along with St Andrew’s Church Parish Priest Fr Raul Colaco and Pilar Fathers and Goa Velha Deanery priest.
Speaking to Herald, Fr Colaco said the all saints’ procession had started with a penitential penance, but now the procession has gone into a festive spirit, as thousands of people form different parts of the State take part in the procession.
“The procession, which is held on the fifth Monday of the lent season, gives importance of the saints to reflect on people’ life as to how they lived their lives and to have impact in our daily lives,” said Fr Colaco.
When asked if any new saints are added, Fr Colaco said earlier 65 saints were taken out in a procession, but now it has been reduced to 30, but last year Saint Blessed Joseph Vaz was added and now the procession has about 31 saints.
The all saints’ procession at St Andrew’s Church at Goa Velha is one of the two places around the globe that has this type of procession. The other being in Italy, which involves a grand procession of saints and is always celebrated on the fifth Monday of the Lent.
It may be recalled that the tradition of saints procession was started in the 17th Century by the Franciscan Order in an attempt to boost moral values and pious behaviour of the community and inspire them to take to their hearts the teachings of Jesus Christ.
In the 18th Century, 65 life-sized richly decorated statues of saints, martyrs, kings and queens were carried in palanquins on the shoulders of ‘Native Christians’.
In 1835, the event was banned by the Marquis of Pombal and during this period, many images and vestments were left uncared, vandalized and destroyed.
However, the saints procession was re-started from the new Church of St Andrew, Goa Velha, during the Lent of 1868 and new statues kept adding to the collection and the statue of Blessed Joseph Vaz was added as recently as 2009.
The procession, which started from the main entrance of the St Andrew’s Church, had village Confraria’s bringing statues of the saints on their shoulders in front of the St Andrew’s Church outside altar, where a commentary on the life of saints was delivered.
Some devotees were seen paying respects to the saints by moving underneath the statues.
Though a religious occasion, the evening atmosphere was seen filled with fair on the main road outside the church with the roads being lined up with stalls selling everything from sweets to wind-up gadgets.
