Sancoale, the village Joseph Vaz where grew up, is the biggest centre for his devotion. The village will be the focus of all of Goa’s attention as hundreds of thousands of pilgrims will flock there for his feast immediately after the canonisation. Benaulim, Cortalim and Candolim will also honour Goa’s first saint in various ways. ALVARO COLACO reports
It has been over 500 years since Roman Catholicism was brought to Goa. While Goa gave the Church many bishops and cardinals, it didn’t have a single saint. That will change this week.
On January 14, Pope Francis will canonise Goan missionary Blessed Joseph Vaz, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, an event Goans across the world have been waiting for.
Sainthood didn’t come easily to this Goan missionary. He died in 1711, and though the process for his Beatification and Canonisation was started in the years after that, it was only in 1995 that he was declared Blessed.
The struggle for his canonisation did not in any way diminish the faith the people had in him. In the last century, Sancoale, the village where he grew up has turned into a major centre for his devotion. Today as the State gets ready to celebrate the much awaited ‘official’ canonisation of Blessed Joseph Vaz, the Church is Goa is planning a slew of projects in honour of the Goa’s first Saint. The projects in is his paternal village of Sancoale includes a Basilica, Museum, Library. A DEd college of Diocese Education of Society in neighbouring Cortalim, which will be named after St Joseph Vaz, is under construction. In his maternal village of Benaulim, there are plans to build a hospital since Blessed Vaz helped the sick during his missionary works in the Island nation.
On January 14, the day of canonisation of Blessed Vaz, a special postal cover will be released by the Post Master General, Goa, Charles Lobo at the Sancoale Sanctuary.
Sancoale which led from the front for Blessed Joseph Vaz’s canonisation for over 100 years ever since land was purchased in the vicinity of his ancestral house in 1908 to build a shrine as a seat for his devotion.
Parishioners in Candolim will commemorate the canonisation of Blessed Joseph Vaz on January 14 in a unique way, as nine statues of St Joseph Vaz will be installed in nine Chapels across the village.
