‘Miracle Child’ Fr Cosme, entourage of priests and laity Colombo-bound
Goa’s first saint has begun moving thousands of devotees to Sri Lanka. Led by the Archbishop and consisting of senior members of the clergy and accompanied by the most significant pilgrim, the miracle child Father Cosme, they will cross the Palk Straits to the land where Blessed Joseph Vaz, a Goan, spent a large part of his life in the service of the faith. Over a thousand devotees and fifty priests, many of them as spiritual advisors to pilgrims will be in Sri Lanka for the event. MELVYN MISQUITA reports on this journey and the forthcoming events which will unfold
An estimated 1,000 devotees consisting of priests and laity have already begun leaving for Sri Lanka to attend the canonisation ceremony of Blessed Joseph Vaz. While some will participate in the Mass others will extended their stay to visit religious and tourist sites.
Archbishop-Patriarch Filipe Neri Ferrao, Bishop of Sindhudurg Allwyn Barreto, Vicar General Fr Jose Remedios Fernandes and Archbishop Ferrao’s secretary Fr Loiola Pereira left for Sri Lanka on Saturday, while others attending the ceremony include Goan Auxiliary Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas (Ranchi Archdiocese) and the “miracle child” Fr Cosme J Costa.
According to priests and tour operators, Goans visiting Sri Lanka for the canonisation ceremony have been broadly classified into two groups.
The first group of visitors, classified as tourists, will stay in hotels and their itinerary will include the canonisation ceremony and a tour across places of tourist importance in Sri Lanka. Many tour operators have worked out different packages to suit various groups of Goan visitors during their stay in Sri Lanka.
The other group of visitors insists that they are pilgrims, not tourists.
“Ninety of my parishioners, devotees who accompanied me in parishes during the raising of funds for the Sanctuary and some actors of our drama ‘Goychem Noketr Padre Zuze Vaz’ (Goa’s Star, Fr Joseph Vaz) are also in our pilgrimage group to Sri Lanka,” said Candolim Parish Priest Fr Romualdo Robin Rodrigues, former vice-postulator for the canonization of Blessed Joseph Vaz.
“This is a pilgrimage, not a tour. My friends in Sri Lanka will organize our visit to the various sites related to Fr Joseph Vaz. I have instructed my pilgrims that we stay in convents, retreat houses, monasteries and look upon this visit to Sri Lanka as a pilgrimage. We will live the humble life of Fr Joseph Vaz during the days of our pilgrimage,” Fr Rodrigues added.
Given that a Goan priest will be made a saint by the universal Catholic Church, an estimated 50 priests from all over Goa will visit Sri Lanka, either as spiritual advisors of groups or in their individual capacities.
As spiritual advisors, many of these priests accompanying these groups have been offered a complimentary trip by the tour operators.
Among the priests confirming their participation in their individual capacities include four professors from Rachol Seminary, Fr Simon Fernandes (president of the Committee for the Cause of Canonisation), Fr Nelson Sequeira, Fr Noel D’Costa and Fr Simon D’Cunha.
Other priests who are expected to make the trip to Sri Lanka include Fr Alban Fernandes (Holy Cross Shrine, Bambolim), Fr Roque Costa (parish priest, Rachol), Fr Ubaldo Fernandes (parish priest, Ambaulim-Quepem) and Fr Saude Pereira (parish priest, Chandor).
A group of six priests – Fr Mariano D’Costa and Fr Adolf Alvares (St Andrew’s church, Vasco), Fr Noel D’Costa and Fr Simon D’Cunha (Rachol Seminary), Fr Caitan D’Souza (Siolim) and Fr Xavier Estebeiro (Mapusa) – from the batch ordained in 2008 are also going by themselves to Sri Lanka for the canonisation ceremony. All six priests will leave Goa on January 13 and will return on January 16.
Two groups of parishioners from Porvorim will be led by Parish Priest Fr Tomas Lobo and Assistant Parish Priest Fr Boniface Furtado.
Besides leading a group of parishioners, Fr Tomas Lobo will also have a special role to play in the canonisation ceremony.
“On the one hand, I’m elated to be part of the celebration in Sri Lanka where I will be part of our Goan choral group, led by Fr Loiola Pereira, which will sing an anthem to St Joseph Vaz in Konkani at the end of the canonisation Mass. I am also glad that I will have the opportunity to be concelebrating with the pope and with my brother priests at the solemn Eucharist,” said Fr Lobo.
“The pilgrimage to Sri Lanka will also give us an opportunity to visit places where Joseph Vaz worked with greatest missionary zeal and witness the faith of the Sri Lankan people, with whom we are connected due to the shining fruit of our Goan church – St Joseph Vaz,” he added.
