Last week's EXPRESSO weely of Lisbon had it on p.22 that "Portugal loses its saint for Spain", referring to the forthcoming plans for commemorating 500 years of the birth of St. Francis Xavier. Spain is planning large-scale commemorations of its Navarra-born saint, while there seem to be no clear ideias yet about anything of that sort happening in Portugal. Is it likely that Goans who are in direct physical contact with the basque saint, and particularly the Jesuit Historical Institute named after him, will have some major plans? Incidentally, the late Jesuit Bishop of Ahmedabad Charles Gomes (Moira-born and formerly Provincial of Goa-Pune Jesuits) has suggested that the old coffin of St. Francis Xavier (where the body was preserved till 1744 or so) be donated to the home town of the saint. The Archbishop of Navarra and and the Rector of the Castle of Xavier had made a request to this effect in 1976. The Archbishop of Goa and the Jesuits had expressed no objection, and even thought it would be a fair exchange, for Navarra letting Goa keep its Saint. The coffin is a simple pine chest of 1.65 x 0.40 x 0.55 covered with rich damascus tissue with silver linings. Golden ribbon tissue lines the border and the corners of the chest. From what I know, the request was submitted to the Home Ministry of India, and after obtaining the views of the Goa Government, it decided on May 31, 1977: "The matter has been considered in consultation with the Archeological Survey of India. The coffin is not only an antiquity but also an object of veneration amongst the Christian population of India. Therefore, the Archaeological Survey of India do not favour its export. Arrangements for suitable display of the coffin within the country are under consideration".
To the best of my knowledge, while I was commissioned by the Archbishop to prepare an inventory of objects to be displayed at the Rachol Museum of Sacred Art, I had an opportunity of seeing closely the coffin in question, but it was not included in the list for transfer to the Museum (now shifted to Santa Monica). I wonder where and when it will be suitably displayed. ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ########################################################################## ------------------------------------------------------------------- To Subscribe/Unsubscribe from Goa-Research-Net ------------------------------------------------------------------- * Send us a brief self-intro to justify your interest in this "specialized" forum. This should be sent to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or to [EMAIL PROTECTED] * Send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] (NOT [EMAIL PROTECTED]) * Leave SUBJECT blank * On first line of the BODY of your message, type: subscribe goa-research-net [EMAIL PROTECTED] or unsubscribe goa-research-net [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------------------------------------------------
