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St. Francisco Xavier - his life and times (Part 4) By Dr. Jose Colaco The coast around the Cabo was inhabited by the pearl-diver-folk known as the Paravas. They had suffered centuries of discrimination and oppression from the Hindu kings and the Muslim Arab sea lords. Eventually, they turned to the Portuguese for help and in the process and many converted to Christianity. The Paravas were then, attacked by the Arab Muslim fleet, curiously, with help of some Hindu princes. In the ensuing battle of Vedalai, in 1539, the Portuguese eliminated the Muslim presence from the Fishery Coast, for good and the Paravas obtained their long sought after freedom. Mass conversions of the Paravas to Christianity followed in 1539. Fr. Francisco arrived in the Cabo region in October 1542. Like in Goa, he set about his task in earnest and worked with tireless zeal. He had so much work at his hand that he had little time to eat or sleep. He noted that, while the populace of the area were 'Christians', they knew little of the faith. Fr. Francisco noted however, that the congregation was bright and quick to learn. He was ' sure that, with the proper instructions, they would make fine Christians'. So he taught, preached, prayed, visited the sick and the elderly, baptized the children and buried the dead. All in a form of memorized Tamil !. Fr. Francisco travelled up the coast to Tuticorin repeating his missionary work with the Paravas in the villages all along the way. His life was simple and his requirements few. When he was able to, he slept in little mud huts and had a meal of rice and water. But in the process, he had baptized multitudes of Paravas. Numerous miracles have been attributed to Fr. Francisco in the South Indian region of Tuticorin. He is recorded as having held off the invading Vadugers, from Vijaynagar in the the north, with the help of his crucifix. The Vadugers had earlier massacred some of the new Parava Christians and taken others captive. A complicating factor in the episode was a secret deal between the Vadugers and the local Portuguese commandant of the region. Fr. Francisco returned to his base in Goa and and back to the Fishery Coast several times. On the first of these trips to Goa, he received the happy news that the Society of Jesus had the official blessings of Rome and that Fr. Ignacio de Loyola was elected the head of the Society. He would have the opportunity of visiting the tomb of St. Thomas, the apostle, in Myalapur which is in the present day state of Tamil Nadu. His efforts with the Parava fishing community to the east of Cabo Camurin were being watched with interest by the Mukuva fisherfolk who lived on the western side of the Cabo Camurim. Fr. Francisco's efforts in 1544 ensured their conversion to Christianity. By now, he had memorised the necessary phrases and sentences in the Tamil language. Several thousand Mukuvas were baptised and given Portuguese names. It is while he was with the Mukuvas that Fr. Francisco heard about the massacre of several hundred natives of nearby Mannar. The Hindu King of Jaffna, in northern Ceilao, now Sri Lanka upon hearing of the conversion of these Mannars to Christianity, sent his men to their villages and slew them. In another part of Ceilao, the Crown Prince of Kotte was murdered after he was baptised . The fate, befallen these martyrs greatly disturbed Fr. Francisco. He had to find a method of protecting his flock. He wrote to the 'Governador da India' who was, in fact, the Governor of the Portuguese territories in India, for help. What is quite clear from all accounts is, that Fr. Francisco communicated quite regularly with his fellow Jesuits, the Portuguese Governor of Goa, King Joao III of Portugal and Pope Paul III . Many of these letters were written in Cochin, then an important Portuguese port, now Kochi, in the Indian State of Kerala. This port had a number of Portuguese settlers. The Franciscan missionaries were looking after their pastoral needs. Christianity, actually, had reached Cochin in the first century AD. The followers of St. Thomas the apostle, the Marthoma Catholics ( Syrian Christians ), were pastored by a Bishop named Abuna Jacob. Fr. Francisco did not work among the Syrian Christians. There were Franciscan missionaries in the area. The Bishop and Fr. Francisco had strong regard and respect for each other. On one of his stops in Cochin Fr. Francisco wrote to Pope Paul III requesting some form of assistance for the ageing Bishop. It so happened, a few years thereafter, that Bishop Jacob could find no successor to him and entrusted the spiritual care of his flock into the hands of the Franciscans. This, of course, did not last very long. There was a clash of the two rites - Eastern and Roman. November 23, 1996 comments to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Click here for more information on Dr Jose Colaco Photos By William Rodrigues during The Feast Of St. Francis Xavier 4th Dec, 2000 CREDITS Article By Dr Jose Colaco Photos By William Rodrigues Input & Services By Cecil Pinto Presented by Goa-World Team www.goa-world.com (C) Copyrights Reserved