Was Goa sidelined at the Canonization Mass?
By Melvyn Misquita
Porvorim-Goa
[email protected]
+91 9860597117
It was a month ago that over a thousand Goan devotees and
pilgrims had participated in the historic canonization of St
Joseph Vaz by Pope Francis in Sri Lanka.
But the joy of witnessing their illustrious son of the soil
elevated as Goa's first saint in the Roman Catholic Church on
January 14 was also accompanied with a tinge of sadness.
There is a growing belief among a number of priests and
people, who attended the canonization ceremony and those who
witnessed live coverage on TV and internet here in the State,
that Goa was sidelined to a considerable extent at the
Canonization Mass at Colombo in Sri Lanka.
Incidentally, the only contribution allotted to Goa
-- a Konkani hymn dedicated to St Joseph Vaz -- was
sung well after the Mass had ended and the pope and
his entourage had left. Not many may be aware that
the hymn was included at the last moment and that
too, only after the persistent intervention of a
prominent Goan tour operator.
Some have pointed out that Goa's Archbishop Filipe Neri
Ferrao did read out a short biography of St Joseph Vaz, but a
priest told Herald that it was not an option left before the
mass organisers.
"Archbishop Ferrao had to read out the biography as a
necessary requirement during the rite of canonization,
especially since the Goa archdiocese had jointly postulated
the cause for the beatification and canonization of St Joseph
Vaz," said a senior priest, who spoke on anonymity.
"More significantly, there was no commentator who identified
Archbishop Ferrao before he presented the short biography of
St Joseph Vaz. As a result, the multitude of Sri Lankan
devotees did not even know the identity of the bishop
addressing the Holy Father at the time," the priest added.
The only mention to the Goan presence at the Mass was a brief
acknowledgment of Goa by Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith towards the
end of the mass.
When contacted, some priests and laity attending or viewing
the canonization ceremony insisted that Goa should have been
given a more prominent role in the Canonization Mass, given
the fact that Goa had also promoted the cause for the
canonization of St Joseph Vaz.
Many of them claim that Goa's contribution to the life and
times of St Joseph Vaz could not, and should not, have been
forgotten by Sri Lanka.
Consider their arguments in favour of Goa's contribution: Goa
gave Joseph Vaz to Sri Lanka and even sent a number of Goan
Oratorian priests, including two Goan bishops, to serve the
Catholic community in Sri Lanka. Besides, Goa played a key
role in the cause for canonization of Joseph Vaz and had
actively promoted the veneration of St Joseph Vaz.
In fact, the cause to promote the beatification, and
subsequent canonization, was officially described as the
'Kandyan or Goan Cause of Beatification and Canonization of
the Servant of God Joseph Vaz, Priest of the Oratory of St.
Philip Neri (1651-1711).' In this sense, Goa had as much a
role to play in the canonization of St Joseph Vaz, since it
too had a vice-postulator to promote the cause, just like
Kandy.
Goa has maintained and preserved the original places of
Joseph Vaz, even attracting many Sri Lankan devotees to
Sancoale, Benaulim and Old Goa all through the year.
Goa gave the first and only miracle officially attributed to
Joseph Vaz, but there was no mention that the 'Miracle Child'
Fr Cosme Costa was present at the Mass, even though he was a
special invitee to the occasion.
Incidentally, Sri Lankan twins from Connecticut (USA), whose
births were attributed (though not officially recognized by
Vatican) to a miracle through the intercession of Saint
Joseph Vaz, were also given a role at the offertory procession.
"It would have been wonderful had there been some mention to
the million-odd packed congregation that the 'Miracle Child'
Fr Cosme Costa was in their midst on this special occasion.
After all, Fr Costa's miracle birth had led to the
beatification of St Joseph Vaz, propelling him on the road to
sainthood," remarked another priest.
Paul Sequeira of Zion Tours and Travels narrated his
involvement that had enabled the Goan hymn to be sung after
the Canonization Mass.
"Since I was responsible for sending over 500 Goan priests
and lay devotees to Sri Lanka for the canonization ceremony,
I had gone to Sri Lanka last month to inspect all
arrangements, including hotels, tour guides and travel
arrangements," said Siqueira.
"During my trip to Sri Lanka, I met church officials in
Colombo and requested them to involve Goa in some part of the
canonization ceremony, given Goa's immense contribution in
the life and times of St Joseph Vaz, as well as in his
beatification and canonization."
The Sri Lanka church hierarchy politely declined efforts to
involve Goa in any part of the Canonization Mass, on grounds
that all arrangements had already been finalised and that no
change was possible.
“Finally, I urged them to consider giving Goa the chance to
sing a Konkani hymn at the end of the mass. Some days later,
I was told that a Konkani hymn would be permitted only after
the recessional hymn,” said Siqueira.
The last minute addition of Konkani hymn had had
its consequences. Goan viewers were disappointed
that the TV cameras did not capture the Goan
singers performing the Konkani hymn 'Zuze Vasa,
Amchea Bhava' at the end of the Canonization Mass.
"The foreign TV crew may not have been aware that a Goan hymn
would be sung after the Mass. Else, I’m sure that they would
have focused on the Goan singers, just like they did when the
Sri Lankan choir sang during the Mass," said the senior priest.
There were other instances where Goans may have also been
sidelined at the Canonization Mass.
While the lay devotees were made aware well in advance that
seating arrangements would not be provided during the
Canonization Mass, Siqueira had requested the Sri Lanka
church officials to allot a section for the 1200-odd Goan
devotees attending the services.
"They agreed to allot space to the Goan contingent, but when
the Goan devotees reached the site, they found out that
nearly half of the space allotted to the 1200 Goan devotees
had already been filled by Sri Lankan devotees. There was
little that we could do. That said, we Goans should be proud
that we finally have a saint of our own and nobody can take
that credit away from us," says Siqueira, a proud devotee of
of St Joseph Vaz.
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