Was Goa sidelined at the Canonization Mass? By Melvyn Misquita 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................ GL responds: Finally there is some dialog on St. Joseph Vaz and his recent canonization on goanet, the erstwhile Goan e-website. I was disappointed that Goa did not have its own diocese-wide celebration of the event. JoegoaUK did a great job of posting the celebration of St. Joseph Vaz feast celebration at the saint's home. There was also a short account of the service. The 'take home message' of the celebrant priest in his sermon, was exhorting his listeners for donation and funds because "the alter needs a statue of Saint Joseph Vaz." For those who missed it:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKROhy7Ph3s In fact it would be a proud and uniting cause for Catholic Goans all over the world to work towards building a church / mini-basilica for St. Joseph in Vaz in Goa. Then we will not have to fault Rome or Colombo for not doing enough for the FIRST Goan saint. Regards, GL
